How virtual testing can improve the experimental material property determination

For a beneficial use of composites in lightweight structures the correct determination of material properties is an important issue. Countless static tests are available, which should provide mechanical properties like elasticities, strengths, fracture toughness or internal friction. It can be ascertained that not every test leads to the true mechanical value required for the simulation of composite structures. For the understanding of the different test setups and their applicability for material characterization, modelling the test setup leads to great insights. Especially the knowledge about strain and stress distributions is of high importance. However, additional measurement techniques like digital image correlation or ultrasonic inspection can lead to similar findings and should therefore, if possible, be taken into account. The presentation contains different examples how the use of finite element simulation -containing linear or nonlinear material behavior- helps to decide, if a specific test is suitable to lead to the required material property value. Therefore, the specific test setups are modelled considering the determined material properties as input parameters. From the coincidence of the structural behavior of test and simulation, consequently the validity of the test method can be confirmed and the obtained material value can be used for further simulations.