Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWMFeelMath is a fast and easy to use analysis tool for the calculation of effective mechanical and thermal properties of micro-structures given by volume images or analytical descriptions.
Extracting Information for the Microstructure
The micro-structure of a material affects its properties like thermal conductivity, elasticity, or acoustic absorption. By means of image analysis, the most important information for the microstructure is obtained by means of SEM images or tomographies. Furthermore, image analysis determines microstructure information which is necessary for the design on the macro scale, or e.g. at the level of the whole part.
In addition, the representative volume element is determined in such a way that it is small enough not to take up too many computer resources, but large enough to remain meaningful. Macroscopic material properties can also be created by realizing geometric models.
Finding the Optimal Microstructure
Modeling opens the door to the so-called digital material design and optimization of micro-structures. Simple changes of model parameters are reflected in slightly modified geometries, in which the target property can be simulated again.
This cycle can be repeated until the optimal micro-structure is found. Thus, costly mechanical tests and production of samples can be reduced while the relation between micro-structure and reaulting properties is better understood.
