It is not easy for mechanical engineers to simulate microstructures of materials (such as composite materials). If it is necessary to simulate the microstructure of matter, the volume of calculations in finite element simulation is so large that it is not possible to do it with any computer. If the geometry of the structure is also complex (such as optimized geometry), the computational volume will increase. If the microstructure of matter is complex, the only way left to simulate it is to use the homogenization of the properties of matter. However, the use of micromechanical methods has found its place in computational mechanics in recent years, and more and more researchers are paying attention to it.
Micromechanics in Ansys software :
In ANSYS Mechanical Enterprise, there is a feature called ANSYS Material Designer that allows optimizing the microstructure of the material and homogenizing its properties for complex materials and composites.
In the video below, the material designer demo in Ansys is explained for about 3 minutes.
Material Designer can calculate the temperature and elastic properties of a heterogeneous material such as that present in composite materials. To do this, the software defines a representative volume element (RVE) of the material microstructure. representative volume element is the smallest volume of matter that has the same characteristics of matter at the macro scale. In Material Designer, engineers can define RVE with any shape and dimensions.
Using Material Designer, it is possible for engineers to analyze RVEs of any shape and size. Some of the predefined microstructures in Material Designer are listed below:
- Unidirectional Composites
- Woven composites
- Chopped Composites
In the software environment, it is possible to model other microstructures according to need.
After determining the homogeneous characteristics of the composite material in the material designer, the information obtained can be used in ANSYS Mechanical or ANSYS Workbench. By understanding the behavior of matter at the microscale and its effect on the macro behavior of matter, it is possible to optimize production according to need.
Banumusa Co. capability :
Modeling of various micromechanical models- Definition of various boundary conditions in micromechanical models
- Definition of different micromechanical geometries in finite element software
- Extract results
- Define and use different homogenization methods
- Predicting multi-scale material failure
- Application of micromechanics in computational modeling of nanomaterials
- Application of micromechanics in medical modeling
Softwares
Abacus (use of subroutine writing, scripting, and existing plugins)
Ansys
The company has conducted numerous researches and projects to simulate the failure of composite materials using micromechanical methods. Contact us for a free consultation and more information.
