A partition of unity finite element method for obtaining elastic properties of continua with embedded thin fibres

F. K. F. Radtke, A. Simone, L. J. Sluys
2010 International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering  
The numerical analysis of large numbers of arbitrarily distributed discrete thin fibres embedded in a continuum is a computationally demanding process. In this contribution, we propose an approach based on the partition of unity property of finite element shape functions that can handle discrete thin fibres in a continuum matrix without meshing them. This is made possible by a special enrichment function that represents the action of each individual fibre on the matrix. Our approach allows to
more » ... del fibre-reinforced materials considering matrix, fibres and interfaces between matrix and fibres individually, each with its own elastic constitutive law.
doi:10.1002/nme.2916 fatcat:xn3v3oioknaypibs3zx2jhkj4q