Computational Mechanics 14 (1994) 2-15 9 Springer-Verlag1994

3-D finite element analysis of composite beams

with parallel fibres, based on homogenization theory
M. Lefik, B. A. Schrefler

Abstract The theoretical model of a beam of unidirectional composites, based on the homogenization
theory and a refined kinematical hypothesis is presented. Effective material coefficients for the constitutive
equation are computed. Description of the stresses on the level of the periodic microstructure is given.
The kinematical hypothesis for the beam type behaviour includes the independent shear rotations. The
resulting modelling strategy is presented for which a finite element code has been developed. Application
of the theory to superconducting coils is shown.

1
Introduction
Homogenization theory is here applied to the static analysis of particular superconducting coils which
may be modelled as composite beams with parallel fibres. The overall shape of these coils, used in
thermonuclear fusion devices, is similar to a D, i.e. with a straight part on one side and a curved part
to give a closed circuit. The D-shape stems for structural optimization under the prevailing electrodynamic
forces, The beam is made up of a large number of parallel fibres which are the superconductors, bonded
by insulating material.
In the cross-section of this superconducting beam we may distinguish a two dimensional "cell of
periodicity" with characteristic, repeatable physical and geometrical properties. The whole material
domain is constructed with such cells periodically repeated. The structure characterized shortly above
may be numbered among a large class of composite materials, for which the heterogeneity of the material
is sufficiently regular to be described as composite materials with periodic structure.
Since the dimensions of the cell of periodicity are small with respect to the other dimensions, related
to the whole of the considered domain, the idea of looking for a homogenized material with a homogeneous
strucuture, the physical behaviour of which is approximately the same as that of the heterogeneous one
is applicable here.
The asymptotic theory of homogenization, developed during the last twenty years is used in the sequel
to determine the homogenized material coefficients (hence the equivalent behaviour). From the
mathematical point of view this theory is concerned with the study of an asymptotical behaviour of
a solution of partial differential equations with periodically varying coefficients, when the period tends
to zero. The interested reader will find in Sanchez-Palencia (198o), Bensoussan et al. (1976) and Duvaut
(1976) the rigorous formulation of the method and further references. In our preliminary explanation
we follow Sanchez-Palencia (198o), with obvious modifications due to the particularization of the general
theory to our purpose.
The theory of homogenization is a limit theory. However our cell of periodicity has finite dimensions,
hence we supplement the usual analysis with the calculations of a higher order term in the asymptotic
expansion. In the sequel we will call this additional term a corrector. A short presentation of these

Communicated by B. Schrefler, 3 December 1993

M. Lefik
Department of Mechanics of Materials, Technical University of
Lodz, A1. Politechniki 6, 93 59o Lodz, Poland

B. A. Schrefler
Istituto di Scienzae Tecnicadelle Costruzioni,Universityof Padova,
Via Marzolo 9, 3513a Padova, Italy

Correspondence to: M, Lefik

This research was carried out under contract NET-N~ 9o-242

M.Lefik,B.A. Schrefler:3-Dfinite elementanalysisof compositebeamswithparallelfibres,basedon homogenizationtheory

correctors may be found in Lefik and Schrefler (1992), the full particulars will be published in Schrefler
and Lefik (1993).

2
Statement of the problem and the method of analysis

2.1
The model of a composite body with periodic structure
We start with some preliminary considerations concerning the mechanics of a periodic composite in
the light of the homogenization theory. The method of homogenization will then be shortly described
below. We define two sets of coordinates: global x~ for the whole of the body -(2 and local y~ related to the
single, repetitive cell of periodicity Y (Fig. 1). A dimensionless characteristic length of the cell Y is 3
e, treated as a small parameter tending to zero.
Let u ~(x,y) be a solution depending on e, of the problem:
Let u ~ V and O'S.EL2 be such that: V vi(x)E V

j" a~jk,(x) u,,j~ k,,d n = ~ f v~d n + ~ F, v~dSj (~)

n n sf

where a~kI (x) = aqkt (x/e) and o-~q.(u ~). - aijki(y) ekt(U~).
In the formula above and in the sequel the symbols used have the following meaning:

v = {v: v ~ g l ( n ) ; v,10~= 0}, (2)

eq(v) is the linearized strain tensor, H 1 denotes the Sobolev Spaces of functions integrable together with
their first derivatives.
We suppose further that the material of the body is heterogeneous. Components of an elasticity fourth
order tensor a0kz are piece-wise smooth functions of x with discontinuities along a regular surface Sj
and satisfy the classical conditions of symmetry, ellipticity and positivity. Terms ac~333aft73 are assumed
to be zero. Moreover the material has a periodical structure, i.e.:

~Y~R 3

Vx~f2 if (x + Y ) e ~ then aqkl(X + Y ) = a~jkl(X). (3)

The parallelepiped for which the vector Y is a diagonal is called the cell of periodicity.
Let u ~ cr~ be the solution of the homogenized problem i.e. the problem (1) in which variable material
coefficients are replaced with some values a~k~constant over/2.
For a~kI uniquely defined via the so called homogenization procedure (and only for such defined a~kl)
we have the following convergence:

u ~ u ~ as e~O weakly inV. (4)

In this sense problems for an unhomogeneous body and a homogenized one are equivalent.
For the rigorous formulation the reader is once more referred to the monographs quoted above. We
shall give below only a brief overview of the procedure resulting in calculations of the values of a hqkr

@ Y2

~ E

) xl

Fig. 1, Globaland local sets of

Single cell of periodicity coordinates
 ComPutational Mechanics 14 (1994)

2.2
Homogenizationprocedure
The separation of scales between macro and micro phenomena assumed above is formally expressed
by the following relation between two systems of coordinates x a m y (see Fig. 1):

Yi=g-lxi 9 (5)

We place the Y3 and x 3 axes in the direction parallel to the centroidal line of the single conductor which
forms the two dimensional cell of periodicity in space. We assume that e can play, in our problem, the
role of the small parameter required by the homogenization theory.
We suppose further that the periodicity of material characteristics imposes an analogous periodical
4 perturbation on the quantities describing the mechanical behaviour of the body. Hence, we will use the
following representation for displacements and for stresses:

Ue(X) ~ U~ + ~3Ul(X,y) + g2U2(X,y) + ... + gkuk(x,y)

O-~(x) -- o.O(x,y) + ecrl(x,y) + ,g202(x,y) + ... + ek~rk(x,y) (6)

and u k, O"k for k > 0 are Y-periodic i.e. take the same values on the oppsite sides of the cell of periodicity.
We describe now, in a few steps, the procedure of homogenization which results from the assumed
idealization. By simple application of the chain rule of differential calculus, we can see that the
main term of a in (6) depends not only on u ~ but also on u 1. This term and the ones of higher order in
(6) may be written as follows:

a~ y) = aUkl(y) ( eij(x) ( u ~ + eo(y) ( u l ) ) I O'~l(X, y ) = aijkz(y) ( eij(x) ( E ) + eij(y) (u2)) .'- . (7)

Here and in the sequel we use the shorthand explained below:

d d ld 1
~xf = ( ~-~x + ~-~y~ )f = f,i(x) + -~Li~) 9 (8)

By introducing, into the virtual work equation, the formula for a restricted up to the first term and
taking a suitable form for the trial function we arrive at the variational formulation for components of u~:
find u]~Vy such that: Vv~V r

[.aijkl(y) ( Ui~ + U[j~)) Vk,l(y) dY = 0 (9)

Y

where V r is the subset of V of functions with equal values on the opposite sides of the cell of periodicity.
For a beam with parallel fibres this local problem is decoupled into the classical plane strain problem
of linear elasticity and the antiplane problem. We describe this decomposition in Lefik and Schrefler
(1992). It can be shown that u 1, the solution of the problems (9), is of the form:

U31 : e43(x)(u o) Z3~3(y) + C (x)

1 0 aft 0 33 (10)
u v = u~,fi(x)Z ~ (Y) + U3,3(x))(y (Y) -[- CT(X )

where Z3a (y) and Z~3(y) are zero as solutions of plane and antiplane problems respectively. Here and
in the sequel the Greek subscripts take values i or 2. The above formula accounts for this. The six functions
Z~q(y), depending only on the geometry of the cell of periodicity and on the values of the jumps ofaok zacross
Sp are called functions of homogenization. Let us introduce a matrix of homogenization functions:

xT(y) ~-- [{Z~1(Y)} {Z~2(Y)) {Z~3(Y)) {Zl2(Y)) {Z~3(Y)} {Zl3(Y)) ]3x6 (11)

these functions may be found as a solution of problem (9) rewritten in the form:

find Z~q~Vr such that: Vv~Vy

]'e(v(y)) D(y) (1 + LX(y))e(u ~ dY -- 0 02)
Y
M. Lefik,B.A. Schrefler: 3-Dfiniteelementanalysisof compositebeamswithparallelfibres,basedon homogenizationtheory

where L is the strain matrix operator and D contains the material coefficients Cogr Using a finite element
discretization of the cell of periodicity, X is interpolated as:

X(~, t ] ) = 2 N e ( ~ , q ) X e (13)

where Ne(~, r/) are standard linear shape functions contained in the vector N while Xe collects the nodal
values of X. The set of functions of homogenization is then obtained as:

KXe + F = 0 (14)

where
5
F = ~BTD(y), K = ~BTD(y)B, B = LN. (15)
Y Y

The periodicity conditions are taken into account in the FE code, reported in Lefik and Schrefler (1992).
Having ZPiq(y) (thus u ~) one can show that the tensor of effective material coefficients is:

D h = IYl -~ ~ D (y) (1 + gX(y)) dY. (16)

Y

We can now solve the problem of the composite in terms of global displacements, strains and average
stresses as a homogeneous one with material coefficients in the constitutive relation given by (16).

Plane homogenization functions

Y2

Xll, X22
~ ~ Singular strand
cross-section

Steel:
E = 2,10e4kN/cm2
2 XI2, X33

Y3
Homogenizationfunctions

x13

Figs. 2, 3. 2 Plane functions of

homogenization. 3 Plots of the
antiplane functions of
homogenization on four strands
 ComputationalMechanics14(1994)

Having u~ and e~ we go back to Eqs. (6), (7) for the local approximation of stresses. This last step
will be called in the sequel unsmearing. The set of functions Z~~(y) for a typical superconductor is shown
in Fig. 2. Figure 3 represents the function 7~3(y) plotted for four neighbouring cells of periodicity.

3
Definition of the equivalent homogeneous model of the beam

3.1
Assumptions
The beam is formed by a large number of parallel fibres, the conductors. The cross-section of each
conductor has its own, relatively complex internal structure. It is composed of a streel casing with the
6 superconducting core inside and is bonded by epoxy resin to the neighbouring conductors. The
cross-section of each conductor surrounded by half of the insulation layer forms the cell of periodicity. An
accurate model of the single cell structure requires a relatively fine FE mesh. At the same time, however,
the number of cells is too big to compose the finite element mesh of the beam cross-section by the simple
sum of the above meshes of the cells. On the other hand their number still allows us to identify
each particular cell with the coordinates of its centre without numerical troubles, i.e. the geometric cell
by cell description of the whole cross-section is possible. We assume further that the cell dimensions
are small with respect to those of the cross-section.
We take for granted that displacements of each fibre are constrained nearly everywhere inside of
the beam cross-section. As a consequence, Y-periodicity conditions defined in preceding paragraphs
are valid for most of the strands.
We assume that local stresses and strains can be described using the above derived functions of
homogenization with the exception, at most, of the boundary layer. Finally it is assumed that the global
(macroscopical) behaviour of the structure is that of a beam. As a consequence, we impose the classical
beam-type kinematical constraints on the global displacements u, indicated in the next section.

3.2
Construction of the equivalent beam finite element for the composite structure
Let us suppose, that the 3-D beam domain $2 is described by the definition of its centroidal line
I = (0, L ) c R ~ and the plane geometry of the cross-section S c R2 at each point of the axis.
We consider the displacement field in the form (6) up to the first order term:

u~(x~,y~) = u?(x~) + 8ul(x~,y~) 07)

Let us accept that global displacements u ~ in the above may be represented by a set of unknown functions
defined along the beam axis:
w~(x 3) the transversal displacement of the centroid of the beam,
w3(x3), the axial displacement of the centroid of the beam,
O~(x3) the shear rotations,
03(x 3) the twist angle,
b~(x3) three additional unknown functions defining the variation of w, across the cross-section
of the beam.
This representation is given by the following formulae:

u~ x~) = - e ~ x ~ 03(x3) + w~(x3) + L~(x~) b~(x~) 08)

u~(x~, x3) = e~x~O~(x3) -x~w~,3(x3) + w~(x~) + 03,3(x~)O(x~) 09)

where
612=1 ~21=-1 ~H=0 E22=0. (zo)

In (19) ,.9 describes the warping of the cross-section of the beam. The warping function 0 is supposed
to be related to the beam cross-section only, thus it can be calculated separately and is treated
now as given. The set of function f~ will be chosen so as to make Crl~and a22 minimal. This is commented
in the sequel. Figure 4 shows positive values of all the functions introduced above.
We define the three dimensional strain field as a full zeroth order term in the asymptotic expansion
(6), using the above derived homogenization functions )~:

e~(x,,v~)= (~ip~q+ Zi,j(Y~))epq(X

Pq Oli ) (21)
M. Lefik, B. A. Schrefler: 3 0 finite element analysis of composite beams with parallel fibres, based on homogenization theory

X2
Xl

W2

9 Wl

7
X3
Fig. 4. Definition of the positive values of unknowns of
W2,3 the problem

where e~ denotes the component of e ~ due to the global displacements u~

e ~ (xi) = 0.5 (u~,j(x i) + u~ (2z)

The three dimensional stress field is defined for each cell of periodicity as follows:

a~ (xi, y~) _- aijkz(y~) GI(xi,

0
y~). (23)

The components of e~ are easy to obtain using (21) and the definition (18), (19) of u 1.
Both a ~ and e~ defined above depend on w, 0,b only. These functions are chosen so as to satisfy the
stationary condition of the full, three dimensional potential energy functional:

I I (w, 0, b) = 0.5 ~ aqk t (y) e ~ (w, 0, b) e~t(w, 0, b) d~2 - R (w, 0, b) (24)

where

R (w, 0, b) = ~f~ u~ (w, 0, b) d-Q + ~ F~u~ (w, 0, b) dS. (25)

The assumed field of displacements u is continuous over the whole beam cross-section through the
Y-periodicity of X.

3.3
The form of the additional term b
The additional term depending on bi(x3) in (18) has been introduced to relax stresses in the direction
perpendicular to the centroidal axis of the beam.
In the case of a homogeneous beam, to the stress component G~ which results from %3 via
a33~ corresponds e~ which is zero (by definition); thus the use of such a corrector is needless. In our
case the situation is different. The term e~ (x, y) which enters into the full 3-D functional of potential energy
is not zero. In fact, it is composed of two constituents: the first one, due to the global displacement, is
zero by assumption; the second one, an additive term resulting from the local perturbation on the
cell of periodicity, is not zero. Its value is:

02 33()
Gp(x,Y) = G,p Y u~,3(x). (26)

In this situation the work of the stress components a (perpendicular to the axis of the beam) which
results from e~3 via a33~ is not zero. Additional degrees of freedom have been chosen here to
handle this extra term in the expression for the work of internal forces.
The proposed method has some advantages (the obvious disadvantage is that we have two more
unknown functions). Using these functions we have the possibility of introducing, into the description
of the problem in a natural way the effective orthotropy of the beam which may be significant. Another
advantage is that we can easily impose lateral constraints: e.g. by putting b 1, b2 equal zero we deal with
zero values of strains in the direction perpendicular to the centroidal axis.
 Computational Mechanics 14 (1994)

The formula for a ~ using only the global material coefficients and neglecting the local dependence
on y is:

_ h o h o
a ~ -- a~/3v~ev~ + a~33 e33. (27)

Hence, to have a a = 0 we must write:

eOfl _ Ah ~h ~o h h h h
--..a/3ybU3~633~.33 A~I3j, a#33= E~,~ A~,~ = (a h )~v~"
- I
(28)

With these notations, one may easily verify that a suitable form for f~(x~) is the following:

8 X2 2
fn = --E~lXlX2 f12---- Elhl2-1 _ ~22FhX22 f13 = EllXl (29)

,2~- ~ 7 -- -~2 L~= E 2h2 x l x 2 f23 = E22x2" (30)

For zero transversal stresses, i.e. a ~ - 0, b takes the following values:

bl (x3) ~ w2,33 (x3) -- 01,3 (x3) (31)

b2(x 3) --- - 02,3(x 3) - wa,33(x 3) (32)

b3(x3) = W3,3(X3). (33)

Other values of b allow to simulate a variety of intermediate states.

3.4
Remark about the form of the warping function
Let us reduce the model described by (18), (19) to the classical de Saint-Venant problem of the torsion
of a bar. To do this we assume that in (18), (19) are present only terms related to the twisting moment
applied at both ends of the bar (the lateral surfaces of the bar are traction free). We assume that
the second derivative of 03(x3) vanishes. The zeroth-order term of stresses depends on the local
perturbation:

0 (p3
a~3 (Y~, xi) = D~3~3(Y~) (0"503,3(0,~o(x~) -- 6vex~)) (2b~r + X33(Y~))" (34)

We assume that X~3(y), X23(y) are defined as a solution of the local problem (9)-
Writing the equation of global equilibrium, we have:

ff~ = 0, ~~3(x) = I YI--I ~ O.0CX3

(X, y) dY. (35)
Y

We multiply the first equation in (35) by a test function v(x~) and integrate over S. Accounting for the
definition of effective coefficients (a6) during the "cell by cell" integration over the cross section,
we have for sufficiently fine microstructure and for any v (x~):

h 19,11?,1+ D2323
h 0, 2 v, 2 ~ h
~D1313 = ( D 1 3 1 3 x 2 H 1 - - D 2 3 2h3 x 1 / / z ) V . (36)
S Os

This is equivalent to the following:

D~313 oQ,I 1 -~ D2h323bQ22~ 0 in S

D)313 (0,1 -- X2 )//1 + D2h323( 0,2 + Xl) 1/2 = 0 on the boundary ~ S (37)

where n is the outward normal to the boundary.

Problem (37) defining the warping function is easy to solve. We show below some examples of its
solution for the square beams cross section of unitary half side, for various ratios of Young moduli of
the components of the cell of periodicity. For each plot we give the values of Dh1313,Dh2323and the torsional
M. Lefik, B. A. Schrefler: 3-D finite element analysis of composite beams with parallel fibres, based on homogenization theory

eft eft
G1313 : G2323 ; Eft. torsional rigidity

5:1 ; 3.847

10:1 ; 4.289

~
1:1 ; 2.250 Y

2:1 ; 3.022
Fig. 5. Warping functions for the cross-
X section of compositebeam

rigidity of the cross section. The numerical description of the warping function obtained in this way
will be used where necessary.

4
Numerical formulation of the proposed beam model
For w~(x3) we use the Hermitian interpolations over a one dimensional finite element parametrized
with - 1 < ~ < 1. For w3(x3), 0~(x3) linear shape functions are used, but in this case it is also possible
to apply the interpolation with higher order of continuity. In general, our code enables us to define an
individual type of interpolation for each of the unknown functions. To mark the different orders of
approximations for different components of w~(x3), 0~(x3) or b~(x3), we label the corresponding shape
function with superscripts, for example: NW~(~),N~
The nodal degrees of freedom are:

v = {{w;} {o;} {w;} (o;} {o;} {b;}} (38)

where the superscript e is used for the vector of the unknown nodal values of the element.
Vectors w ~, b ~, 0~ are of the form:

{w;} = {w~w[~w~iw[~}, {0;} ={010~}, {b;} = {blb~} (39)

where superscript 1 or 2 is used for the degrees of freedom in node 1 or 2 respectively. If needed the
higher order derivatives at the nodes are included in the same way. The interpolation using the
shape functions can be defined as follows: (there is no summation over repeated indices in the following)

wi(~)=Nwi(~)w~ 0i(~)=N~ b~(~)=Nb~(~_)b~. (4o)

Derivatives are expressed by derivatives of shape functions which are all defined up to the desired level
of approximation:

NW~(~) NWZ(~) N~ Nbi(ff). (41)

4.1
Displacements
The vector of the global displacements u is fixed as follows (the superscript will be dropped in the sequel):

u ~ = {u~ u2~u~}. (42)

The assumed form of the global displacements (18) permits us to make the following decomposition:

u(x~,x3) = (N',(X3) + xu(x~)N~(x3) + r,(x~)N:'(x3)) re. (43)

 Computational Mechanics14 (1994)

In the above we have introduced the following matrices:

VN~i 0 0 0 0 0 j
N':/0 0 NW2 0 0 0[0]3 (44)
[o 0 0 0 N w3 0

=
i ,oooo] 0
0
x~
0
x2
0
0
X1
0
X2
(45)

10 [ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Eii Nb3 "

0 0 0 0 0 -- N ~ 0 0 0

L
N~ = 0 0 0 0 0 N 03 0 0 0
(46)
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 E22Nb3
-- N ~ ) -- N 02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
,3
0 0 - - N wl
,3
N 01 0 0 0 0 0

X 1XI X2X2
-- Ell XlX2 E.~- - E~ ~ 0
XlX 1 X2X2
r u -- Ell--i - - E22 E22X 1X2 0 (47)

0 O(x~)

N: '~- [0]3 0 0 2 [013xl ~ (48)

N 03 0
,3

We write Eq. (43) now for a single cell (conductor) indicated with superscript s. The local set of coordinates
y is placed in the plane of the cross-section of this cell of periodicity. Coordinates of the origin o f y are
x ' for this cell. This is shown in Fig. 6.
For the single cell we have:

x~ = :e~ + eye. (49)

We also approximate the warping function (and f~ in the same way) on each conductor cross-section:

8(x~,y~) = O(x',) + ey~ O ~(x'~) (50)

then:

u(x~,,y:,,x3) = ( N
. ( .x 3 ). +. x.(x~)N.(xs)
. + r.(x~)N~'(x3))ve+ e ( x. ( y ~ ) N".(x3)

+ y~r.,~(~)N~'(x3))vL (51)

X2

I I

The cell number S

X1
Fig. 6. Description of the single cell in the cross-section
M, Lefik, B. A. Schrefler: 3-D finite element analysis of composite beams with parallel fibres, based on homogenization theory

4.2
Strains
The ordering of the vectors needed in the sequel is the following:
eOl = ~ ~Ol _0i ~Ol ~01 ^01 ^01 ) (5 2 )
(1511 ~22 ~'33r ~23 r f"

Using the interpolation functions and the vector of nodal unknown v, e may be written as:

e~ x3) = (B'(x3) + Xe(Xc~)B"(x 3) + re(x~)B"(x3) ) v e (53)

where

0 0 0.5Enx 2 -- 0.5Elix I 0.SEllX 1 0.5EIIx 2 11

0 0 0.SE22x2 -- 0.5E22x 1 0.SE22x1 0.SE22x2
x~ xz 0 0 0 0
Xe (54)
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0.Sx 1 0.5 E22X2 0.5E22X2 -- 0.5X t
0 0 --0.5X 2 0.SEllX 1 0.5EllX 1 0.5x 2

[012 [0]2 4

~9(x~) o o o
re(X~) = 0 0 0 0 (55)
[014
0 O,2(Xa) fx2(X~) f22(X~)
0 O,l(x~) f11(x~) L2(x~)

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ell Nb3
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 E22 Nb3
0 0 0 0 N w3
,3 0 0 0 0
B' = (56)
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0.5N ~ 0 0 0 0 0
0 -- 0.5N 02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

-- N,~13 -- N~ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 -N,~ N~ 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0.SN~3 - - N bl 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 __ N b2 0.5N~3 (57)
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 N b2 0.5Nb3
0 0 0 0 0 -- 0.5 N~ -- N bl 0 0

[0]2 [0]2
N 03
,33 0 0 0
B" = 0.5N~ 3 0 0 0 (58)
[o]4
0 0.5Nb~ 0 0
0 0 0.5N~2 0

In local coordinates y for the single cell s, after the substitution of (49) and following the approximation
(50) for 0 a n d f i j

e~ x3) = (B'(x3) + xe(~) B"(x3) + re(xS)B(x3))v e + 8(Xe(ye) B"(X3) -t-y . .r. . (xT)B
s (x3))v e (59)

which in a more compact form becomes:

e~ x3) = (Xle(XS) B l ( x 3 ) q- ery~(y~,x~)Bz(x3))v ~ (60)

where

x~e(x~) = [1, Xe(X~),re(X~)],

s s rye(y~,x~) = [Xe(y~),ylre,2(X~),)'2re,2(X~)] (61)
t rt ytt T tt ttt m T
BI(x3) = [B (Xa))g (x3):)B ( x 3 ) ] ) B2(x3)=IB (x3),B (x3),B (x3) ] . (62)
 Computational Mechanics 14 (1994)

The full formula for deformation up to the zeroth-order term, following (21) becomes

e~ = (1 + LX(y~)) (XIe(X s ) B 1 ( x 3 ) + g r y e ( y e , xs~) B2(X3) ) v e (63)

where matrices L, X were introduced first by (n), (12).
The work of the internal forces is calculated next.
For the linear density of the work of internal forces 7r we have:

2W = ~ a~e} df2= ~n(x3) dl (64)

f2 L

where
12
S
= ~ ~e~ + x r ( y ) L r ) D ( y ) ( 1 + LX(y))e ~ dY. (65)
s=l Y

Integral (65) is calculated as the sum of integrals over the single cells, and has the meaning of linear
energy density. S denotes the whole beam cross-section. The total number of strands is S, s is the index
for the single strand, and the area of the cross-section is [S] = S]Y].
For the evaluation of (64) we introduce the stiffness matrix K by taking the form (63) of e into account
and performing the integration over Y:

K = ~(Ko~ + s2Ko2) (66)

L

where
(s
Kol = B~(x3) IYI Y x~e(~)Dhxlex;) BI(X3)
) (67)
S=I /

Ko2=Br(x3) ~Se(y,x~)(1
T s
+Xr(y)Lr)D(y)(1 +LX(y))rye(y,x~)dY
s
B2(x3) (68)
Y

hence, the work of the internal forces is:

2W=vrKv. (69)

In deriving the above equations we have chosen the origin of the global set of coordinates in such a way
that the sums with only x or y vanish. For the symmetrical cell of periodicity (geometry and mechanical
properties) also the integrals over Y containing either x or y vanish. The matrix W contains the effective
material coefficients which have previously been defined by (16). We emphasize here that in the derivation
of the beam element it was not previously assumed that the global behaviour is governed by the effective
material coefficients calculated above. The formulae for effective coefficients follow here from (65).
The computation of (68) is rather tedious. We use the same finite element mesh, which has been
defined for the single cell of periodicity for the calculation of effective coefficients. The matrix of the
nodalvalues of the function of homogenization is treated as input data in this case. The introduced matrices
are very sparse, and zeros are always at the same positions, independently of the problem solved. This
is taken into account during the computation.
If b and the warping function are neglected, K01 reduces to:

S S
__ h s h
I=fl -- a3333 ~ x~x~/~ ] = a=3f13~ x ~ e ~ f l , ~ . (70)
s=l s=l

S
Applications and discussion

5.1
Substantial reduction of the problem size
The presented model enables us to easily overcome one of the difficulties in the analysis of composite
media, i.e. the difficulty in taking into account the geometry and material properties of the whole composite
by simple refinement of FE mesh. The following example illustrates this.
M.Lefik,B.A. Schrefler:3-Dfinite elementanalysisof compositebeamswithparallelfibres,basedon homogenizationtheory

Consider a layered, simply supported beam under two concentrated forces. The full discretisation
of this simple problem, for the case of ten thick layers separated by thin weak interfaces demands several
hundreds of degrees of freedom. In the proposed example, the required number of degrees of freedom
to obtain an acceptable accuracy is about 12oo (when using rectangular, four node plane stress elements).
Vice versa, our method requires only 12o degrees of freedom for the discretisation of the single, periodically
repetitive layer and another 72 degrees of freedom for the global effective beam problem if six hermitean
beam elements are used. The obtained results with both models are shown in Fig. 8. These results
are referred to a cross-section in pure bending. The figure also shows the improvement obtained in our
model with correctors. Because of space limit these will be dealt with in a separate paper.
Table 1 shows that the beam rigid in its own plane (i.e. for b = 0) is always stiffer than that with
b not constrained. The difference between values of displacement is about 6%-9.5% and is smaller
when ah33 diminishes. It is observed, furthermore, that for increasing values of the ratios E(steel)/ 13

HMHH~ ~g--

Beam section
(21 layers,
~/////////] 10 eells)

l 1/6
single cell
10.0

. . . . z/3
!

w/, ~///, "///~ ~

////,////2/////,
i/ 6

19.95 ~ 1 0 . 0

5O - - . - S t r e s s obtained by FEM
~Average stress
5O
o
~ stress
~o ~"Unsmearing" with corrector
d
9 3o

20

10

o ~ ~ - - 4 ~ ~.
0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0
Lower half part of the cross section. E(steel) / E(epoxy) = 10 / 1, E(steel) = 210 GPa

Figs. 7-8. 7 Bending of the multilayered beam. 8 Normal stress in the cross section of the beam

Table 1. Max. deflection of the beam

Ratio Est~el/Eepoxy(Poisson ratio 0.3, constant for both 5/1 10/1 50/1
materials)
FE solution of non homogeneous problem with fine 0.01196 0.01303 0.0150
quadrilateral mesh (the solution of reference)
Solution with equivalent beam element with additional 0.01098 0.0123 0.0147
term b = 0.0 (see (18)) (relative error) ( 8.92%) (-5.93%) (-2.04%)
Solution obtained using equivalent beam element 0.01203 0.0133 0.01559
with full kinematical hypothesis (relative error) (0.58%) (2.07%) (3.93%)
 Computational Mechanics 14 (1994)

E (epoxy) (hence lesser values of ah3a3) displacements resulting from our model of the beam are becoming
increasingly larger than those given by the heterogeneous FE model. The reason for this is that bending
of each individual fibre is not taken into account (for the symmetric cell the local stress description is
symmetric with respect to the local axes y). In fact, our method is sensitive to the values of ah3~3. In the limit
case, when the epoxy matrix becomes very weak (i.e. a~3 tends to zero), our method cannot be used.
In this situation the resistance of the beam with separate fibres is only due to bending of each
fibre. We will overcome this disadvantage using the second order correctors in the stress description.
A separate paper will deal with the extension of the method outlined hereby.
In the simple test example the reduction of the number of d.o.f, is substantial. In a real engineering
problem such as that of a superconducting magnet with a typical cell of periodicity of complex
internal structure, the direct use of the FE method without some equivalent material properties seems
14 not viable. The presented model in this case is an attractive alternative. This will be shown in the next
example.

epoxy insulation .
x2 steel casing , ~ ,1~

0oooooooo ii
:000000000 I " "
!000000000 i,! L3,CL t4.~ 3.o ~.s
000000000~_ / ] ]2~.o
000000000~ -- /
:0 00000000 ~ /
:O00000OO0
~ IU ~I.II.InU ~
x
~
/
I
I
I.II.II.II.IU ~

_',000000000 3.c
1.5
Cross section of The single Finite element
9 the coil (quarter) conductor mesh

a ~ z

10

Tz x

Tzy

Figs. 9-11. 9 Cross-section of

the superconducting coils.
1o Normal stresses over the
array of nine conductors.
11 Shear stresses on the single
11 cell of periodicity
M. Lefik, B. A. Schrefler: 3-D finite element analysis of composite beams with parallel fibres, based on homogenization theory

5.2
Global stresses image obtained via cell by cell local unsmearing process
Homogenization and related unsmearing procedures permit us to analyse some local effects of the
distribution of displacements and stresses. From the global point of view these effects can be understood
as being of second order, but for the description of the local stress state they are of major importance.
A realistic example of a superconducting beam shows the potential of our procedure. The same
beam as above is analysed with a new cross section. The cross section of the single cell shown in
Fig. 9 is that of the toroidal coil of NET (Next European Torus) described in Gori and Schrefler (1989). In
this case we need a more sophisticated FE mesh for a sufficiently exact description of the local geometry.
To this end we have used a quadrilateral mesh (four nodes per element) with 240 elements. The unsmearing
procedure gives us the diagram of stresses for a single cell. The normal stress diagram for several
cells, each one obtained via an independent numerical procedure, proves that the Y-periodicity conditions 15
and second order correctors included in the unsmearing routine result in quite realistic global graphs.
Figure lO shows such a collection of independently calculated distributions of normal stresses for a few
neighbouring cells. The stresses are smoothed material by material. The level indicated with a depicts
stresses in the steel casing, that labelled with b in the epoxy insulation. The label c marks the zero
stress level.
The shear stress diagrams obtained via unsmearing procedure and smoothed material by material
are shown in Fig. 11. These graphs are continuous for r in x 1 direction and for r in Xz direction
respectively.

6
Conclusions
The homogenization procedure yields effective material coefficients which may be used with standard
orthotropic 3-D elements in structural codes for the analysis of composites. Here, via homogenization
procedure, we have developed a spatial beam element for beams made of unidirectional composites.
This model provides for a substantial reduction in size of the problem and, therefore, is easily applicable
to large engineering structures such as superconducting coils. Unsmearing procedures also shown in
the paper yield realistic stress diagrams with local features needed for engineering design.

References
Bensoussan, A.; Lions,J.-L.;Papanicolau,G. 1976:Asymptotic analysis for periodic structures. Amsterdam, North-Holland
Caillerie,D. 1982:Etude de quelques Problbmesde Perturbation en Theorie de l'Elasticit4et de la Conduction Thermique, Thbse
de Doctorat d'Etat. Paris, Universit4 Pierre et Marie Curie
Christensen, R. M. 1979:Mechanics of composite materials. New York: J. Wiley& Sons
Duvaut, G. 1976:Analyse Functionelle, M6canique des Milieux Continus: Homog4ndisation,in theoretical and applied
mechanics. Amsterdam, North-Holland
Gori, R. E.; SchreflerB. A. 1989: A partially bonded beam element for superconducting magnet pancakes. Int. J. Num. Meth.
Engng. 27:299-321
Lefik,M.; SchreflerB. A. 1992:Homogenizedmaterial coefficientsfor 3D elastic analysis of superconducting coils. In: Ladeveze,
P.; Zienkiewicz,O. C. (eds.):New advancesin computational structural mechanics.ElsevierSciencePublishersB.V.,pp. 435-446
Sanchez-Palencia,E. 198o: Non-homogeneous media and vibration theory. Berlin: Springer
Zienkiewicz,O. C.; Taylor, R. L. 1989: The finite element method. London: McGraw-Hill
Schrefler, B. A.; Lefik,M. 1993:Correctors in a beam model for unidirectional composites. (to be published)