Thermal conduction modeling of composites by embedding technique

Abstract

Composite materials are extremely important in several industrial areas and have been thoroughly used to solve many engineering problems. In more recent years, new numerical models and manufacturing processes made interest grow on those materials. This work contributes to the state of the art of composite materials modeling by proposing an embedding technique for thermal problems using the finite element method. The technique relies on rewriting the reinforcement finite element variables according to the composite matrix finite element form functions. By doing so, it is possible to embed the reinforcement element without increasing the total number of degrees of freedom. The embedding method is capable of modeling the phase’s orientation as well as it’s placement. It’s also possible to make use of nonlinear conductive parameters to model nonlinear thermal problems. Numerical examples are described to show the technique’s capability. The numerical results show good agreement with references, as well as reducing the total number of degrees of freedom and being able to model nonlinear material behavior. Such characteristics make the model suitable to perform more complex analysis such as reliability, optimization, multi-physics, among others.