Simulation of cellular structures with a coupled FEM-FCM approach based on CT data

Abstract

The application of cellular structural materials provide new light-weight capabilities in many engineering fields. But the microstructure significantly influences the strength, the fatigue and fracture behavior as well as the life span of a structure made from cellular materials. The current paper illustrates the general idea how to take into account the cellular microstructure in the stress and strain analysis. The detailed geometry, including all discontinuities in the microstructure is available, for instance from measurements provided by the computed tomography (CT). The proposed simulation methodology is a combination of the finite element method (FEM) and the finite cell method (FCM). The FCM approach is applied in regions where discontinuities occur, avoiding a body-fitted mesh. As basis of the FEM-FCM coupling the commercial FEA package Abaqus is used. The theoretical background and the overall simulation workflow along with specific implementation details are discussed. Finally, academic benchmark problems are used to verify the developed coupling method.