Constitutive relations describing creep deformation for multi-axial time-dependent stress states

A theory of primary and secondary creep deformation in metals is presented, which is based upon the concept of tensor internal state variables and the principles of continuum mechanics and thermodynamics. The theory is able to account for both multi-axial and time-dependent stress and strain states. The wellknown concepts of elastic, anelastic and plastic strains follow naturally from the theory. Homogeneous stress states are considered in detail and a simplified theory is derived by linearizing with respect to the internal state variables. It is demonstrated that the model can be developed in such a way that multi-axial constant-stress creep data can be presented as a single relationship between an equivalent stress and an equivalent strain. It is shown how the theory may be used to describe the multi-axial deformation of metals which are subjected to constant stress states. The multi-axial strain response to a general cyclic stress state is calculated. For uni-axial stress states, square-wave loading and a thermal fatigue stress cycle are analysed.     

Damage-induced nonassociated inelastic flow in rock salt

The multimechanism deformation coupled fracture model recently developed by Chanet al. [1992], for describing time-dependent, pressure-sensitive inelastic flow and damage evolution in crystalline solids was evaluated against triaxial creep experiments on rock salt. Guided by experimental observations, the kinetic equation and the flow law for damage-induced inelastic flow in the model were modified to account for the development of damage and inelastic dillation in the transient creep regime. The revised model was then utilized to obtain the creep response and damage evolution in rock salt as a function of confining pressure and stress difference. Comparison between model calculation and experiment revealed that damage-induced inelastic flow is nonassociated, dilational, and contributes significantly to the macroscopic strain rate observed in rock salt deformed at low confining pressures. The inelastic strain rate and volumetric strain due to damage decrease with increasing confining pressures, and all are suppressed at sufficiently high confining pressures.     

Photomechanical behavior of cellulose acetate under viscoelastoplastic deformation

To confirm the possibilities of cellulose acetate as a material for a model analysis during viscoelastoplastic deformation, the time-dependent photomechanical properties of the material were examined by means of creep tests under constant stress and recovery tests after removal of stress. Consequently, though the strain and the fringe order of cellulose acetate during creep and recovery are greatly influenced by stress and room temperature, both of them can be described simply by a power function of time, and the coefficient of each of these formulas can be represented by a function of the ratio of active stress to yield stress only. The effect of temperature is included in the formulation of the yield stress. In addition, the strain and the fringe order can be represented by the viscous-viscoelastic model proposed by Findleyet al.,^1,2 in which both of them are divided into four components: elastic, plastic, time-dependent irrecoverable viscous and time-dependent recoverable viscoelastic. The relation between viscoelastic strain and viscoelastic fringe order, and the relation between viscous strain and viscous fringe order were verified to be equivalent to that between plastic strain and plastic fringe order, all of which do not depend on stress, temperature or time. Therefore, the strain distribution of cellulose acetate under viscoelastoplastic deformation can be determined directly from the value of the fringe order measured.     

纤维增强金属基复合材料整体蠕变性能的细观力学分析

高温下金属基复合材料的蠕变主要由基体蠕变和界面扩散蠕变两部分构成,以往的研究中常常只考虑其中一种蠕变机理,从而导致得到的规律具有较大的局限性．本文提出了一种可预测金属基复合材料整体蠕变性能的细观力学方法,同时考虑了基体蠕变和界面扩散蠕变两种蠕变机理,导出了具有张量形式并满足不可压缩性的界面扩散蠕变应变表达式．采用Mori-Tanaka法和自洽法二者结果的平均以便更准确地计算纤维中的应力,揭示了两种蠕变机理相互影响的竞争关系．研究了恒定双轴荷载下的总体蠕变和固定位移约束下的应力松弛这两种常见蠕变问题,探究了基体蠕变与界面扩散蠕变两种蠕变机理在总蠕变中发挥的作用,考察了不同加载条件和不同纤维体积分数对复合材料整体蠕变行为的影响．     

The effect of time-dependent twinning on low temperature (<0.25 ∗ Tm) creep of an alpha-titanium alloy

The low-temperature (less than one-fourth of the melting temperature) creep deformation behavior of hexagonally close-packed (HCP) α-Ti–1.6 wt.% V was investigated. Creep tests were performed at various temperatures between room temperature and 205 °C at 95% of the respective yield stress at the different temperatures. The creep strain rate was found to increase with increasing temperature. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy revealed that slip and unusually slow twin growth, or time-dependent twinning, are active deformation mechanisms for the entire temperature range of this investigation. The activation energy for creep of this alloy was calculated to identify the rate-controlling deformation mechanism, and was found to increase with increasing creep strain. At low strain, the activation energy for creep was found to be close to the previously calculated activation energy for slip. At high strain, the calculated activation energy indicates that both slip and twinning are significant deformation mechanisms. The appearance of twinning at high strains is explained by a model for twin nucleation by dislocation pileups.     

Transient and steady-state nanoindentation creep of polymeric materials

The transient and steady-state nanoindentation creep of polymeric materials was investigated. The creep model is used to explain the experimental data of transient and steady-state creep dominated by viscoelastic deformation and power-law creep deformation, respectively. The Burgers viscoelastic model was used to interpret the transient creep in polymers under nano-indentation. Explicit expression for the displacement of transient creep was derived using the correspondence principle of linear viscoelasticity theory. The power law of strain rate-stress relation was used to explain the creep displacement during the steady state. Three polymers of poly(methyl methacrylate), hydroxyethyl methacrylate copolymer, and the fast-cure acrylic resin were used to measure the nanoindentation creep. The transient creep data are in good agreement with the predictions from the Burgers viscoelastic model. The creep displacement is mainly attributed to the viscous flow of the Kelvin element, and the computed values of viscosities (η_1,c, η_2,c) increase with decreasing preloading rate. By comparing the steady-state creep data with the power law of strain rate-stress relation, the stress exponents for the above polymeric materials were quantitatively determined.     

Stress relaxation and creep of polymer gels in solvent under uniaxial and biaxial deformations

Stress relaxation and creep of polymer gels in solvent under various deformation modes such as uniaxial, strip-biaxial, and equibiaxial were theoretically investigated. The magnitudes of relaxed stress and the creep at equilibrium under each deformation mode were derived by a thermodynamic consideration of gel system. Combining a constitutive equation of gel with the equation of motion of polymer network, the stress and strain under each deformation mode have been formulated. The theory proposed here was applied to the rectangular gels under various deformations to calculate the stress relaxation and creep behavior of polymer networks in solvent. Two methods different in treatment of swelling under the constant strain or stress were employed for the calculation: one is based on the assumption that the swelling proceeds isotropically, and the other considers the anisotropic swelling process. The results obtained by the two methods mainly differ in the diffusion mode determining the swelling behavior. The possibility of undershoot of relative strain in load-free direction in the creep is also expected.     

Microstructural effects in non linear stratified composites

In this paper, we analyze the microstructural effects on non linear elastic and periodic composites within the framework of asymptotic homogenization. We assume that the constitutive laws of the individual constituents derive from strain potentials. The microstructural effects are incorporated by considering the higher order terms, which come from the asymptotic series expansion. The complete solution at any order requires the resolution of a chain of cell problems in which the source terms depend on the solution at the lower order. The influence of these terms on the macroscopic response of the non linear composite is evaluated in the particular case of a stratified microstructure. The analytic solutions of the cell problems at the first and second order are provided for arbitrary local strain–stress laws which derive from potentials. As classically, the non-linear dependence on the applied macroscopic strain is retrieved for the solution at the first order. It is proved that the second order term in the expansion series also exhibits a non linear dependence with the macroscopic strain but linearly depends on the gradient of macroscopic strain. As a consequence, the macroscopic potential obtained by homogenization is a quadratic function of the macroscopic strain gradient when the expansion series is truncated at the second order. This model generalizes the well known first strain gradient elasticity theory to the case of non linear elastic material. The influence of the non local correctors on the macroscopic potential is investigated in the case of power law elasticity under macroscopic plane strain or antiplane conditions.     

Structural effect in the creep behavior of thermoplastic pressure pipes at high temperature – role of geometrical defects

Failure mechanisms such as local cavitation observed in crystalline thermoplastics pipes submitted to low constant pressure are likely to be induced by microstructure heterogeneity and time-dependent macroscopic stress fields. This study on poly(vinylidene) fluoride (PVDF) focuses on the latter, simulating the long-term creep behavior of homogeneous viscous pipes with finite-element calculations. Stress and strain distributions are evaluated just after loading and their evolution with time is considered. The hydrostatic stress is analyzed in relation to the onset of cavitation. The detrimental consequences of thickness defects due to extrusion on the onset of cavitation are also established.     

On stress relaxation, creep, and plastic flow

Recently the author published a time-dependent theory of plasticity including recovery which treats creep strain and plastic strain as mathematically indistinguishable. After presenting a sketch of this theory, we establish the differential equation of low-temperature stress relaxation on the basis of a Mises-type material with kinematic hardening. Then we discuss high-temperature transient creep, steady-state creep, and Norton's rule results as an approximation with Sherby's exponent n = 5.     

Mechanical effects of the self-organization of dislocations and related critical characteristics

The effects of the dislocation pattern formed due to the self-organization of the dislocations in crystals on the macroscopic hardening and dynamic internal friction (DIF) during deformation are studied. The classic dislocation models for the hardening and DIF corresponding to the homogeneous dislocation configuration are extended to the case for the non-homogeneous one. In addition, using the result of dislocation patterning deduced from the non-linear dislocation dynamics model for single slip, the correlation between the dislocation pattern and hardening as well as DIF is obtained. It is shown that in the case of the tension with a constant strain rate, the bifurcation point of dislocation patterning corresponds to the turning point in the stress versus strain and DIF versus strain curves. This result along with the critical characteristics of the macroscopic behavior near the bifurcation point is microscopically and macroscopically in agreement with the experimental findings on mono-crystalline pure aluminum at temperatures around 0.5T _m . The present study suggests that measuring the DIF would be a sensitive and useful mechanical means in order to study the critical phenomenon of materials during deformation. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under the Grand 19702019 & 19891180-4 and by the Chinese Academy of Sciences under the Grand KJ951-1-201.     

Rate (time)-dependent deformation behavior: an overview of some properties of metals and solid polymers

The inelastic deformation behaviors of metals and polymers are discussed with the aim of finding a common base that would simplify academic and engineering analyses. Only monotonic loading conditions at room temperature are considered. For loading at different rates, nonlinear relations between loading rate and stress level, creep stress level and creep strain, and relaxation rate and stress were common to both type of materials. There are, of course, significant differences in elastic properties, strength levels and the strains involved. Special properties such as relaxation behaviors and creep anomalies can be qualitatively and quantitatively reproduced by the state variable model VBO (viscoplasticity theory based on overstress). Since experimental investigations typically concentrate on one particular aspect of inelastic deformation behavior such as creep or strain-rate dependence, it is often difficult to gather a comprehensive data set for a given material. In spite of this, considerable similitude in the deformation behavior of metals and polymers in various test conditions has nevertheless been established.     

Modeling deformation behavior of polymers with viscoplasticity theory based on overstress

The nonlinear strain rate sensitivity, multiple creep and recovery behavior of polyphenylene oxide (PPO), which were explored through strain rate-controlled experiments at ambient temperature by Khan [The deformation behavior of solid polymers and modeling with the viscoplasticity theory based overstress, Ph.D. Thesis, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York], are modeled using the modified viscoplasticity theory based on overstress (VBO). In addition, VBO used by Krempl and Ho [An overstress model for solid polymer deformation behavior applied to Nylon 66, ASTM STP 1357, 2000, p. 118] and the classical VBO are used to demonstrate the improved modeling capabilities of VBO for solid polymer deformation. The unified model (VBO) has two tensor valued state variables, the equilibrium and kinematic stresses and two scalar valued states variables, drag and isotropic stresses. The simulations include monotonic loading and unloading at various strain rates, multiple creep and recovery at zero stress. Since creep behavior has been found to be profoundly influenced by the level of the stress, the tests are performed at different stresses above and below the yield point. Numerical results are compared to experimental data. It is shown that nonlinear rate sensitivity, nonlinear unloading, creep and recovery at zero stress can be reproduced using the modified viscoplasticity theory based on overstress.     

Experimental investigation of cyclic and time-dependent deformation of titanium alloy at elevated temperature

A novel cyclic deformation test program was undertaken to characterize macroscopic time dependent deformation of a titanium alloy for use in viscoplastic model development. All tests were conducted at a high homologous temperature, 650 °C, where there are large time dependent and loading rate dependent effects. Uninterrupted constant amplitude tests having zero mean stress or a tensile mean stress were conducted using three different control modes: strain amplitude and strain rate, stress amplitude and stress rate, and a hybrid stress amplitude and strain rate. Strain ratcheting occurred for all cyclic tests having a tensile mean stress and no plastic shakedown was observed. The shape of the strain ratcheting curve as a function of time is analogous to a creep curve having primary, steady state and tertiary regions, but the magnitude of the ratchet strains are higher than creep strains would be for a constant stress equal to the mean stress. Strain cycles interrupted with up to eight 2-h stress relaxation periods around the hysteresis loop, including hold times in each quadrant of the stress–strain diagram, were also conducted. Stress relaxation was path-dependent and in some cases the stress relaxed to zero. The cyclic behavior of these interrupted tests was similar even though each cycle was very complex. These results support constitutive model development by providing exploratory, characterization and validation data.     

一种新的岩石非线性黏弹塑性蠕变模型研究

为了克服传统元件组合模型不能描述岩石蠕变过程中非线性特征的缺陷，首先根据加速蠕变阶段的应变和应变率随蠕变时间急剧增大的特点，建立黏塑性应变与蠕变时间的指数函数关系并提出非线性黏塑性体．将该非线性黏塑性体与广义Burgers蠕变模型串联，建立可以描述岩石全蠕变过程的非线性黏弹塑性蠕变模型，根据叠加原理得到一维应力状态下的轴向蠕变方程．然后基于塑性力学理论指出岩石三维蠕变本构方程建立过程中的不足之处，并给出非线性黏弹塑性蠕变模型合理的三维蠕变方程．最后采用不同应力水平下砂岩轴向蠕变试验对模型合理性进行验证，结果表明：拟合曲线与试验曲线吻合度较高，所建蠕变模型能够很好地描述砂岩在不同应力水平下的蠕变变形规律，尤其对加速蠕变阶段的非线性特征描述效果很好，验证了模型的合理性．     

Experimental stress analysis for process of nonsteady inelastic deformation by photoviscoplasticity

The proposed photoviscoplasticity is a method for determining the stress distribution in nonsteady inelastic deformation during creep. The governing fundamental relations are derived by considering the effect of time as involved in the viscoplastic strain rate and the stress rate, and by considering the distinctive deformation properties of celluloid as model material. The validity of the fundamental relations are evaluated according to calibration test by using celluloid. The proposed method is applied for two practical applications of the compression of blocks by elastic punches and the compression of strip having a circular hole or semicircular notches. The time-dependent variation of stress states can be analyzed with the same accuracy as in the photoelasticity.     

Mechanics of composites with two families of finitely extensible fibers undergoing large deformations

Motivated by experimental measurements of the uniaxial response of collagen fibers, a new strain energy-density function for a solid which is finitely extensible along a preferred direction is proposed. Next, by application of a homogenization technique, the macroscopic strain energy-density function of composites with one and two families of fibers of this material embedded in a neo-Hookean matrix are determined. The resulting explicit expressions for the macroscopic strain energy-density functions are given in terms of the behaviors of the individual phases and their volume fractions. The responses of a few specific composites are investigated, revealing the lock-up surfaces of these composites. Finally, we examine the ability of the macroscopic model to capture experimentally measured stress-strain curves for the medial layer of a human abdominal aorta.     

Constitutive potential for void-containing nonlinear materials and void growth

Based on an analysis of the deformation of an isolated void in a finite nonlinear viscous material, we establish the constitutive potentials for voided nonlinearly viscous materials, from which the related curves of the macroscopic stress, the average flow stress of the matrix material and the void volume fraction f are derived. However, the theory applies equally well to small strain, rate-independent J₂ deformation theory solid. By considering the effects of the strain-hardening directly, a modifies Gurson equation are developed. Finally, we calculate the void relative growth-rates for the nonlinear materials, and in good agreement with existed numerical results.     

Time-dependent creep of a dual-phase viscoplastic material with lamellar structure

Exact solutions for the time-dependent creep behavior of a two-phase material with a lamellar microstructure are derived as a function of volume concentration and the properties of its constituents. Each phase is taken to be elastic–viscoplastic, exhibiting work-hardening characteristics. The derivation takes advantage of the condition of interfacial discontinuities over the interfaces, with a result given in a rate form for the general combined loading. Specific overall creep strains are presented along five distinctive loading directions for two kinds of viscoplastic composites: one involving an elastic and a viscoplastic phases and the other with dual viscoplastic phases. In addition to providing insightful information for the overall time-dependent creep, the exact nature of the results can also serve as a bench mark to test the accuracy of the approximate theories. In this light a secant-viscosity approach recently developed for a particle-reinforced solid (Li and Weng (1997). A secant-viscosity approach to the time-dependent creep of an elastic–viscoplastic composite. J. Mech. Phys. Solids, 45, 1069) is extended to a lamellar structure and the results are tested against these exact solutions. Comparison between the two indicates that the secant-viscosity concept is a sufficiently accurate one and it can be applied to composites with other types of microgeometries.