Combination of discrete and finite element method to simulate damage in galvanised steel

In the present paper, the bending behaviour of a hot-rolled hyper-sandelin steel, subjected to hot-dip galvanizing (HDG), is numerically simulated in Ansys LS-DYNA environment by combining the Discrete Element Method (DEM) with Finite Element Method (FEM). The coating examined is composed by different layers: the layers with a ductile behaviour are modelled by using elastoplastic constitutive laws for the FEs, whereas the layers with a quasi-brittle behaviour are simulated by using DEs. Such an approach shows quite satisfactory results and it can be promising as a numerical tool to be used by HDG industry, being accurate to estimate the damage of galvanized steel