Title: Mesoscale Finite Element Modeling of AM Polymer Composites for Structure-Property Relationship Mapping

Authors: Madhura Athalea, Taejoon Parka, Mostafa Elnaggarb, Koorosh Delavaria, Srikanth Pillac, Gang Lid, Farhang Pourboghrata

DOI: 10.33599/nasampe/c.24.0346

Abstract: The present work aims to establish the process-microstructure-property (MP2) relationship of polymer composites produced using the additive manufacturing (AM) process technique. AM polymer composites have unique internal structure resulting from the manufacturing process that affects the macroscale mechanical properties. Presence of fiber reinforcements as well as process-generated voids result in parts having highly anisotropic properties. Micro-CT imaging is performed to measure microstructural features such as fiber alignment, void size and shape distribution etc. Mesoscale synthetic microstructures are generated based on statistical information extracted from the u-CT data. Advanced material models are applied to the synthetic microstructures to properly consider the local anisotropy due to the alignment of reinforcement fibers. Individual contribution of different factors such as internal voids and local anisotropy towards the resultant macroscale anisotropy are highlighted. Work is underway to perform thermo-mechanical finite element (FE) analysis of the AM process to evaluate the effect of AM process parameters such as printing pattern, nozzle size, extrusion rate, and process temperature. The nonuniform distribution of voids and residual stress predicted by the AM process analysis will be integrated into the synthetic microstructures to precisely predict the mechanical properties of the AM-built polymer composite part. The proposed numerical methodology is expected to provide a good estimation of anisotropic mechanical properties of AM polymer parts without the need for extensive experimental testing.

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Conference: CAMX 2024 | San Diego CA

Publication Date: 2024/9/9

SKU: TP24-0000000346

Pages: 13

Price: $26.00