Multiscale approach to determine the anisotropic mechanical properties of polyisocyanurate metal panels using FEM simulations

• Published in: Mechanics of materials 2022-11, Vol.174, p.104475, Article 104475
• Main Authors: Gahlen, P., Stommel, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anisotropic behavior; Finite element calculations; Meso- and macromechanical analysis; Mesoscale foam structures; Metal–foam composite element; Multiscale approach; Polyisocyanurate foam
• ISSN: 0167-6636; 1872-7743
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mechmat.2022.104475

Building on previous publications, in this work an existing mesoscale simulation model was first extended to predict the non-linear anisotropic mechanical behavior of foam structures. Subsequently, a comparison between experimental and simulated data was performed to validate the selected simulation parameters. Here, good agreements were observed, especially for compressive loading. Based on these results, a multiscale approach was described in which the local foam properties were applied to macroscale models of PIR-based metal panels to predict the overall component properties. A further comparison of selected macroscopic experimental and simulated data also showed a good agreement. Due to the high computational and modeling effort, a sensitivity analysis was finally performed on the influence of the resolutions of the local mesoscale foam properties on the macroscopic metal panel properties. It was found that for the metal panels considered, it is sufficient to model the (almost) homogeneous core layer and outer edge areas with one layer each. These findings can also be applied to other metal panels with different thicknesses for future investigations, since it is known from previous investigations that the metal panels have qualitatively comparable property distributions. •Simulation of local anisotropic non-linear mechanical foam properties in metal panel based on experimental data using a mesoscale FE model.•Comparison of experimental and numerical results of selected standard tests on metal panels.•Sensitivity analysis on the influence of the resolutions of the local mesoscale foam structure on the macroscopic metal panel properties.