Calculate the constituent properties from an existing lamina.
In order to use a lamina with the MCT failure criterion in Helius Composite, that lamina must have associated fiber and matrix materials. These constituent material properties must be consistent with the composite properties. This calculation uses the same micromechanical model as used in Calculating New Lamina Properties from Micromechanics. The difference is that the fiber and matrix properties are not known and the composite properties are. This tool will take your best initial guess at the fiber and matrix properties and iterate upon them until they yield the desired composite properties.
To optimize an existing lamina, navigate to . This will open the window shown below.
- Choose Material to Optimize - Select from drop-down menu that lists the lamina located in the data file tree.
- Fiber Volume Fraction - Supply the fiber volume fraction for the above lamina, where 0.3 ≤ FVF < 0.9. Fiber volume fractions outside this range may be valid, but are not suitable for the MCT material model.
- Use Default Material Properties - Select this box if you want to use a predetermined set of material properties based on the fiber type. This is useful if you do not know any of the constituent properties.
- Default Properties - If the "Use Default Material Properties" box is checked, choose one of the available fiber types: Carbon, Kevlar, or Glass.
- Available Fiber/Matrix - If the "Use Default Material Properties" box is not checked, choose an available fiber and matrix material. This list is populated with the fiber or matrix materials from the current material library.
After you set up the fields for the optimization process and click Optimize, the process begins. At this point, Helius Composite will let you know that the optimization process is working. Once the optimization step completes, you will be asked to save the optimized material with a new name. This will save the lamina material under the supplied name and the fiber and matrix materials under a similar name with "_Fiber" and "_Matrix" appended to the name. You may be warned of any excessive errors that may have occurred during the optimization. These excessive errors may be a result of incomplete or unlikely material inputs.