Abstract
A standard continuum-mechanics-based 3D boundary-element (BE) algorithm has been devised to the
microstructural modeling of complex heterogeneous solids such as general composites. In the particular
applications of this paper, the mechanical properties of carbon-nanotube–reinforced composites are estimated
from three-dimensional representative volume elements (RVEs). The shell-like thin-walled carbon
nanotubes (CNTs) are also simulated with 3D BE models, and a generic subregion-by-subregion (SBS)
algorithm makes the microstructural description of the CNT–polymer systems possible. In fact, based
on this algorithm, a general scalable BE parallel code is proposed. Square and hexagonal fiber-packing
patterns are considered to simulate the 3D composite microstructures.