Modelling of Phase Boundaries via the GAUSS-Point Method

Abstract

In this paper an evaluation of the GAUSS-point method to describe material boundaries is presented. This numerically based method uses the geometrical location of the integration points of the finite elements to decide for one material or another. In contrast to well established alternative approaches like, e.g., the conforming mesh method, the GAUSS-point method allows to use a fully structured finite element mesh. It is shown in this contribution that the number of integration points used to describe the corresponding constitutive phase is the fundamental parameter to control and to adjust the stiffness properties onto the real values. Numerical predictions of the effective material properties of a single fibre embedded within a matrix material are carried out for three different finite element mesh densities and are compared to the reference of the conforming mesh method.