COMPUTATIONAL METHOD OF MATERIAL CONSTANT OF COMPOSITE MATERIAL AND VOLUME FRACTION OF MATERIAL COMPONENT IN COMPOSITE MATERIAL, AND RECORDING MEDIUM

• US 20100223313A1
• Filed: 03/02/2009
• Published: 09/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yokohama Rubber Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Yokohama Rubber Company Limited
• Inventors: Nomura, Seiichi, Suzuki, Nobuo, Kabe, Kazuyuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,380,776 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 708/446
• CPC Class Codes: C08G 59/4021 Ureas; Thioureas; Guanidines; Dicyandiamides
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 63/00 Compositions of epoxy resins; Compositions of derivatives of epoxy resins
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2113/24 Sheet material
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2113/26 Composites
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/23 using finite element methods [FEM] or finite difference methods [FDM]

Abstract

The overall material constant of a composite material is computed where the composite material includes multiple kinds of material components in a matrix phase, each of the material constants of the material components and the matrix phase being known. First, for the composite material, an equation, having the material constant of a virtual composite material as an unknown, is prepared by defining the virtual composite material in which each of the material components is dispersed in a form of spherical particles in the matrix phase at a known volume fractions. Next, the overall material constant of the virtual composite material is found as the overall material constant of the composite material by solving the equation. In this case, the equation is a recursive equation which is obtained using the self-consistent method. The volume fraction of a material component in the composite material is computed using the equation.

Claims

1. A method of computing an overall mechanical material constant of a composite material which includes multiple kinds of material components in a matrix phase, each of mechanical material constants of the material components and the matrix phase being known, comprising the steps of:

preparing a nonlinear equation having an overall material constant of a virtual composite material as an unknown by defining, as the composite material, the virtual composite material in which the material components are dispersed in a form of spherical particles in the matrix phase at known volume fractions; and

finding the overall material constant of the virtual composite material as the overall material constant of the composite material by solving the prepared nonlinear equation, and

wherein the nonlinear equation is a recursive nonlinear equation which is obtained by determining, as the overall material constant of the virtual composite material to be computed, a material constant in surrounding areas of the spherical particles corresponding to the multiple kinds of material components in the virtual composite material.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein,

when the material constant of the matrix phase, the material constants of the multiple kinds of material components, the volume fractions of the multiple kinds of material components and the material constant of the virtual composite material are defined as C^A, C^B1, C^B2, . . . and C^Bn (“

n”

is an integer equal to or greater than

     2), v_B1, v_B2, . . . and v_Bn, and C*, respectively, the nonlinear equation is expressed as;

$C^{*}=C^A+v_{B<br><br><br><br>1}·<br><br>\left(C^{B<br><br><br><br>1}-C^A\right)·<br><br>A<br><br>\left(C^{B<br><br><br><br>1},C^{*}\right)+v_{B<br><br><br><br>2}·<br><br>\left(C^{B<br><br><br><br>2}-C^A\right)·<br><br>A<br><br>\left(C^{B<br><br><br><br>2},C^{*}\right)<br><br><br><br>\mathrm{\dots <br><br>}+v_{\mathrm{Bn}}·<br><br>\left(C^{\mathrm{Bn}}-C^A\right)·<br><br>A<br><br>\left(C^{\mathrm{Bn}},C^{*}\right),$

and expressions A(C^B1,C*), A(C^B2,C*), . . . A(C^Bn,C*) in the equation are obtained by determining the material constant in the surrounding areas of the spherical particles in the virtual composite material as the overall material constant of the virtual composite material to be computed, and the expressions are proportional constants to be found using an equation which is nonlinear with respect to the overall material constant C*.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein,

when each of stress and strain of the virtual composite material is decomposed into a shear term and a hydrostatic pressure term and a displacement corresponding to the hydrostatic pressure term in the virtual composite material is defined as u_i (i=1, 2 or 3),

the nonlinear equation is prepared by defining,

the displacement u_i inside each of the spherical particles to be proportional to a position x_i (i=1, 2 or 3) with an origin at a center of each of the spherical particles;

and

the displacement u_i outside each of the spherical particles to have;

a term which is proportional to the position x_i (i=1, 2 or

     3) with the origin at the center of each of the spherical particles and a term which is proportional to the position x_i and inversely proportional to third power of a distance from the center of each of the spherical particles.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein,

when each of stress and strain in the virtual composite material is decomposed into a shear term and a hydrostatic pressure term and a displacement corresponding to the shear term in the virtual composite material is defined as u_i (i=1, 2 or 3),

the nonlinear equation is prepared by determining the displacement u_i using a combination of terms proportional to zeroth-power, second-power, inverse third-power and fifth-power of a distance from a center of each of the spherical particles, respectively, both inside and outside each of the spherical particles.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the nonlinear equation is solved for a solution to reach convergence using a Newton-Raphson method.

6. A method of computing a volume fraction of any one of multiple kinds of material components in a composite material which includes the multiple kinds of material components in a matrix phase, each of mechanical material constants of the material components and the matrix phase being known, comprising the steps of:

determining the overall material constant of the composite material from an experimental result;

preparing a nonlinear equation having a volume fraction of any one of multiple kinds of material components in a virtual composite material as an unknown by defining, as the composite material, the virtual composite material in which each of the multiple kinds of material components is dispersed in a form of spherical particles in the matrix phase; and

finding the volume fraction of any one of the multiple kinds of material components by solving the prepared nonlinear equation, and

wherein the nonlinear equation is a recursive nonlinear equation which is obtained by defining, as the determined material constant of the composite material, a material constant in surrounding areas of the spherical particles in the virtual composite material.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein,

when the material constant of the matrix phase, the material constants of the multiple kinds of material components, the material constant of the virtual composite material and the volume fractions of the multiple kinds of material components are denoted as C^A, C^B1, C^B2, . . . and C^Bn (“

n”

is an integer equal to or greater than

     2), C* and v_B1, v_B2, . . . and v_Bn, respectively,

the nonlinear equation is expressed as;

$C^{*}=C^A+v_{B<br><br><br><br>1}·<br><br>\left(C^{B<br><br><br><br>1}-C^A\right)·<br><br>A<br><br>\left(C^{B<br><br><br><br>1},C^{*}\right)+v_{B<br><br><br><br>2}·<br><br>\left(C^{B<br><br><br><br>2}-C^A\right)·<br><br>A<br><br>\left(C^{B<br><br><br><br>2},C^{*}\right)<br><br><br><br>\mathrm{\dots <br><br>}+v_{\mathrm{Bn}}·<br><br>\left(C^{\mathrm{Bn}}-C^A\right)·<br><br>A<br><br>\left(C^{\mathrm{Bn}},C^{*}\right),\mathrm{and}$

expressions A(C^B1,C*), A(C^B2,C*), . . . and A(C^Bn,C*) in the equation are obtained by defining, as the overall material constant of the virtual composite material to be computed, the material constant in the surrounding areas of the spherical particles in the virtual composite material, and the expressions are proportional constants to be found using an equation which is nonlinear with respect to the material constant C*.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein,

when each of stress and strain of the virtual composite material is decomposed into a shear term and a hydrostatic pressure term and a displacement corresponding to the hydrostatic pressure term in the virtual composite material is defined as u_i (i=1, 2 or 3),

the nonlinear equation is prepared by stating,

the displacement u_i inside each of the spherical particles to be proportional to a position x_i (i=1, 2 or 3) with an origin at a center of each of the spherical particles;

and

the displacement u_i outside the spherical particle to have;

a term proportional to the position x_i (i=1, 2 or

     3) with the origin at the center of each of the spherical particles and a term which is proportional to the position x_i and inversely proportional to third power of a distance from the center of each of the spherical particles.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein,

when each of stress and strain of the virtual composite material is decomposed into a shear term and a hydrostatic pressure term and a displacement corresponding to the shear term in the virtual composite material is denoted as u_i (i=1, 2 or 3),

the nonlinear equation is prepared by finding the displacement u_i as a combination of terms proportional to zeroth-power, second-power, inverse third-power and fifth-power of a distance from a center of each of the spherical particles, respectively, both inside and outside each of the spherical particles.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein the nonlinear equation is solved using a bisectional method.

11. A recording medium storing a computer-executable program for computing an overall material constant of a composite material which includes multiple kinds of material components in a matrix phase, each of mechanical material constants of the material components and the matrix phase being known,

wherein the program causes a computer to execute the steps of:

preparing a nonlinear equation having an overall material constant of a virtual composite material as an unknown by defining, as the composite material, the virtual composite material in which multiple kinds of material components are dispersed in a form of spherical particles in the matrix phase at known volume fractions; and

finding the overall material constant of the virtual composite material as the overall material constant of the composite material by solving the prepared nonlinear equation, and

wherein the nonlinear equation is a recursive nonlinear equation which is obtained by defining, as the overall material constant of the virtual composite material to be computed, a material constant in surrounding areas of the spherical particles corresponding to the multiple kinds of material components in the virtual composite material.

12. A recording medium storing a computer-executable program for computing a volume fraction of any one of multiple kinds of material components in a composite material which includes multiple kinds of material components in a matrix phase, each of mechanical material constants of the multiple kinds of material components and the matrix phase being known,

wherein the program causes a computer to execute the steps of:

determining an overall material constant of the composite material from an experimental result;

preparing a nonlinear equation having a volume fraction of any one of the multiple kinds of material components in a virtual composite material as an unknown by defining, as the composite material, the virtual composite material in which each of the multiple kinds of material components is dispersed in a form of spherical particles in the matrix phase; and

finding the volume fraction of any one of the multiple kinds of material components by solving the prepared nonlinear equation, and

wherein the nonlinear equation is a recursive nonlinear equation which is obtained by defining, as the determined material constant of the composite material, a material constant in surrounding areas of the spherical particles of each of the multiple kinds of material components in the virtual composite material.