Local microstructure-based material performance and damage in design and finite element simulations of cast components

A novel approach to incorporate local microstructure-based material performance into finite element method (FEM) simulations of cast components is presented. By adopting perspectives from natural designs as dinosaur skulls and trees, the discipline-wide approach enables accurate prediction of damage in structures based on a heterogeneous distribution of sub-scale features. It is shown that heterogeneous damage tolerance dictates the performance and failure of cast aluminum, and simulations are compared with experimental results of heterogeneous tensile samples using digital image correlation (DIC). The numerical application of the approach in the industrial product realization process of an industrial casting is demonstrated, and the applicability of the approach to understand the behavior and failure of natural as well as synthetic structures is discussed.