Overview

Digimat-FE is a sophisticated computational tool designed to enhance the understanding and prediction of composite material behaviors through detailed microstructural analysis. By generating realistic Representative Volume Elements (RVEs) for various material microstructures—including plastics, rubbers, metals, ceramics, and nano-filled materials—Digimat-FE enables engineers and researchers to perform accurate finite element analyses. This process provides deep insights into the microscopic mechanisms that influence the overall response of composite materials, facilitating optimized material design and innovation.

Features and Capabilities

• Realistic Microstructure Generation:
  • Supports 2D and 3D microstructures.
  • Accommodates a wide range of materials, including reinforced plastics, unidirectional composites, metals, ceramics, and foams.
  • Offers generic inclusions such as matrix, inclusion, void, continuous fiber, strand, and external CAD imports.
  • Provides fabric options like interlock, orthogonal, braided, non-crimp, and DFCA with various weave patterns.
  • Includes lattice structures such as aligned, sparse, double dense sparse, hexagonal, and custom infills.
  • Supports foam structures with open or closed cells, random, Kelvin, or custom configurations.
  • Enables modeling of metals, including polycrystals and cemented metals.
  • Allows import of geometric microstructures from STL files and image microstructures from CT scans.
• Internal Meshing and Solvers:
  • Provides conforming mesh (tetrahedral) and non-conforming mesh (voxel) options.
  • Features mesh cutting and conforming extruded mesh capabilities.
  • Supports grid points for detailed analysis.
  • Includes internal Finite Element (FE) and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) solvers for efficient computations.
  • Offers compatibility with external solvers for extended analysis.
  • Utilizes multiple CPUs and GPU technology to enhance computational performance.
• Comprehensive Post-Processing:
  • Calculates average field results for thorough analysis.
  • Provides distribution data over each phase and the entire Representative Volume Element (RVE).
  • Generates 3D plots of field results for visual interpretation.
• Advanced Analysis Tools:
  • Facilitates local field visualization to observe microstructural behaviors.
  • Offers probabilistic distributions to assess material variability.
  • Determines mean homogenized properties for macroscopic material characterization.
  • Analyzes the effects of defects, damage, and fiber/matrix debonding on material performance.
  • Performs sensitivity analyses to optimize microstructure and understand material behavior.
• Integration and Compatibility:
  • Seamlessly integrates with various Finite Element Analysis (FEA) interfaces and solver technologies.
  • Supports export of RVE geometry in common formats such as STEP, IGES, and BREP for interoperability.