Due to their high stiffness and strength and their good processing
properties short fibre reinforced thermoplastics are well-established
construction materials.
Up to now, simulation of engineering parts consisting of short fibre
reinforced thermoplastics has often been based on macroscopic
phenomenological models, but deformations, damage and failure of
composite materials strongly depend on their microstructure. The typical
modes of failure of short fibre thermoplastics enriched with glass
fibres are matrix failure, rupture of fibres and delamination, and pure
macroscopic consideration is not sufficient to predict those effects.
The typical predictive phenomenological models are complex and only
available for very special failures. A quantitative prediction on how
failure will change depending on the content and orientation of the
fibres is generally not possible, and the direct involvement of the
above effects in a numerical simulation requires multi-scale modelling.
One the one hand, this makes it possible to take into account the
properties of the matrix material and the fibre material, the
microstructure of the composite in terms of fibre content, fibre
orientation and shape as well as the properties of the interface between
fibres and matrix. On the other hand, the multi-scale approach links
these local properties to the global behaviour and forms the basis for
the dimensioning and design of engineering components. Furthermore,
multi-scale numerical simulations are required to allow efficient
solution of the models when investigating three-dimensional problems of
dimensioning engineering parts.
Bringing together mathematical modelling, materials mechanics, numerical
methods and experimental engineering, this book provides a unique
overview of multi-scale modelling approaches, multi-scale simulations
and experimental investigations of short fibre reinforced
thermoplastics. The first chapters focus on two principal subjects: the
mathematical and mechanical models governing composite properties and
damage description. The subsequent chapters present numerical algorithms
based on the Finite Element Method and the Boundary Element Method, both
of which make explicit use of the composite's microstructure. Further,
the results of the numerical simulations are shown and compared to
experimental results.
Lastly, the book investigates deformation and failure of composite
materials experimentally, explaining the applied methods and presenting
the results for different volume fractions of fibres.
This book is a valuable resource for applied mathematics, theoretical
and experimental mechanical engineers as well as engineers in industry
dealing with modelling and simulation of short fibre reinforced
composites.
