@Article{icces.2021.08335,
AUTHOR = {Marco Lo Cascio, Marco Grifò, Alberto Milazzo, Ivano Benedetti},
TITLE = {Coupling VEM and BEM for computational homogenization of composite  materials},
JOURNAL = {The International Conference on Computational \& Experimental Engineering and Sciences},
VOLUME = {23},
YEAR = {2021},
NUMBER = {1},
PAGES = {13--13},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/icces/v23n1/42027},
ISSN = {1933-2815},
ABSTRACT = {The Virtual Element Method (VEM) [1] is a recent numerical 
technique that is capable of dealing with very general polygonal and polyhedral 
mesh elements, including irregular or non-convex ones. Because of this feature, 
the VEM ensures noticeable simplification in the data preparation stage of the 
analysis, especially for problems whose analysis domain features complex 
geometries, as in the case of computational micromechanics problems [2]. The 
Boundary Element Method (BEM) [3] is a well-known, extensively used and 
efficient numerical technique that has been successfully employed for the 
computational homogenization of materials with complex morphologies [4]. Due 
to its underlying formulation, the BEM allows reducing the dimensionality of the 
problem, resulting in substantial simplification of the preprocessing stage and in 
the reduction of the computational effort, without jeopardizing the solution 
accuracy. In this contribution, we explore the capabilities of a coupled VEM and 
BEM approach for computational homogenization of heterogeneous materials 
with complex microstructures. The test morphologies consist of unit cells with 
irregularly shaped inclusions, representative e.g. of a fibre-reinforced polymer 
composite. BEM is used to model the inclusions, while the VEM is used to 
model the surrounding matrix material. Benchmark analytical and finite element 
solutions are used to validate the analysis results.},
DOI = {10.32604/icces.2021.08335}
}