• Computers and Concrete
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.365-386
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• 2010

This paper presents the physical formulation of a 1D material model suitable for seismic applications. It is written within the framework of thermodynamics with internal variables that is, especially, very efficient for the phenomenological representation of material behaviors at macroscale: those of the representative elementary volume. The model can reproduce the main characteristics observed for concrete, that is nonsymetric loading rate-dependent (viscoelasticity) behavior with appearance of permanent deformations and local hysteresis (continuum plasticity), stiffness degradation (continuum damage), cracking due to displacement localization (discrete plasticity or damage). The parameters have a clear physical meaning and can thus be easily identified. Although this point is not detailed in the paper, this material model is developed to be implemented in a finite element computer program. Therefore, for the benefit of the robustness of the numerical implementation, (i) linear state equations (no local iteration required) are defined whenever possible and (ii) the conditions in which the presented model can enter the generalized standard materials class - whose elements benefit from good global and local stability properties - are clearly established. To illustrate the capabilities of this model - among them for Earthquake Engineering applications - results of some numerical applications are presented.

• Composites Research
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.66-72
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• 2016

Porosity in polymer matrix composites increases rapidly during thermochemical decomposition at high temperatures. The generation of pores reduces elastic moduli and failure strengths of composite materials, and gas pressures in internal pores influence thermomechanical behaviors. In this paper, micromechanical finite element analysis is carried out by using two-dimensional representative volume elements for unidirectionally fiber-reinforced composites with porous matrix. According to the state of the pores, effective elastic moduli, poroelastic parameters and failure strengths of the overall composites are investigated in detail. In particular, it is confirmed that the failure strengths in the transvers and through-thickness directions are predicted much more weakly than the strength of nonpored matrix, and decrease consistently as the porosity of matrix increases.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.527-534
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• 2014

Poroelastic analyses of fiber-reinforced composites were performed using image-based computational models. The section image of a porous matrix was analyzed in order to investigate the porosity, number of pores, and distribution of pores. The resolution, location, and size of the section image were considered to quantify the effective elastic modulus, poroelastic parameter, and strain energy density using the image-based computational models. The poroelastic parameter was calculated from the effective elastic modulus and pore pressure-induced strain. In addition, the results of the poroelastic analyses were verified through representative volume elements by simplifying various pore configurations and arrangements.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.269-283
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• 2012

In the present paper, a multilevel approach for the local nanobuckling analysis of carbon nanotube (CNT) based composite materials is proposed and described. The approach comprises four levels, all of them at nanoscale. The first level aims to propose the potential that describes the interatomic forces between carbon atoms. In the second level, molecular dynamics simulations are performed to extract the elastic properties of the CNT. The third level aims to determine the stiffness of the material that surrounds the CNT (matrix), using the annular membrane analysis. In the fourth level, finite strip analysis of the CNT elastically restrained by the matrix is performed to calculate the critical strain at which the CNT buckles locally. In order to achieve accurate results and take the CNT-matrix interaction into account, the $3^{rd}$ and $4^{th}$ steps may be repeated iteratively until convergence is achieved. The proposed multilevel approach is applied to several CNTs embedded in a cylindrical representative volume element and illustrated in detail. It shows that (i) the interaction between the CNT and the matrix should be taken into account and (ii) the buckling at nanoscale is sensitive to several types of local buckling modes.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.72 no.6
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• pp.713-722
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• 2019

Micromechanics is a technique for the analysis of composites or heterogeneous materials which focuses on the components of the intended structure. Each one of the components can exhibit isotropic behavior, but the microstructure characteristics of the heterogeneous material result in the anisotropic behavior of the structure. In this research, the general mechanical properties of a 3D anisotropic and heterogeneous Representative Volume Element (RVE), have been determined by applying periodic boundary conditions (PBCs), using the Asymptotic Homogenization Theory (AHT) and strain energy. In order to use the homogenization theory and apply the periodic boundary conditions, the ABAQUS scripting interface (ASI) has been used along with the Python programming language. The results have been compared with those of the Homogeneous Boundary Conditions method, which leads to an overestimation of the effective mechanical properties. According to the results, applying homogenous boundary conditions results in a 33% and 13% increase in the shear moduli G₂₃ and G₁₂, respectively. In polymeric composites, the fibers have linear and brittle behavior, while the resin exhibits a non-linear behavior. Therefore, the nonlinear effects of resin on the mechanical properties of the composite material is studied using a user-defined subroutine in Fortran (USDFLD). The non-linear shear stress-strain behavior of unidirectional composite laminates has been obtained. Results indicate that at arbitrary constant stress as 80 MPa in-plane shear modulus, G₁₂, experienced a 47%, 41% and 31% reduction at the fiber volume fraction of 30%, 50% and 70%, compared to the linear assumption. The results of this study are in good agreement with the analytical and experimental results available in the literature.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.158-166
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• 2009

As a basic study for investigating the development of the stress-induced crack in Hoek-Brown rock, a homogenization technique of elastic cracks is proposed. The onset of crack is monitored by Hoek-Brown empirical criterion, while the orientation of the crack is determined by the critical plane approach. The concept of volume averaging in stress and strain component was invoked to homogenize the representative rock volume which consists of intact rock and cracks. The formulation results in the constitutive relations for the homogenized equivalent anisotropic material. The homogenization model was implemented in the standard FEM code COSMOSM. The numerical uniaxial tests were performed under plane strain condition to check the validity of the propose numerical model. The effect of friction between the loading plate and the rock sample on the mode of deformation and fracturing was examined by assuming two different contact conditions. The numerical simulation revealed that the homogenized model is able to capture the salient features of deformation and fracturing which are observed commonly in the uniaxial compression test.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.17-24
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• 2013

In this paper, a micro-mechanical failure prediction program is developed based on SIFT (Strain Invariant Failure Theory) by using the multi-scale modeling method for fiber-reinforced composite materials. And the failure analysis are performed for open-hole composite laminate specimen in order to verify the developed program. First of all, the critical strain invariants are obtained through the tensile tests for three types of specimens. Also, the matrices of strain amplification factors are determined through the finite element analysis for micro-mechanical model, RVE (Representative Volume Element). Finally, the microscopic failure analysis is performed for the open-hole composite laminate specimen model by applying a failure load obtained from tensile test, and the predicted failure indices are evaluated for verification of the developed program.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.89-94
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• 2014

The high Young's modulus and tensile strength of carbon nanotubes has attracted great attention from the research community given the potential for developing super-strong, super-stiff composites with carbon nanotube reinforcements. Over the decades, the strength and stiffness of carbon nanotube-reinforced polymer nanocomposites have been researched extensively. However, unfortunately, such strong composite materials have not been developed yet. It has been reported that the efficiency of load transfer in such systems is critically dependent on the quality of adhesion between the nanotubes and the polymer chains. In addition, the waviness and orientation of the nanotubes embedded in a matrix reduce the reinforcement effectiveness. In this study, we carried out performed micromechanics-based numerical modeling and analysis by varying the geometry of carbon nanotubes including their aspect ratio, orientation, and waviness. The results of this analysis allow for a better understanding of the load transfer capabilities of carbon nanotube-reinforced polymer composites.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Advanced Composite Structures
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.1-11
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• 2011

The typical truss-lattice material successively packed by repeated cubic symmetric unit cells consists of sub-elements (SE) proposed in this study. The representative continuum model for this truss-lattice material such as the effective strain and stress relationship can be formulated by the homogenization procedure based on the notation of averaged mechanical properties. The volume fractions of micro-scale struts have a significant influence on the effective strength as well as the relative density in the lattice plate with replicable unit cell structures. Most of the strength contribution in the lattice material is induced by axial stiffness under uniform stretching or compression responses. Therefore, continuum based constitutive models composed of homogenized member stiffness include these mechanical characteristics with respect to strength, internal stress state, material density based on the volume fraction and even failure modes. It can be also recognized that the stress state of micro-scale struts is directly associated with the continuum constitutive model. The plastic flow at the micro-scale stress can extend the envelope of the analytical stress function on the surface of macro-scale stress derived from homogenized constitutive equations. The main focus of this study is to investigate the basic topology of unit cell structures with the cubic symmetric system and to formulate the plastic models to predict pressure dependent macro-scale stress surface functions.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.48 no.9
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• pp.663-670
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• 2020

A study on mechanical property characterization and modeling technique was carried out to approximate the behaviour of structures with 2.5D C/SiC material. Several tensile tests were performed to analyze the behaviour characteristics of the 2.5D C/SiC material and elastic property was characterized by applying a mathematical homogenization and a modified rule of mixture. SiC matrix representing the elasto-plastic behavior approximates as a bilinear function. Then the equivalent yield strength and equivalent plastic stiffness were calculated by minimizing errors in experiment and approximation. RVE(Representative Volume Element)was defined from the fiber and matrix configuration of 2.5D C/SiC and a process of calculating the effective stiffness matrix by applying the modified rule of mixture to RVE was implemented in the ABAQUS User-defined subroutine. Finite element analysis was performed by applying the mechanical properties of fiber and matrix calculated based on the proposed process, and the results were in good agreement with the experimental results.