S. Zhao¹, Zichun Yang^1,2, X. G. Zhou³, X. Z. Ling⁴, L. S. Mora⁵, D. Khoshkhou⁶, J. Marrow⁵

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.42, No.2, pp. 103-124, 2014, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2014.042.103

Abstract Continuous SiC fiber reinforced SiC matrix composites (SiC/SiC) have been studied and developed for high temperature and fusion applications. Polymer impregnation and pyrolysis (PIP) is a conventional technique for fabricating SiC/SiC composites. In this research, KD-1 SiC fibers were employed as reinforcements, a series of coatings such as pyrocarbon (PyC), SiC and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesized as interphases, PCS and LPVCS were used as precursors and SiC/SiC composites were prepared via the PIP method. The mechanical properties of the SiC/SiC composites were characterized. Relationship between the interphase shear strength and the fracture toughness of the composites was established. X-ray… More >

J. Aubry¹, P. Navarro¹, S. Marguet¹, J.-F. Ferrero¹, O. Dorival², L. Sohier³, J.-Y. Cognard³

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.39, No.1, pp. 21-47, 2014, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2014.039.021

Abstract In this paper a numerical model dedicated to the simulation of the mechanical behaviour of polymeric Rohacell foams is presented. The finite elements model is developed at the scale of the microstructure idealized by a representative unit cell: the truncated octahedron. Observations made on micrographs of Rohacell lead to mesh this representative unit cell as a lattice of beam elements. Each beam is assigned a brittle linear elastic mechanical behaviour in tension and an elastoplastic behaviour in compression. The plasticity in compression is introduced as a way to mimic the buckling of the edges of the cells observed in experimental… More >

L.B. Borkowski¹, K.C. Liu¹, A. Chattopadhyay¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.37, No.3, pp. 161-193, 2013, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2013.037.161

Abstract The microstructural variation in fiber-reinforced composites has a direct relationship with its local and global mechanical performance. When micromechanical modeling techniques for unidirectional composites assume a uniform and periodic arrangement of fibers, the bounds and validity of this assumption must be quantified. The goal of this research is to quantify the influence of microstructural randomness on effective homogeneous response and local inelastic behavior. The results indicate that microstructural progression from ordered to disordered decreases the tensile modulus by 5%, increases the shear modulus by 10%, and substantially increases the magnitude of local inelastic fields. The experimental and numerical analyses presented… More >

Leiting Dong^1,2, Salah H. Gamal³, Satya N. Atluri^2,4

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.37, No.1, pp. 1-21, 2013, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2013.037.001

Abstract In this paper, a simple and reliable procedure of stochastic computation is combined with the highly accurate and efficient Trefftz Computational Grains (TCG), for a direct numerical simulation (DNS) of heterogeneous materials with microscopic randomness. Material properties of each material phase, and geometrical properties such as particles sizes and distribution, are considered to be stochastic with either a uniform or normal probabilistic distributions. The objective here is to determine how this microscopic randomness propagates to the macroscopic scale, and affects the stochastic characteristics of macroscopic material properties. Four steps are included in this procedure: (1) using the Latin hypercube sampling,… More >

R. R. Valisetty¹, A.M. Dongare², A.M. Rajendran³, R. R. Namburu¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.36, No.3, pp. 231-255, 2013, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2013.036.231

Abstract Materials used in soldier protective structures, such as armor, vehicles and civil infrastructures, are being improved for performance in extreme dynamic environments. Nanocrystalline metals show significant promise in the design of these structures with superior strengths attributed to the dislocation-based and grain-boundary-based processes as compared to their polycrystalline counterparts. An optimization of these materials, however, requires a fundamental understanding of damage evolution at the atomic level. Accordingly, atomistic molecular dynamics simulations are performed using an embedded-atom method (EAM) potential on three nano-crystalline aluminum atom systems, one a Voronoi-based nano-crystalline system with an average grain size of 10 nm, and the… More >

A.Z. Lorbiecka¹, B. Šarler^1,2

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.18, No.1, pp. 69-104, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2010.018.069

Abstract The aim of this paper is simulation of thermally induced liquid-solid dendritic growth in two dimensions by a coupled deterministic continuum mechanics heat transfer model and a stochastic localized phase change kinetics model that takes into account the undercooling, curvature, kinetic and thermodynamic anisotropy. The stochastic model receives temperature information from the deterministic model and the deterministic model receives the solid fraction information from the stochastic model. The heat transfer model is solved on a regular grid by the standard explicit Finite Difference Method (FDM). The phase-change kinetics model is solved by the classical Cellular Automata (CA) approach and a… More >

Giacomo Landi¹, Surya R. Kalidindi²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.16, No.3, pp. 273-294, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2010.016.273

Abstract In this paper, we present a computationally efficient multi-scale framework for predicting the local fields in the representative volume element of a multiphase material system subjected to thermo-mechanical loading conditions. This framework for localization relationships is a natural extension of our recent work on two-phase composites subjected to purely mechanical loading. In this novel approach, the localization relationships take on a simple structure expressed as a series sum, where each term in the series is a convolution product of local structure and the governing physics expressed in the form of influence coefficients. Another salient feature of this approach is its… More >

Dustin D. Gerrard¹, David T. Fullwood¹, Denise M. Halverson², Stephen R. Niezgoda³

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.15, No.2, pp. 129-152, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2010.015.129

Abstract The effective properties of composite materials are often strongly related to the connectivity of the material components. Many structure metrics, and related homogenization theories, do not effectively account for this connectivity. In this paper, relationships between the topology, represented via homology theory, and the effective elastic response of composite plates is investigated. The study is presented in the context of popular structure metrics such as percolation theory and correlation functions. More >

C.M. Hefferan¹, S.F. Li¹, J. Lind¹, U. Lienert², A.D. Rollett³, P. Wynblatt³, R.M. Suter^1,3

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.14, No.3, pp. 209-220, 2009, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2009.014.209

Abstract We have measured and reconstructed via forward modeling a small volume of microstructure of high purity, well annealed nickel using high energy x-ray diffraction microscopy (HEDM). Statistical distributions characterizing grain orientations, intra-granular misorientations, and nearest neighbor grain misorientations are extracted. Results are consistent with recent electron backscatter diffraction measurements. Peaks in the grain neighbor misorientation angle distribution at 60 degrees (∑3) and 39 degrees (∑9) have resolution limited widths of ≈ 0.14 degree FWHM. The analysis demonstrates that HEDM can recover grain and grain boundary statistics comparable to OIM volume measurements; more extensive data sets will lead to full, five… More >

S.Ahmadi¹, B.L.Adams¹ , D.T.Fullwood¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.14, No.2, pp. 141-170, 2009, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2009.014.141

Abstract In this paper, a model is introduced to examine the evolution of the microstructure function under plastic deformations. This model is based upon a double continuity relationship that conserves both material particles in the mass space and orientations in the orientation space. An Eulerian description of the motion of material particles and orientations is considered, and continuity relations are derived for both spaces. To show how the proposed model works, two different case studies are provided. In the mass space, the continuity relation is used to examine the evolution of the microstructure function of a two-phase (isotropic) material; while, in… More >