Finite element modelling of the response of pyrolytic carbon under temperature changes

At the microscopic scale, pyrolytic carbon has an extremely anisotropic mechanical response under thermal expansion, elastic stretches, creep and irradiation. The accommodation of heterogeneous strains inside individual crystallites thus tends to induce microcracking, and this, in turn, influences the macroscopic response. The aim of the master thesis is to develop a modelling strategy relying on the commercial finite element code ABAQUS in order to characterise microcracking and establish the evolutions of macroscopic properties upon thermal loading.