Prof. Yu's Research Group in the Cloud

Elastic analysis of a plate

This tutorial shows how to calculate cross-sectional properties of a woven plate with given dimensions and material properties using Gmsh4SC.
Perform linear elastic MSG-based modeling of plates with M30S fibers and PMT-F7 epoxy resin with properties given below. The material properties of the PMT-F7 epoxy are, E = 2990 MPa and ν = 0.36.
Table 1. Material Properties of M30S.
Table 2. Geometric properties of the cured M30S/PMT-F7 composite. (Image(t2.PNG) failed - File not found)
Solution The problem is solved in two steps. 1) Elastic analysis at microscale, using Gmsh4SC in terms of fiber and matrix. 2) Elastic analysis at mesoscale, using TexGen4SC in terms of yarn and matrix. Both Gmsh4SC and TexGen4SC are available at cdmHUB.org
1) Elastic analysis at microscale Go to https://cdmhub.org/tools/scstandard and launch the Gmsh4SC tool. (Figure 1)

1.1 Creating a new model Go to File select New and save the model as shown in the figures below. (Figures 2 to 3)

1.2 Creating materials Go to Material select Thermoelastic and in the pop up window choose the material type (Isotropic, Orthotropic or Anisotropic) and set the material constants and material name, then select Add. Repeat this for all the materials required for the model and close the material properties window. (Figures 4 to 6)

1.3 Creating geometry Go to Geometry select 2D SG and choose Other 2D SGs and in the pop up window, set the Type of models as Square Pack Microstructure. Modify the Volume fraction of the fiber accordingly and set the Fiber material and Matrix material as required and Add. Close the Window. (Figures 7 to 8)

1.4 Setting the mesh Go to Mesh select Generate 2D mesh and choose Generate. To get a finer mesh, go to Input control, click on Edit file and in the pop up window and scroll down to the three Transfinite line commands and increase their value by the factor you wish to increase your mesh. In this example the mesh is increased by a factor of three. Then save the changes in the window and exit it. Generate the mesh again. (Figures 9 to 12)

1.5 Homogenization Go to SwiftComp and select Homogenization, and in the window keep the preset options, save the model and run it. The homogenized results will be displayed in a new pop up window. (Figures 13 to 14)

2) Elastic analysis at mesoscale Go to https://cdmhub.org/tools/texgen4sc and launch the TexGen4SC tool. (Figure 15)

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2.1 Set up Go to Windows and select Controls and Outliner, if they are not automatically open. (Figures 16 to 17)

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2.2 Creating the weave Go to Weave in controls and set the weave values in the wizard pop up window. Check the Create layered textile option and uncheck the Add 10% to domain height option. Set Number of weave layers as three. Yarn spacing is the distance between two yarn’s mid axis and is given by Weave length – two width = 3.51 mm. Fabric Thickness is laminate thickness/number of layers = 0.171/3 = 0.057 mm. Set Weave pattern as shown by clicking on two adjecnt yarns. (Figures 18 to 19)

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2.3 Setting fiber volume fraction Go to the outliner tree, select yarn (0), scroll down and select the last node holding shift to select all yarns. In Controls, click on Textiles and select Modeller, select all three section at node options and check the smooth box. In Edit Section, choose the cross-section to be a power ellipse, and set the power to an approximate value say 0.5. Go to options and click on the quick calculate Domain volume fraction option and compare it with the required domain volume fraction. Keep adjusting the power till the appropriate value is reached. In this example, the power is set at 0.25 to get Domain volume fraction as 0.838. Domain volume fraction = Fiber volume fraction of laminate/ Fiber volume fraction of tow = 0.52/0.62 = 0.838. (Figures 20 to 29)

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2.4 Setting yarn and matrix properties Go to Yarn properties under Modeller and set the values obtained from the micro analysis. Similarly set the given matrix properties under Matrix properties. (Figures 30 to 32) (Image(30.PNG) failed - File not found) (Image(31.PNG) failed - File not found) (Image(32.PNG) failed - File not found)

2.5 Homogenization Go to File, select Export, choose SwiftComp file and in the pop up wizard, set the mesh value (voxel count), check the Plate/Shell model and also check the Kirchhoff-Love model. Save the model under a suitable name and under Controls, choose Textile and select Run SC homogenization. (Figures 33 to 36)

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Created on 14 Sep 2020, Last modified on 18 Sep 2020