Multiscale modeling of semiflexible random fibrous structures

  • Authors:

  • H. Hatami-Marbini;A. Shahsavari;R. C. Picu

  • Affiliations:

  • Mechanical Engineering Department, Stanford University, Stanford CA 94305, USA;Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA;Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA

  • Venue:
  • Computer-Aided Design
  • Year:
  • 2013

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Abstract

Biological as well as manmade materials with fibrous microstructures are ubiquitous in everyday life. At a certain length scale of observation, these materials appear in the form of a random network of cross-linked (connected) filaments. The computational effort required for investigating the mechanics of these structures by modeling the deformation of each fiber is very large. Therefore, a proper representation of their overall mechanical properties requires developing multiscale schemes capable of describing the behavior of the discrete system with a continuum model without loss of essential microstructural details. This article discusses two approaches developed for solving boundary value problems on large fiber-network domains using scale coupling techniques. We present first considerations related to sequential multiscale modeling, in particular linked to the scale of transition from a discrete to a continuum model of the network. Further, we review a method designed to construct a continuum model for the network structure, which takes into account the intrinsic spatial correlations of network properties. In both techniques, the geometrical and structural properties of network constituents at micro-scales are considered in estimating the macro-scale behavior of the structure subjected to external loads.