Numerical modeling of the thermo-mechanical behavior of particle reinforced metal matrix composites in laser forming by using a multi-particle cell model

Abstract In this paper, a three-dimensional finite element method integrated with a multi-particle cell (MPC) model is developed to examine the effect of particle distribution on deformation behavior of a particle reinforced metal matrix composite Al6092/25%SiCp in laser forming. Thirty identical elastic spheres are generated to be embedded in an elasto-plastic matrix and the interface between the particle and matrix is assumed perfect. The thermo-mechanical properties of the particle reinforced metal matrix composite (PMMCs), including the thermal conductivity, the coefficient of thermal expansion and the mechanical properties are determined by MPC model. Based on the predicted properties, the deformation behavior involving temperature/structural fields and final bending angles of the composite under different spatial arrangements of reinforcements is examined during laser forming. A comparison between the MPC and the simple cubic cell (SCC) models is made, and the significance of the findings will be discussed in the paper.