Three-dimensional analysis of pore effect on composite elasticity by means of finite element method

Abstract:

A three-dimensional buffer-layer finite element method (FEM) model was developed to investigate the porosity effect on macroscopic elasticity. Using the three-dimensional model, the effect of pores on bulk effective elastic properties were systematically analyzed by changing the degree of porosity, the aspect ratio of the ellipsoidal pore, and the elasticity of the material. The present results in 3D space was compared with the previous ones in 2D space. Derivatives of normalized elastic stiffness constants with respect to needle-type porosity are integers, if the Poisson ratio of a matrix material is zero; those derivatives of normalized stiffness elastic constants for C₃₃, C₄₄, C₁₁, and C₆₆ converge to –1, –2, –3, and –4, respectively, at the corresponding condition. We proposed a criterion of R <~1/3, where the mutual interaction between pores becomes negligible for macroscopic composite elasticity. These derivatives are nearly constant below 5% porosity in the case of spherical pore, suggesting that the interaction between neighboring pores is insignificant if the representative size of the pore is less than one-third of the mean distance between neighboring pores. The relations we obtained in this work were successfully applied to invert bulk modulus and rigidity of Cmcm-CaIrO₃ as a case study; the performance of the inverting scheme was confirmed through this assessment. Thus the present scheme is applicable to predict macroscopic elasticity of porous object as well.