A novel direct method for predicting failure of particle reinforced metal matrix composites (PRMMC)

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Jaan-Willem Simon
• Subject Area: Mechanics
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 546471367

Metal matrix composites have a broad application field due to their excellent mechanical, thermal, and surface characteristics. For example, they are suitable for the electronic, automotive, aerospace, and robotic industrial sectors. In 2019, the global metal matrix composite market size was valued at almost 340 million USD. Particularly the automotive and aerospace sectors are anticipated to drive the market for metal matrix composites even further over the coming years, because of the increasing need for fuel-efficient lightweight components. Despite the relevance of these materials, their material behavior is not yet fully understood and the existing models are underdeveloped in terms of plasticity coupled to damage, fatigue, and limit states. One reason for that is the complexity of the material behaviour, which results from its multiscale nature, since the composites macroscale response is dictated by the intrinsic microstructure. In this work, we focus on particle reinforced metal matrix composites (PRMMC), whose failure mostly depends on the particle size, volume ratio, and particle distribution. To broaden the practical application fields of PRMMC even further, the material behaviour must be better understood and implemented into a numerical multi-scale modelling framework, which can determine limit states of composite structures so that they remain ‘safe’ even under complex and varying loading scenarios. Thus, this project aims to develop such a framework for limit state analysis; which will include plasticity with nonlinear hardening, ductile matrix damage, brittle particle cracking, paricle-matrix debonding, and also incremental plastic collapse and alternating plasticity. Until now, these phenomena have been treated discriminative based on incremental methods that follow the given load-path step-wise for the former and path-independent direct methods that consider only the final failure states for the latter phenomena. Departing from traditional methods, I will unite these phenomena within a unified direct method implemented in a unique computational tool. The result is a novel direct method for predicting failure of advanced composite materials under complex loading states and deformation histories. As a result, the damage states can be considered by a direct method without the need to conduct incremental analysis, at least in the first phase of structural design, where exact knowledge of damage patterns is not required. This constitutes a paradigm shift, which will open up new pathways for engineering design concepts for composite structures.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants