Solid Truss to Shell Numerical Homogenization of Prefabricated Composite Slabs

Area of Science:

• Civil Engineering
• Computational Mechanics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Prefabricated slabs require efficient deflection calculations, often necessitating simplified numerical methods.
• Full 3D finite element (FE) modeling of complex composite slabs is computationally expensive and requires specialized expertise.
• Numerical homogenization offers a viable approach to simplify complex structural models.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and present a numerical homogenization method based on strain energy equivalence for prefabricated slabs.
• To simplify the computational modeling of prefabricated concrete slabs reinforced with steel spatial trusses.
• To establish a method for accurately homogenizing complex composite structures into equivalent single plate elements.

Main Methods:

• Derivation of a numerical homogenization technique utilizing strain energy equivalence.
• Modeling prefabricated concrete slabs with steel spatial trusses using a full 3D FE approach.
• Homogenization of the composite structure into a single plate element with effective stiffness.

Main Results:

• A complete equivalence was demonstrated between the detailed 3D FE model and the simplified homogenized plate FE model.
• The proposed method accurately homogenizes complex composite structures composed of solid and structural elements.
• The homogenization process requires a correctly formulated stiffness matrix of a representative volume element (RVE) and appropriate kinematic constraint transformations.

Conclusions:

• Numerical homogenization is an effective tool for simplifying the analysis of prefabricated slabs.
• The strain energy equivalence method allows for accurate simplification of complex composite structures without advanced numerical analyses.
• The developed method facilitates efficient and accurate deflection calculations for prefabricated slabs.