Homogenization procedures for the numerical analysis of eco-composites

Abstract

Homogenization procedures have been gaining more and more emphasis in the field of numerical analysis of composite materials. A homogenization procedure is based on the assumption that a set of equations or a representative element that can provide a response equivalent to the one provided by the actual material exists. A numerical multiscale homogenization will be shown where the behavior of the whole composite is obtained by a micromechanical study of the material components and their interaction within of the composite microstructure through an RVE model. The proposed formulation uses a non-linear activation function in the structural scale and its task is to predict if a material point in the structure is in linear or non-linear range. Because of this, the developed strategy only solves the microscopic Boundary Value Problem using the RVE for the non-linear integration points found. The procedure will be used in the nonlinear numerical simulaction of an eco-composite sanwich panel subjected to a four point bending test.