An efficient multiscale model of damping properties for filled elastomers with complex microstructures

Published Date
Composites Part B: Engineering
June 2014, Vol.62:262–270, doi:10.1016/j.compositesb.2014.03.005

• Author 

• John A. Moore
• Ruizhe Ma
• August G. Domel
• Wing Kam Liu ^,1,

• Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208-3111, USA

Received 21 November 2013. Revised 10 March 2014. Accepted 14 March 2014. Available online 22 March 2014. 

Abstract

This work proposes an efficient framework for prediction of filled elastomer damping properties based on imaged microstructures. The efficiency of this method stems from a hierarchical multiscale modeling scheme, in which the constitutive response of subcell regions, smaller than a representative volume element (RVE), are determined using micromechanics; the resulting constitutive parameters then act as inputs to finite element simulations of the RVE, from which damping properties are extracted. It is shown that the micromechanics models of Halpin–Tsai and Mori–Tanaka are insufficient for modeling subcells with many filler clusters, and thus these models are augmented by an additional interaction term, based on stress concentration factors. The multiscale framework is compared to direct numerical simulations in two dimensions and extended to predictions for three dimensional systems, which include the response of matrix–filler interphase properties. The proposed multiscale framework shows a significant improvement in computational speed over direct numerical simulations using the finite element method, and thus allows for detailed parametric studies of microstructural properties to aid in the design of filled elastomeric systems.

Keywords

A. Particle-reinforcement

B. Mechanical properties

C. Micro-mechanics

C. Computational modeling

Imaged-based modeling

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