A Review of FE-FFT-Based Two-Scale Methods for Computational Modeling of Microstructure Evolution and Macroscopic Material Behavior

The overall, macroscopic constitutive behavior of most materials of technological importance such as fiber-reinforced composites or polycrystals is very much influenced by the underlying microstructure. The latter is usually complex and heterogeneous in nature, where each phase constituent is governed by non-linear constitutive relations. In order to capture such micro-structural characteristics, numerical two-scale methods are often used. The purpose of the current work is to provide an overview of state-of-the-art finite element (FE) and FFT-based two-scale computational modeling of microstructure evolution and macroscopic material behavior. Spahn et al. (Comput Methods Appl Mech Eng 268:871-883, 2014) were the first to introduce this kind of FE-FFT-based methodology, which has emerged as an efficient and accurate tool to model complex materials across the scales in the recent years.

Automated summary

This study provides an overview of the state-of-the-art finite element (FE) and FFT-based two-scale computational modeling of microstructure evolution and macroscopic material behavior.