Effective elastic properties of alumina-zirconia composite ceramics by a 2D computational homogenization procedure

. Composites have applications in many industrial segments, where different materials are combined to obtain improved mechanical properties. Thus, the determination of the macroscopic constitutive behavior of composites with accuracy is important to provide the desired properties. In this context, the present work explores a 2D computational homogenization procedure to compute the effective elastic properties of alumina-zirconia composite ceramics. The average-based homogenization theory is used to obtain the homogenized or effective constitutive behavior. The composite is modeled by the concept of Representative Volume Element (RVE), which is numerically simulated with finite elements. Simulations are performed considering the uniform and periodic boundary conditions. The computationally homogenized results for the elasticity modulus are close to the experimental results compared. The boundary condition has a significant influence in the case of the shear modulus. Furthermore, the computational homogenization framework is an interesting tool for designing composites with specific properties.