Numerical analysis of moisture diffusion in composite resins containing multiple particles using hybrid moisture element method

This paper employs a novel numerical technique, designated as the hybrid moisture element method (HMEM), to model and analyze moisture diffusion in composite resins containing multiple particles. The HMEM scheme is based on a hybrid moisture element (HME), whose properties are determined by equivalent moisture capacitance and conductance matrixes calculated using the conventional finite element formulation. A coupled HME-FE scheme is developed and implemented using the commercial FEM software ABAQUS. The HME-FE scheme is then employed to analyze the moisture diffusion characteristics of a heterogeneous composite resin layer containing multiple particles. The analysis commences by comparing the performance of the proposed scheme with that of the conventional FEM method in modeling the moisture diffusion process. Having validated its performance, the scheme is then employed to investigate the relationship between the volume fraction of the particles in the composite resin and the rate of moisture diffusion. It is found that moisture diffusion is retarded significantly as the volume fraction of particles increases. The HMEM approach proposed in this study provides a straightforward and efficient means of modeling moisture diffusion in a heterogeneous composite resin containing multiple randomly distributed particles since only one HME moisture characteristic matrixes needs to be calculated for all HMEs sharing the same characteristics. Furthermore, different volume fractions can be modeled without modifying the original model simply by controlling the size of the inclusion region within the HME domain.