Determination of the size of the Representative Volume Element (RVE) for the simulation of heterogeneous polymers at finite strains

• Tipo: Artigo em Revista Científica Internacional
• Data: 2016

Autores

Mirkhalaf, SM (Autor) Outra; F.M. Andrade Pires (Autor) FEUP; Simoes, R (Autor) Outra

Revista

Título: Finite Elements in Analysis and Design

Vol. 119

Páginas: 30-44

ISSN: 0168-874X

Editora: Elsevier

Indexação

ISI Web of Knowledge - 12 Citações

Scopus - 0 Citações

Outras Informações

ID Authenticus: P-00K-J2R

DOI: 10.1016/j.finel.2016.05.004

Abstract (EN): The definition of the size of the Representative Volume Element (RVE) is extremely important for the mechanics and physics of heterogeneous materials since it should statistically represent the microstructure of the material. In the present contribution, a methodology based on statistical analysis and numerical experiments is proposed to determine the size of the RVE for heterogeneous amorphous polymers subjected to finite deformations. The approach is applied to Rubber Toughened Polystyrene (RT-PS) composed by a two phase random micro-structure. Different micro-structural samples with two different percentages of rubbery particles, namely 10% and 15%, inside the micro-structure are studied. Periodic boundary conditions (PBC) are enforced to the RVE due to their fast convergence to the theoretical/effective solution when the RVE size increases. The Finite Element Method (FEM) is used in combination with mathematical homogenization to obtain the macro-stress. Two criteria are proposed for the RVE size determination. The proposed statistical -numerical approach is general and easy to use, when compared to the previously proposed approaches, and covers other criteria available in the literature.

Idioma: Inglês

Tipo (Avaliação Docente): Científica

Nº de páginas: 15