Stochastic finite element analysis of composite structures based on material microstructure

The linking of microstructure uncertainty with the random variation of material properties at the macroscale is particularly needed in the framework of the stochastic finite element method (SFEM) where arbitrary assumptions are usually made regarding the probability distribution and correlation structure of the macroscopic mechanical properties. This linking can be accomplished in an efficient manner by exploiting the excellent synergy of the extended finite element method (XFEM) and Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) for the computation of the effective properties of random two-phase composites. The homogenization is based on Hill’s energy condition and involves the generation of a large number of random realizations of the microstructure geometry based on a given volume fraction of the inclusions and other parameters (shape, number, spatial distribution and orientation). In this paper, the mean value, coefficient of variation and probability distribution of the effective elastic modulus and Poisson ratio are computed taking into account the material microstructure. The effective properties are used in the framework of SFEM to obtain the response of a composite structure and it is shown that the response variability can be significantly affected by the random microstructure.