Composite Property Calculation Options dialog

This dialog is used to edit options relating to the prediction of the mechanical properties of the composite, that is, fibers plus polymer matrix.

When using the Automatic setting, if you use a material that has composite properties or isotropic matrix properties, the Tandon-Weng micro-mechanics model is used by default. If your material has anisotropic matrix properties, the Mori-Tanaka micro-mechanics model is used by default.

To access this dialog, ensure that you have selected an analysis sequence that includes Fill+Pack. Then click (Home tab > Molding Process Setup panel > Process Settings), if necessary click Next one or more times to navigate to the Fill+Pack Settings page of the Wizard, select the option Fiber orientation analysis if fiber material, click Fiber parameters, then click Composite property calculation options.

Note: The automatic settings are appropriate for most simulations. This dialog has been provided for specialist users conducting research into the fluid mechanics of fiber-filled materials.

Tip: If you have a material that has anisotropic matrix material properties, the Mori-Tanaka micro-mechanics model may provide more accurate shrinkage and warpage predictions.

Dialog element	Explanation
Closure approximation model	A closure approximation is a formula used to approximate the fourth-order orientation tensor in terms of a second-order tensor.
Fiber-filled property output	Specifies which composite (matrix + fiber) mechanical properties results are to be outputted to the .lsp result file generated by the Fiber orientation solver.
Micro-mechanics model	Micro-mechanics models are the set of models used to predict the elastic properties of short-fiber reinforced composites from the knowledge of the matrix and the fiber elastic properties, fiber content and fiber aspect ratio.
Thermal expansion coefficient model	Specifies the model for predicting the longitudinal and transverse coefficients of thermal expansion of unidirectional fiber reinforced composites, from the knowledge of the matrix and the fiber thermal expansion coefficients, fiber content and fiber aspect ratio.
Fiber/matrix debonding coefficient	The debonding coefficient characterizes the bonding strength between the fiber and polymer matrix interfaces. A coefficient of zero represents a perfect bonding, while a coefficient of infinity represents free sliding but no separation between the interfaces.