A 3D RVE model with periodic boundary conditions to estimate mechanical properties of composites

Micromechanics is a technique for the analysis of composites or heterogeneous materials which focuses on the components of the intended structure. Each one of the components can exhibit isotropic behavior, but the microstructure characteristics of the heterogeneous material result in the anisotropic behavior of the structure. In this research, the general mechanical properties of a 3D anisotropic and heterogeneous Representative Volume Element (RVE), have been determined by applying periodic boundary conditions (PBCs), using the Asymptotic Homogenization Theory (AHT) and strain energy. In order to use the homogenization theory and apply the periodic boundary conditions, the ABAQUS scripting interface (ASI) has been used along with the Python programming language. The results have been compared with those of the Homogeneous Boundary Conditions method, which leads to an overestimation of the effective mechanical properties. According to the results, applying homogenous boundary conditions results in a 33% and 13% increase in the shear moduli G(23) and G(12), respectively. In polymeric composites, the fibers have linear and brittle behavior, while the resin exhibits a non-linear behavior. Therefore, the nonlinear effects of resin on the mechanical properties of the composite material is studied using a user-defined subroutine in Fortran (USDFLD). The non-linear shear stress-strain behavior of unidirectional composite laminates has been obtained. Results indicate that at arbitrary constant stress as 80 MPa in-plane shear modulus, G12, experienced a 47%, 41% and 31% reduction at the fiber volume fraction of 30%, 50% and 70%, compared to the linear assumption. The results of this study are in good agreement with the analytical and experimental results available in the literature