Hybrid composites modelling - what you need to do? | 5000 subscribers | Investing in yourself
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Dear Reader, I hope you are doing well. Here is another edition of the newsletter. I hope you enjoy it and please let me know by replying to this email what you love about the newsletter and any ideas/features you want me to include or expand in future editions of this newsletter. Here is the focus for this week:
Let us get started. Technical ReflectionsHybrid composites modelling - what you need to do?An experience with my student today: I have a research student who, over the last 5 months, has been working on the modelling of hybrid composites. We just had a meeting this morning and she wanted my help in how to extract stress-strain plots from ABAQUS simulations of her hybrid composite modelling. She also struggled with the meshing of a slightly larger sized RVE with 480x480x480 microns with fibre inclusions of diameters ranging from 20-30 microns. It was interesting watching her go directly to the plot function in ABAQUS whilst trying to generate the stress-strain plot. Of course, I showed her thereafter the method I recommend which involves using a reference node, with history variables extracted based on selected history variable set at start of simulation. Motivation for this reflection: I am saying all these because I realize how the exposure of hybrid composites modelling to many in the composites modelling community might not be as widespread as one would expect with say unidirectional, bidirectional or even woven/textile composites. This is why I am reflecting, ever so briefly this week on what you need to know when modelling hybrid composites What are hybrid composites: Simply defined, hybrid composites are a mixture of two or more different fibre systems within a matrix medium. Traditionally, most composites tend to have one fibre system (e.g. carbon fibre, E-glass) and a matrix medium. However, in hybrid composites, the objective is to include more than one fibre system within the matrix medium. The objective is to harness the properties of the constituent fibres in tailoring the expected macroscale behaviour of the produced composite thereby following a certain pre-determined behaviour. It is in this concept of tuning the properties of the composite to align with a designed material behaviour lies the concept of hybridization: an active adaptation of properties during the creation stage of the composite material. What modelling strategies are used? This is a good question. Most modelling involving composites tend to be positioned at the mesoscale and macroscale length scales. Mesoscale modelling tend to be based on laminates and yarn topologies. They will often accept a homogenized 'smeared' property for the laminae or the yarn bundles. It is a middle ground between overly reductive macroscale models and highly complicated microscale models. So, most modelling of hybrid composites tend to sit at the mesoscale lamina-level modelling and those have shown real representative results. There is however little modelling, in my experience on the microscale modelling. Why you should explore microscale (RVE-level) modelling? A microscale RVE-level modelling of hybrid composites is really exciting but challenging too. The reason for this is because of the need to generate representative virtual domains of the hybrid composites with the microstructure of the hybrid fibre distribution often following a Monte Carlo implementation. One would also incorporate often times quite complex physically-based constitutive models of the constituents to capture truly the expected composite behaviour at that length scale. Also, one would also know how to extract homogenized properties that compare with macroscale properties. These are all very very challenging. However, the benefits lie in you being able to exhaustively quantify the effect of hybridization and parametric features of the virtual domain on effective properties of the hybrid composites. Beyond elastic predictions, you can also explore damage, damage evolution and post-failure mechanics of these hybrid composites. A rich data set of information can be obtained when a properly posed RVE-level (micromechanical) model of the hybrid composite has been developed. Where do you start and how I can help? To start modelling hybrid composites, clearly, the first place to start is in developing the virtual domain. I have used the microscale modelling approach hence a distinctly identifiable fibre bundle within an epoxy media are identified. I have made a YouTube video where you can see below on how to create such a virtual domain. I am also working through a few videos where I show more distinctly the process for tensile and pure shear analysis of the hybrid composites. At the end of the series of videos on hybrid composites, hopefully you would be able to start taking baby steps into the challenging world of micromechanical modelling of hybrid composites. Below is a video that shows how to create such a virtual domain. Behind the Scenes at CM VideosThe YouTube channel reached 5000 subscribersI am happy to report that on 4th March 2024, we achieved 5000 subscribers on the CM Videos YouTube Channel. I have not been able to communicate this good news to you, my wonderful CM Videos Insiders, due mainly to my quite busy schedule. We have also already we have added another 217 more subscribers on the channel by today, 4/4/2024. I am really grateful at the speed the channel is growing for such a niche audience as ABAQUS users in computational modelling. Every month, nearly, I see greater growth in views, minutes watched and even subscribers. My best month for these three indicators as well as likes on the channel was the month of March 2024. Already, I am looking forward to 6000 subscribers and the prediction is that this will happen in August 2024. So, lets keep working hard and I will keep uploading one long-form video a week, as God gives me strength. Thank you once again for helping me achieve this milestone. Quote of the WeekInvesting in yourself and Sahil BloomI got to know about Sahil Bloom when I listened to him being interviewed on the Deep Dive podcast hosted by Ali Abdaal, one of the productivity champions on YouTube, the later of whom I enjoy his content immensely. I was touched by the impact Sahil is making on the world through publishing so many Twitter (now X-) threads with lots of insights for everyday living. I am taking my quote for the week from one of his previous threads where he was reflecting on 22 lessons learned in 2022 and therefore helping his readers define attitudes we have to take at the beginning of the year (then 2023 but still valid in 2024): as we strive to set the right new year resolutions for ourselves. Here is the quote. Lesson #5: Never think twice about investments in yourself.
- Sahil Bloom, author of blog on 22 Lessons Learned in 2022
I agree with this view and also his subsequent examples of how we can invest in ourselves namely through: books, quality food, fitness, mental health, personal development and enriching experiences. I completely subscribe to all of these avenues to ensure we are constantly investing in ourselves. I am however going to take more of a philosophical approach to the quote. If we stop feeding anything, that thing dies. It is a character of every living thing. During my secondary school biology in Nigeria, we were taught a Mnemonic to define the features/characteristics of every living thing and I recall vaguely it was called: MR NIGER which represents: Movement, Respiration, Nutrition, Irritability, Growth, Excretion and Reproduction. The aspect of Nutrition refers to the ability for every living thing to feed and be fed for it to remain alive. So, if you want yourself to grow intellectually, career-wise, wisdom and in honour, then you have to make clear and conscious efforts to feed yourself with the resources that will make you grow. This is what we are loosely describing as investments in self. For me, as someone who seeks to create online contents for a global audience, I have to keep investing in learning so that I will continue improving on my video making, editing and story telling. I am also interested in developing the right software products to solve needs of my subscribers. As a result, I have to keep learning how to: develop effective algorithms tackling computational modelling challenges; convert such algorithms into software by writing better codes, package the software codes into useful executables and robustly distribute them to the right audience thereby helping many with the right tools to hopefully aid them solve their computational modelling challenges with relative ease and efficiency. In 2024, I will encourage you to set out time to find ways to invest in yourself. Together, let us strive to become the best of ourselves by loving ourselves and investing in ourselves. Good luck in this. By the way, if you want to see which software products I currently have available; as these might be useful to your computational modelling journey, then check them out here: CM Videos software products.
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