Materials modeling finite element methods

Guo et al. 5 ook resin matrix composites filled with SIC whiskers as an example and analyzed the effect of the inter-facial zone state on mechanical properties of composite materials by finite element method. They hold that when whiskers are randomly distributed in a resin matrix with a certain volume fraction, they demonstrate a periodic distribution from the statistical point of view. It is assumed that the SIC whisker-reinforced phase in resin matrix composites is arranged in one direction without considering the effect of whisker orientation, the analysis model can be simplified as a rotator shape with the large cylindrical part as the polymer matrix and the small cylindrical part as the whisker. Therefore, a three-dimensional problem turns into an axisymmetric problem, and only a quarter part of the body model is taken in the calculation. 

Finite element methods are one of several approximate numerical techniques available for the solution of engineering boundary value problems. Analysis of materials processing operations lead to equations of this type, and finite element methods have a number of advantages in modeling such processes. This document is intended as an overview of this technique, to include examples relevant to polymer processing technology. 

The modeling of complex solids has greatly advanced since the advent, around 1960, of the finite element method [196], Here the material is divided into a number of subdomains, termed elements, with associated nodes. The elements are considered to consist of materials, the constitutive equations of which are well known, and, upon change of the system, the nodes suffer nodal displacements and concomitant generalized nodal forces. The method involves construction of a global stiffness matrix that comprises the contributions from all elements, the relevant boundary conditions and body and thermal forces a typical problem is then to compute the nodal displacements (i. e., the local strains) by solving the system K u = F, where K is the stiffness matrix, u the... 

Finite element methods (FEM) are capable of incorporating complex variations in materia stresses in the time varying response. While these methods are widely available, they are quite complex and, in many cases, their use is not warranted due to uncertainties in blast load prediction. The dynamic material properties presented in this section can be used in FEM calculations however, the simplified response limits in the next section may not be suitable. Most FEM codes contain complex failure models which are better indicators of acceptable response. See Chapter 6, Dynamic Analysis Methods, for additional information. 

Stress calculations are carried out by the finite element method. Here, the commercial finite method code ABAQUS (Hibbit, Karlsson, and Sorensen, Inc.) is used. Other codes such as MARC, ANSYS are also available. To calculate the stresses precisely, appropriate meshes and elements have to be used. 2D and shell meshes are not enough to figure out stress states of SOFC cells precisely, and thus 3D meshes is suitable for the stress calculation. Since the division of a model into individual tetrahedral sometimes faces difficulties of visualization and could easily lead to errors in numbering, eight-comered brick elements are convenient for the use. The element type used for the stress simulation here is three-dimensional solid elements of an 8-node linear brick. In the coupled calculation between the thermo-fluid calculation and the stress calculation a same mesh model have to be used. Consequently same discrete 3D meshes used for the thermo-fluid analysis are employed for the stress calculation. Using ABAQUS, the deformations and stresses in a material under a load are calculated. Besides this treatment, the initial and final conditions of models can be set as the boundary conditions and the structural change can thus be treated. 

The calculation of thermal stresses in functionally graded materials is already a relatively old topic (Yang et al., 2003). Two methods can be distinguished analytical methods and finite element methods. However, the complicating effect of the elastic modulus variation with the position severely limits the scope of problems that can be solved analytically. Therefore, the majority of the analytical work has been for FGM films or other simple structures (Becker et al., 2000). Analytical models have been developed for the calculation of thermal stresses for 1-D FGM symmetrical plates (Jung et al., 2003), non-... 

From the standpoint of the continuum simulation of processes in the mechanics of materials, modeling ultimately boils down to the solution of boundary value problems. What this means in particular is the search for solutions of the equations of continuum dynamics in conjunction with some constitutive model and boundary conditions of relevance to the problem at hand. In this section after setting down some of the key theoretical tools used in continuum modeling, we set ourselves the task of striking a balance between the analytic and numerical tools that have been set forth for solving boundary value problems. In particular, we will examine Green function techniques in the setting of linear elasticity as well as the use of the finite element method as the basis for numerical solutions. 

Liu et al. (2004, 2005) examined a three-dimensional non-linear coupled auto-catalytic cure kinetic model and transient-heat-transfer model solved by finite-element methods to simulate the microwave cure process for underfill materials. Temperature and conversion inside the underfill during a microwave cure process were evaluated by solving the nonlinear anisotropic heat-conduction equation including internal heat generation produced by exothermic chemical reactions. 

As a complementary approach a mean-field method is used in combination with the finite element method to investigate the FGM. To compare the predictions with the periodic unit cell simulations, the FGM part is divided into nine sublayers. Each of them consists of two bi-quadratic 8-node plane elements over the thickness, and only one element is used in the horizontal direction. The parts of pure alumina and pure nickel are modeled by three and 12 elements, respectively. In each sublayer the volume fractions of the phases are constant. In addition, the center sublayer can be split into a metal-matrix and a ceramic-matrix half sublayer. The properties of the particular material on the meso-structural level within the finite element calculation are described via a con-... 

A computational design procedure of a thermoelectric power device using Functionally Graded Materials (FGM) is presented. A model of thermoelectric materials is presented for transport properties of heavily doped semiconductors, electron and phonon transport coefficients are calculated using band theory. And, a procedure of an elastic thermal stress analysis is presented on a functionally graded thermoelectric device by two-dimensional finite element technique. First, temperature distributions are calculated by two-dimensional non-linear finite element method based on expressions of thermoelectric phenomenon. Next, using temperature distributions, thermal stress distributions are computed by two-dimensional elastic finite element analysis. 

There has been the question why the TPV materials with ductile thermoplastic matrix display rubber elasticity. Several models have been suggested to answer this question (41 7). Inoue group first analyzed the origin of mbber elasticity in TPVs (43). They constructed a two-dimensional model with four EPDM mbber inclusions in ductile PP matrix and carried out the elastic-plastic analysis on the deformation mechanism of the two-phase system by finite-element method (FEM). The FEM analysis revealed that, even at highly deformed states at which almost the whole matrix has been yielded by the stress concentration, the ligament matrix between mbber inclusions in the stretching direction is locally preserved within an elastic limit and it acts as an in-situ formed adhesive for interconnecting mbber particles. 

Relaxation times are commonly measured for porous media that have been saturated with a fluid such as water or an aqueous brine solution. The observed relaxation times are strongly dependent on the pore size, the distribution of pore sizes, the type of material (e.g. content of paramagnetic ions) and the water content. While relaxation times in porous media have been modelled using random walk methods and finite-element methods, simplified models are usually needed to obtain information on pore space. Section 3.2 reviews the standard model used to analyse relaxation behaviour of fluid in macroporous samples such as rocks. Mesoporous materials such as porous silica will be discussed in Section 3.3. 

Sound knowledge of the joint behavior is required for a successful design of bonded joints. To characterize the bonded joint, the loading in the joint and the mechanical properties of the substrates and of the adhesives must be properly defined. The behavior of the bonded joint is investigated by finite element (FE) analysis methods. While for the design of large structures a cost-efficient modeling method is necessary, the nonlinear finite element methods with a hyperelastic material model are required for the detailed joint analysis. Our experience of joint analysis is presented below, and compared with test results for mass transportation applications. 

A large number of neck and spinal models also have been developed over the past four decades. A paper by Kleinberger [1993] provides a brief and incomplete review of these models. However, the method of choice for modeling the response of the neck is the finite-element method, principally because of the complex geometry of the vertebral components and the interaction of several different materials. A partially validated model for impact response was developed by Yang et al. [1998] to simulate both crown impact as well as the whiplash phenomenon due to a rear-end impact. 

Theret et al. [1988] analyzed the micropipette experiment with endothelial cell. The cell was interpreted as a linear elastic isotropic half-space, and the pipette was considered as an axisymmetric rigid ptmch. This approach was later extended to a viscoelastic material of the cell and to the model of the cell as a deformable layer. The solutions were obtained both analytically by using the Laplace transform and numerically by using the finite element method. Spector et al. [ 1998] analyzed the application of the micropipette to a cylindrical cochlear outer hair cell. The cell composite membrane (wall) was treated as an orthotropic elastic shell, and the corresponding problem was solved in terms of Fourier series. Recently, Hochmuth [2000] reviewed the micropipette technique applied to the analysis of the cellular properties. 

The use of numerical finite element methods to simulate the dynamic behaviour of structures used to be mostly the provision of academic researchers. However, the very considerable increase in cheap computing power has resulted in wide-scale industrial use, quite often as a design tool. Dynamic FE codes have also become user-friendly and very sophisticated in modelling complex geometries and material... 

The Finite Element Method is a very powerful and convenient tool to obtain temperature fields accounting for the variable material properties in the analysis. Figure 19 shows a two-dimensional model for FEM analysis. For calculation, the temperature on the rake face of a diamond tool is calculated. Two-dimensional heat conduction can be expressed by the equation ... 

The above understanding forms the basis for the development of thermophysical and thermomechanical property sub-models for composite materials at elevated and high temperatures, and also for the description of the post-fire status of the material. By incorporating these thermophysical property sub-models into heat transfer theory, thermal responses can be calculated using finite difference method. By integrating the thermomechanical property sub-models within structural theory, the mechanical responses can be described using finite element method and the time-to-failure can also be predicted if a failure criterion is defined. 

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