Does anyone know of any code/software to build a 3D mesh of open-cell type foams? Something like a network of Kelvin cells (in 3D).
I have tried to generate it using the Surface Evolver algorithm in SE-FIT (https://www.se-fit.com/) but the .stl file exported by it is not read properly by ABAQUS. The geometry gets all scrambled up after importing.
Check nTopology (it’s not free but you can get a demo version). There are also some open-source solutions:
However, in many cases it may not be necessary to model a whole lattice - RVE and homogenization methods can help. Here’s an example of RVE in CalculiX:
This is a snapshot from the documentation page of foamgen. Is this just the “documentation not updated” or “foamgen itself can’t be used to model open-cell foams”? Any comments would be appreciated.
This only applies to geometrical morphology feature:
Creation of closed-cell foams with struts and open-cell foams is possible through Structured meshing, which does not need morphology defined in CAD format.