Structural FE simulations of CT scanned microstructures: A comparison between idealized and real microstructures

Abstract

Structural simulations close the gap between CT imaging and material behavior, giving a prediction on the mechanical characteristics of an investigated material specimen. When dealing with data originating from CT measurements, depending on the final use of the simulated results, two distinct approaches can be identified: the first approach focuses on modeling the most dominant structures identified in the scan and uses homogenization in order to model the smaller structures, while the second approach focuses on accurately modeling the whole scanned microstructure. Current research is aimed at identifying the advantages and disadvantages of applying the aforementioned methods in terms of accuracy of predicted results, as well as identifying a reasonable mesh size for future Finite Element Analyses.