A homogenization-based two-way multiscale approach for composite structures

Abstract

In this paper, a multiscale modeling technique for an automated iterative loose coupling approach is presented. It is used to describe the global (macroscopic) behaviour of composite structures taking into account the effects of local phenomena. The main attribute of this new approach is the indirect connection of global and local FE-models. While the global-to-local transition assigns prescribed displacements to the local boundaries, the local-to-global transition is realized by averaged stresses and an updated tangent stiffness operator. The approach has been implemented in the commercial FE code ABAQUSTM by user-defined subroutines and scripts. To illustrate the feasibility of the approach, a test case for a solid-to-solid coupling has been investigated. By comparing the results of the multiscale approach with numerical reference solutions, it could be shown that the implementation works appropriate. However, some numerical inaccuracies still need to be reduced.