Strength analysis of random short-fibre-reinforced metal matrix composite materials

A theory to analyse the strength of composite materials with randomly oriented short fibres has been developed. The short fibres are assumed to be uniformly distributed and randomly oriented in three dimensions. The non-homogeneous deformation within the composite has been taken into account in the strength calculation. The influences of thermal stress in the short fibres, the short-fibre dispersion hardening and the dislocation density in the matrix on the composite strength have all been estimated, and the strengthening mechanisms involved are discussed. A comparison with previous strength theory suggests that the present theory gives a better agreement with experimental data, and can be used to explain some experimental phenomena that remain unsolved.     

A sparse matrix open boundary method for finite element analysis

A novel implicit mapping method for handling exterior- and far-field problems is described. The method provides a way of maintaining sparsity. Several boundary methods are compared, and the implicit mapping approach is described in detail. In terms of complexity the proposed method is more expensive than a hybrid or ballooning method, but this cost is offset for many problems by its simplicity and the fact that far-field values are readily available. In addition, the method can be used to extend the range of boundary conditions available in a standard finite-element package to include inhomogeneous Neumann conditions     

Numerical analysis of fibre bridging and fatigue crack growth in metal matrix composite materials

The analysis of bridged crack configurations in unidirectional fibre-reinforced composites is relevant to a variety of crack growth problems, including the fatigue of metal matrix composites and the study of fibre failure in the wake of a bridged matrix crack. Details of numerical procedures for predicting fibre stresses and their effect on crack tip stress intensity factors are presented here to provide a useful overview of how standard bridging calculations are done. Results are presented and discussed in the context of predicting fatigue crack growth with fibre failure in metal matrix composites.     

Thermoelastoplastic analysis of a filamentary metal matrix composite

The thermoelastoplastic behavior of a unidirectional metal matrix composite (SiC/Al) material was studied with a coaxial cylinder model. The fiber is considered elastic and temperature-independent whereas the matrix is thermoviscoplastic and fitted into a series of power-law strain hardening models. The analysis was based on a successive approximation scheme with the plastic flow rule and von Mises yield criterion. The three-dimensional state of stress in the fiber and matrix was computed for mechanical and thermal loadings. In addition, the stress-strain curves under longitudinal tension at different temperatures and the thermal strain-temperature relation of the composite were predicted and compared with experimental results. The predicted stress-strain curves under longitudinal tension at different temperature showed good agreement with experimental results. The predicted thermal strain-temperature curves in the longitudinal and transverse directions were also in favorable agreement with experimental ones.     

A dual-reciprocity boundary element method for axisymmetric thermoelastostatic analysis of nonhomogeneous materials

The problem of determining the axisymmetric time-independent temperature and thermoelastic displacement and stress fields in a nonhomogeneous material is solved numerically by using a dual-reciprocity boundary element technique. Interpolating functions that are bounded in the solution domain but that are in relatively simple elementary forms for easy computation are constructed for treating the domain integrals in the dual-reciprocity boundary element formulation. The proposed numerical approach is successfully applied to solve several specific problems.     

Transient liquid-phase bonding of alumina and metal matrix composite base materials

Transient liquid-phase (TLP) bonding of aluminium-based metal matrix composite (MMC) and Al2O3 ceramic materials has been investigated, particularly the relationship between particle segregation, copper interlayer thickness, holding time and joint shear strength properties. The long completion time and the slow rate of movement of the solid–liquid interface during MMC/Al2O3 bonding markedly increased the likelihood of forming a particle-segregated layer at the dissimilar joint interface. Preferential failure occurred through the particle-segregated layer in dissimilar joints produced using 20 and 30 μm thick copper foils and long holding times (≥20 min). When the particle-segregated layer was very thin (<10 μm), joint failure was determined by the residual stress distribution in the Al2O3/MMC joints, not by preferential fracture through the particle-segregated layer located at the bondline. Satisfactory shear strength properties were obtained when a thin (5 μm thick) copper foil was used during TLP bonding at 853 K. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Transient dynamic boundary element analysis using Gaussian-based mass matrix

This paper presents a new boundary element formulation for transient dynamic analysis. The formulation is based on the solution of the problem using the static fundamental solution. The inertia term is approximated using particular solutions using radial bases functions. Another collocation scheme is preformed to determine suitable coefficients for the radial bases function approximation. The Gaussian radial bases function is used as it rapidly decays leading to better conditioned and sparse matrices. The necessary kernels are derived and their limiting values at the singular node are given. The formulation is implemented into a computer program that accounts for boundary and internal nodes. Two examples are presented to show the accuracy and the validity of the present formulation. A numerical discussion on using the Gaussian function with compact supported or cut-off radius is also given.     

An advanced 3D boundary element method for characterizations of composite materials

Some recent developments in the modeling of composite materials using the boundary element method (BEM) are presented in this paper. The boundary integral equation for 3D multi-domain elasticity problems is reviewed. Difficulties in dealing with nearly-singular integrals, which arise in the BEM modeling of composite materials with closely packed fillers or of thin films, are discussed. New and improved techniques to deal with the nearly-singular integrals in the 3D elasticity BEM are presented. Numerical examples of layered thin films and composites with randomly distributed particles and fibers are studied. The advantages and limitations of the BEM approach in modeling advanced composites are also discussed. The developed BEM with multi-domain and thin-body capabilities is demonstrated to be a promising tool for simulations and characterization of various composite materials.     

A material model for the finite element analysis of metal matrix composites

A finite element based procedure is presented which accounts for micromechanical nonlinear behavior of the matrix material in continuous fiber reinforced composites. The micromechanical model is a periodic hexagonal array of elastic fibers embedded in an elastic-plastic matrix material. This model is used to calculate the overall instantaneous material matrix at material points of a macromechanical finite element model of the structure being analyzed. The procedure is applied to a number of metal matrix composite systems subjected to thermomechanical loads.     

Finite element analysis of damaged woven fabric composite materials

Since fiber reinforced composite materials have been used in main parts of structures, an accurate evaluation of their mechanical characteristics becomes very important. Due to their anisotropic nature and complicated architecture, it is very difficult to reveal the damage mechanisms of these materials from the results of mechanical tests. Therefore, there is a need to conduct reliable simulations and analytical evaluations. In this paper, the damage behavior of FRP is simulated by finite element analysis using an anisotropic damage model based on damage mechanics. The proposed procedure is applied to an example; the finite element analysis of microscopic damage propagation in woven fabric composites. Experimental tests have been conducted to evaluate the validity of the proposed method. It is recognized that there is a good agreement between the computational and experimental results, and that the proposed simulation method is very useful for the evaluation of damage mechanisms.     

The mechanical properties of friction welded aluminium-based metal–matrix composite materials

The optimum joining parameters for the friction joining of aluminium-based metal–matrix composite (MMC) materials are examined. The properties of MMC/MMC, MMC/alloy 6061 and alloy 6061/alloy 6061 joints are derived following detailed factorial experimentation. The mechanical properties of the joints are evaluated using a combination of notch tensile testing and also conventional tensile and fatigue testing. The frictional pressure has a statistically-significant effect on the notch tensile strength of joints produced in all base material combinations. The upset pressure has only a statistically-significant influence on the notch tensile strength properties of alloy 6061/alloy 6061 joints. The notch tensile strengths of MMC/alloy 6061 joints are significantly lower than MMC/MMC and alloy 6061/alloy 6061 joints for all joining parameter settings. The fatigue strength of MMC/MMC joints and alloy 6061/6061 joints are also poorer than the as-received base materials. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Tangent modulus matrix for finite element analysis of hyperelastic materials

Summary In this study, using the VEC operator [1], compact expressions are formulated for the tangent modulus matrix of hyperelastic materials, in particular elastomers, using Lagrangian coordinates. Compressible, incompressible, and near-compressible materials are considered. Expressions are obtained for the corresponding finite element tangent stiffness matrices. It is observed that the incremental stress-strain relations should be considered anisotropic. Numerical procedures based on Newton iteration are sketched. The limiting case of small strain is developed. Finally, the tangent modulus matrix is presented for the Mooney-Rivlin material, with application to the rubber rod element.     

泡沫金属基复合相变材料的有效导热系数研究

为了更有效地预测泡沫金属基复合相变材料(composite phase claange material,CPCM)的导热性能,提出了一种新的CPCM相分布模型,以此为基础建立了带有空穴子模型的简化传热模型,并利用等效热阻法推导得到泡沫金属基CPCM有效导热系数的通用计算式.传热模型考虑了相变过程中相变材料(plnase change material,PCM)的体积变化和空穴分布的影响,使得有效导热系数的计算结果更加符合实际.     

Dual-nanoparticulate-reinforced aluminum matrix composite materials

Aluminum (Al) matrix composite materials reinforced with carbon nanotubes (CNT) and silicon carbide nanoparticles (nano-SiC) were fabricated by mechanical ball milling, followed by hot-pressing. Nano-SiC was used as an active mixing agent for dispersing the CNTs in the Al powder. The hardness of the produced composites was dramatically increased, up to eight times higher than bulk pure Al, by increasing the amount of nano-SiC particles. A small quantity of aluminum carbide (Al(4)C(3)) was observed by TEM analysis and quantified using x-ray diffraction. The composite with the highest hardness values contained some nanosized Al(4)C(3). Along with the CNT and the nano-SiC, Al(4)C(3) also seemed to play a role in the enhanced hardness of the composites. The high energy milling process seems to lead to a homogeneous dispersion of the high aspect ratio CNTs, and of the nearly spherical nano-SiC particles in the Al matrix. This powder metallurgical approach could also be applied to other nanoreinforced composites, such as ceramics or complex matrix materials.     

A boundary element method for analysis of thermoelastic deformations in materials with temperature dependent properties

In this paper, the boundary element method (BEM) for solving quasi‐static uncoupled thermoelasticity problems in materials with temperature dependent properties is presented. The domain integral term, in the integral representation of the governing equation, is transformed to an equivalent boundary integral by means of the dual reciprocity method (DRM). The required particular solutions are derived and outlined. The method ensures numerically efficient analysis of thermoelastic deformations in an arbitrary geometry and loading conditions. The validity and the high accuracy of the formulation is demonstrated considering a series of examples. In all numerical tests, calculation results are compared with analytical and/or finite element method (FEM) solutions. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dual scale non-linear stress analysis of a fibrous metal matrix composite

Precise estimation of local stress profiles in individual phases of a fiber reinforced metal matrix composite is a crucial concern for design of composites. Stress profiles are significantly affected by plastic relaxation of soft matrix. In this work, an analytical model was developed to compute local stress profiles in individual phases of fibrous metal matrix composites. To this end, embedded cell cylindrical composite model was applied in which a layered concentric cylinder consisting of a fiber-, matrix- and homogenized composite layers was used. Mean field micromechanics was integrated into the conventional elasticity solution process so that micro-macro dual scale analysis could be performed. The algorithm was formulated in an iterative incremental structure which was able to perform plastic analysis. This also allows temperature dependence of flow stress to be considered. Taking copper-SiC system as a reference composite, stress profiles were obtained for mechanical and thermal loading cases. For comparison, independent finite element analyses were carried out for two different unit cell models. Excellent agreement between analytical and numerical solutions was found for the mechanical loading case even for plastic range. In the case of thermal loading, however, plastic solutions revealed notable difference in quantity, especially for the axial stress component.     

Stress and strength analysis of composite joints using direct boundary element method

In this paper, the stress distribution and the strength of bolted joints of orthotropic composite plates under uniform loading are investigated. A direct boundary element method with quadratic isoparametric elements in conjunction with a fundamental solution derived by Rizzo and Shippy¹ is used. Plates with rigid bolts are treated as two-dimensional plane stress problems, and the bolt size is considered to be identical to the hole dimension. The prediction of the laminate strength is based on the Yamada-Sun² failure criterion. Some numerical results for various edge distances and material properties are presented for illustrative purposes.     

A fast multipole hybrid boundary node method for composite materials

This article presents a multi-domain fast multipole hybrid boundary node method for composite materials in 3D elasticity. The hybrid boundary node method (hybrid BNM) is a meshless method which only requires nodes constructed on the surface of a domain. The method is applied to 3D simulation of composite materials by a multi-domain solver and accelerated by the fast multipole method (FMM) in this paper. The preconditioned GMRES is employed to solve the final system equation and precondition techniques are discussed. The matrix–vector multiplication in each iteration is divided into smaller scale ones at the sub-domain level and then accelerated by FMM within individual sub-domains. The computed matrix–vector products at the sub-domain level are then combined according to the continuity conditions on the interfaces. The algorithm is implemented on a computer code written in C + +. Numerical results show that the technique is accurate and efficient.     

Computational micromechanical analysis of the representative volume element of bituminous composite materials

Micromechanical computational modeling is used in this study to determine the smallest domain, or Representative Volume Element (RVE), that can be used to characterize the effective properties of composite materials such as Asphalt Concrete (AC). Computational Finite Element (FE) micromechanical modeling was coupled with digital image analysis of surface scans of AC specimens. Three mixtures with varying Nominal Maximum Aggregate Size (NMAS) of 4.75 mm, 12.5 mm, and 25 mm, were prepared for digital image analysis and computational micromechanical modeling. The effects of window size and phase modulus mismatch on the apparent viscoelastic response of the composite were numerically examined. A good agreement was observed in the RVE size predictions based on micromechanical computational modeling and image analysis. Micromechanical results indicated that a degradation in the matrix stiffness increases the corresponding RVE size. Statistical homogeneity was observed for window sizes equal to two to three times the NMAS. A model was presented for relating the degree of statistical homogeneity associated with each window size for materials with varying inclusion dimensions.     

Simulation of perforation and penetration in metal matrix composite materials using coupled viscoplastic damage model

In the first part of the two companion papers, theoretical formulation of the multiscale micromechanical constitutive model that couples the anisotropic damage mechanism with the viscoplastic deformation is presented. In the second part of these companion papers the numerical simulation of the computational aspects of the theory are elaborated. The perforation and penetration problem of metal matrix composites (MMCs) due to high impact loading is simulated. In this sense, the computational aspects of the developed theory are elaborated here. First, the verification of the developed model is performed through its numerical implementation in order to test the model predictions of the material characteristic tests. This encompasses uniaxial monotonic loading and unloading under different strain rates, uniaxial cyclic loading, and uniaxial loading and relaxation. The verified material routine of the developed model is then implemented in the explicit finite element code ABAQUS via the user defined subroutine VUMAT at each integration point in order to analyze the projectile impact and penetration into laminated composite plates.