Finite Element Mesh Refinement for Discontinuous Fiber Reinforced Composites

This paper is concerned with the development of a generalized approach for mesh refinement in a short fiber reinforced composite. Mesh refinement procedures are based on the calculation of the error in energy norm for global convergence and the traction differential approach at the fiber/matrix interface for local convergence. The mesh refinement strategy is based on the use of elongated elements at the fiber/matrix interface, yielding significantly different mesh patterns than obtained by conventional mesh refinement approaches. This difference may have a critical bearing on the subsequent thermo-mechanical properties predicted by finite element analysis (FEA). It is found that the use of elongated (i.e., high aspect ratio) elements for mesh refinement results in a much more rapid computational convergence rate than obtained by conventional meshes. Converged local solutions are obtained with significantly less degrees-of-freedom (DOF) than by conventional mesh refinement methods.