Published papers

We present a design procedure for symmetrically laminated composite structure with GA (Genetic Algorithm) and finite element analysis. Design variables to enhance the rigidity of the laminated composite structure are the number of laminae, the fiber orientation and the stacking sequence. Here, the fiber orientation is selected among some prepared angles from a manufacturing viewpoint. In a conventional design procedure based on GA, an objective function is calculated by costly finite element analysis. Consequently, it is quite time consuming and unpractical. In this paper, to minimize the displacement at a point in the structure, we define an approximated rigidity function of the laminated composites by means of weighing coefficients and transformed elastic moduli in the prepared angles. The weighing coefficients are initially determined using the distribution of principal stress in the structure under an applied load. Then, we can guess that reinforcements should be oriented according to the weighing coefficients with which the rigidity function takes maximum. To find the global optimum solution, the weighing coefficients are adjusted with as small a number of finite element analyses as possible. As a conclusion, the proposed procedure can reduce the computational cost remarkably compared to the conventional one, and can be applied practically to arbitrary shaped structures.

In this paper, a design procedure of the microstructure of composite materials is proposed for the emergence of desired macroscopic function. The homogenization method is used for the expression of the correlativity between micro- and macroscopic properties, and genetic algorithms (GA) is used to solve the optimization problem. Using the micro-macro correlative database of material properties constructed by the homogenization method, the design problem is separated into micro- and macroscopic sub-problems. Thus, the proposed procedure is quite efficient and extendable to various design problems of new advanced materials such as functionally gradient materials. As an example, a plate of graded micro-porous materials, that is free of warp and/or twist under the environment with temperature gradient from the upper to lower surfaces, is shown.

The objective of this study is to propose an intelligent material system that can perform a self-repairing operation against initial damage that might occur in GFRP laminates. Specifically, we highlight the development of a novel actuator to be used in such self-repairing operations. There has been much research on sensor systems to detect damage and some actuators to control the shape of the structure or to control the vibration. However, no literature can be found on the actuator aiming at the self-repair of damage. For this purpose, a small grain particle-type adhesive is embedded in a glass/epoxy composite (GFRP) laminate. The diameter of the particle is approximately 50 μm. Hence, in the developed intelligent material system, coldsetting epoxy resin is used as the matrix, uni-directionally arranged glass fiber is used as the reinforcement, and a thermosetting epoxy particle is used as a repairing actuator. The volume fraction of the particles in the matrix was approximately 40%. The embedded particles can repair the damage, when melted by heat. Basic characteristics of the particles were investigated first, and we confirmed that the embedded particles in the matrix can melt by heat and flow to repair the crack. We also confirmed that the embedded particles do not deteriorate the stiffness of the GFRP laminate. Then we investigated the efficiency of the repairing operation against initial damage such as microscopic matrix cracks and delamination, by conducting two typical tests, i.e., static three-point bending of [0/90] laminate and tensile fatigue of [0/90]slaminate. Damage was observed by CCD camera. As a result, the decrease in the stiffness due to initial damage has been recovered and consequently increased, the residual fatigue life.

For the simulation of mechanical behaviours of textile composite materials and structures, a novel hierarchical modelling technique is proposed. Not only the global deformation but also the stresses at multiscales are analyzed precisely. Four-level hierarchy is defined for the textile composites such as woven and knitted fabric composites. The stresses at the mesostructure, which is a periodic unit cell of textile composite materials consisting of fibre bundles and matrix, can be evaluated accurately by the homogenization method and finite-element mesh superposition technique. The latter technique makes it possible to overlay arbitrary local fine mesh on the global rough mesh. Anisotropic damage mechanics is also utilized for strength evaluation at the mesoscale. Three-dimensional modelling of the mesostructure of woven and knitted fabric composite materials is shown. Localization analysis has been carried out within practical computational time and cost by the proposed hierarchical modelling.

A multi-scale computational method using the homogenization theory and the finite element mesh superposition technique is presented for the stress analysis of composite materials and structures from both micro- and macroscopic standpoints. The proposed method is based on the continuum mechanics, and the micro-macro coupling effects are considered for a variety of composites with very complex microstructures. To bridge the gap of the length scale between the microscale and the macroscale, the homogenized material model is basically used. The classical homogenized model can be applied to be case that the microstructures are periodically arrayed in the structure and that the macroscopic strain field is uniform within the microscopic unit cell domain. When these two conditions are satisfied, the homogenization theory provides the most reliable homogenized properties rigorously to the continuum mechanics. This theory can also calculate the microscopic stresses as well as the macroscopic stresses, which is the most attractive advantage of this theory over other homogenizing techniques such as the rule of mixture. The most notable feature of this paper is utilize the finite element mesh superposition technique along with the homogenization theory in order to analyze cases where non-periodic local heterogeneity exists and the macroscopic field is non-uniform. The accuracy of the analysis using the finite element mesh superposition technique is verified through a simple example. Then, two numerical examples of knitted fabric composite materials and particulate reinforced composite material are shown. In the latter example, a shell-solid connection is also adopted for the cost-effective multi-scale modeling and analysis.

This paper proposes a novel, integrated, computational design methodology of graded microstructures of heterogeneous materials for the emergence of macroscopic function. In the first step of the design procedure, some discrete microstructures among a large number of graded microstructures are determined by the genetic algorithm as the optimization method. In this determination procedure, the homogenized modeling is adopted considering the micro-macro coupling by the homogenization method. This method enables us to study complex microstructures. Homogenized properties such as elastic properties, coefficient of thermal expansion and thermal conductivity can be calculated rigorously based on continuum mechanics. Calculated homogenized properties are stored in the micro-macro correlative database. The genetic algorithm can select the best geometrical arrangement of multiple microstructures from the pre-calculated database to construct the graded microstructure architecture. By using the database, the microscopic and macroscopic analyses are separated from each other, which reduces considerably the computational cost for the micro-macro coupled design. In the second step, continuously graded microstructures are designed using a feature-based 3D-CAD system by interpolating the discretized graded microstructures. In addition, a solid model is produced by the stereolithography technique to help in understanding the computationally designed complex microstructures. Brief descriptions of the formulation of the homogenization method for heat conduction and thermal stress problems are shown. A design problem for a plate with graded microstructures in its thickness direction is shown. The objective function for this example is the control of the wrap of the plate under the condition of temperature distribution. © Springer-Verlag 2000.