A variable fidelity model management framework for designing multiphase materials
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Research applications involving design tool development for multi phase material design are at an early stage of development. The computational requirements of advanced numerical tools for simulating material behavior such as the finite element method (FEM) and the molecular dynamics (MD) method can prohibit direct integration of these tools in a design optimization procedure where multiple iterations are required. One, therefore, requires a design approach that can incorporate multiple simulations (multiphysics) of varying fidelity such as FEM and MD in an iterative model management framework that can significantly reduce design cycle times. In this research a material design tool based on a variable fidelity model management framework is presented. In the variable fidelity material design tool, complex high-fidelity FEM analyses are performed only to guide the analytic low-fidelity model toward the optimal material design. The tool is applied to obtain the optimal distribution of a second phase, consisting of silicon carbide (SiC) fibers, in a silicon-nitride (Si 3N 4) matrix to obtain continuous fiber SiC-Si 3N 4 ceramic composites with optimal fracture toughness. Using the variable fidelity material design tool in application to two test problems, a reduction in design cycle times of between 40%25 and 80%25 is achieved as compared to using a conventional design optimization approach that exclusively calls the high-fidelity FEM. The optimal design obtained using the variable fidelity approach is the same as that obtained using the conventional procedure. The variable fidelity material design tool is extensible to multiscale multiphase material design by using MD based material performance analyses as the high-fidelity analyses in order to guide low-fidelity continuum level numerical tools such as the FEM or finitedifference method with significant savings in the computational time. Copyright © 2008 by ASME.
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CFCC; FEM; Fidelity; Fracture toughness; Optimal; Scaling; Stress intensity Ceramic composites; Computational requirements; Computational time; Continuum level; Conventional design; Design approaches; Design cycle; Design optimization; Design Tool development; Direct integration; FEM; FEM analysis; High fidelity; High-Fidelity analysis; Iterative model; Material behavior; Material designs; Material performance; matrix; Model management; Molecular dynamics methods; Multi-physics; Multiphase materials; Multiple iterations; Multiscales; Numerical tools; Optimal design; Optimal distributions; Optimal materials; Second phase; Silicon carbide fiber; Stress intensity; Test problem; Variable fidelity; Composite materials; Computer simulation; Finite element method; Fracture; Fracture toughness; Molecular dynamics; Nitrides; Optimization; Silicon carbide; Textile mills; Design; Composites; Finite Element Analysis; Fracture; Molecular Weight; Nitrides; Optimization; Product Design; Silicon Carbide; Simulation
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