Microscale modelling of hygro-elasticity and moisture diffusivity of periodically heterogeneous materials by unified formulation of mechanics of structure genome

The present paper focuses on developing a method to solve micromechanical analyses for the computation of moisture diffusivity and hygro-elastic characteristics of periodically heterogeneous materials and the recovery of the moisture flux and the stress over the Repeating Unit Cell (RUC). The model is based on the Mechanics of Structure Genome (MSG) to build a procedure capable of de-coupling the multiscale analysis into different steps on global and local levels, resulting in less demanding problems. On the other hand, the methodology uses the Carrera Unified Formulation (CUF) to engage a refined beam theory with high-fidelity capabilities. Hence, the longitudinal direction of the reinforcement is described with one-dimensional (1D) finite elements. Besides, for the cross-section, a hierarchical discretisation coupled with a non-isoparametric mapping technique allows reaching a high level of accuracy in the geometric description of the curvature of the fibre or inclusion. Finally, both hygro-elastic and moisture diffusivity problems are validated through numerical assessments showing excellent agreement with benchmarks in the literature.

Automated summary

This paper presents a method for solving micromechanical analyses of periodically heterogeneous materials to compute moisture diffusivity and hygro-elastic characteristics. The model utilizes the Mechanics of Structure Genome (MSG) theory to decouple the multiscale analysis into different steps on global and local levels, reducing computational complexity. The Carrera Unified Formulation (CUF) is employed to incorporate a refined beam theory, resulting in accurate geometric description of the material's curvature. Numerical assessments show excellent agreement with literature benchmarks, validating the proposed method for solving moisture diffusivity and hygro-elasticity problems.