Influence of material parameters and crystallography on the size effects describable by means of strain gradient plasticity

In the context of single-crystal strain gradient plasticity, we focus on the simple shear of a constrained strip in order to study the effects of the material parameters possibly involved in the modelling. The model consists of a deformation theory suggested and left undeveloped by Bardella [(2007). Some remarks on the strain gradient crystal plasticity modelling, with particular reference to the material length scales involved. Int. J. Plasticity 23, 296–322] in which, for each glide, three dissipative length scales are considered; they enter the model through the definition of an effective slip which brings into the isotropic hardening function the relevant plastic strain gradients, averaged by means of a p-norm. By means of the defect energy (i.e., a function of Nye's dislocation density tensor added to the free energy; see, e.g., Gurtin [2002. A gradient theory of single-crystal viscoplasticity that accounts for geometrically necessary dislocations. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 50, 5–32]), the model further involves an energetic material length scale. The application suggests that two dissipative length scales may be enough to qualitatively describe the size effect of metals at the microscale, and they are chosen in such a way that the higher-order state variables of the model be the dislocation densities. Moreover, we show that, depending on the crystallography, the size effect governed by the defect energy may be different from what expected (based on the findings of [Bardella, L., 2006. A deformation theory of strain gradient crystal plasticity that accounts for geometrically necessary dislocations. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 54, 128–160] and [Gurtin et al. 2007. Gradient single-crystal plasticity with free energy dependent on dislocation densities. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 55, 1853–1878]), leading mostly to some strengthening. In order to investigate the model capability, we also exploit a Γ-convergence technique to find closed-form solutions in the “isotropic limit”. Finally, we analytically show that in the “perfect plasticity” case, should the dissipative length scales be set to zero, the presence of the sole energetic length scale may lead, as in standard plasticity, to non-uniqueness of solutions.     

Bounds for the effective properties of heterogeneous plates

This paper presents new bounds for heterogeneous plates which are similar to the well-known Hashin–Shtrikman bounds, but take into account plate boundary conditions. The Hashin–Shtrikman variational principle is used with a self-adjoint Green-operator with traction-free boundary conditions proposed by the authors. This variational formulation enables to derive lower and upper bounds for the effective in-plane and out-of-plane elastic properties of the plate. Two applications of the general theory are considered: first, in-plane invariant polarization fields are used to recover the “first-order” bounds proposed by Kolpakov [Kolpakov, A.G., 1999. Variational principles for stiffnesses of a non-homogeneous plate. J. Meth. Phys. Solids 47, 2075–2092] for general heterogeneous plates; next, “second-order bounds” for n-phase plates whose constituents are statistically homogeneous in the in-plane directions are obtained. The results related to a two-phase material made of elastic isotropic materials are shown. The “second-order” bounds for the plate elastic properties are compared with the plate properties of homogeneous plates made of materials having an elasticity tensor computed from “second-order” Hashin–Shtrikman bounds in an infinite domain.     

Mircopolar Model of Fracture for Composite Material

Failure of a composite is a complex process accompanied by irreversible changes in the microstructure of the material. Microscopic mechanisms are known of the accumulation of damage and failure of the type of localized and multiple ruptures of the fibers delamination along interphase boundaries, and also mechanisms associated with fracture of fibers. In this work, we propose a mathematical model of the local mechanism of failure of a composite material randomly reinforced with a system of short fibers. We implement the Cosserat moment model of crack tip for filament material, reinforced with whiskers or in fiber- reinforced polycrystalline materials. It is assumed that the angular distribution of the fibers is isotropic and the elastic characteristics of the fibers are considerably higher than the elastic constants of the matrix. We implement the homogenization procedure for the effective Cosserat constants similarly to the effective elastic constants. The singular solution in the vicinity of the crack tip in the Cosserat moment model is found. Using this solution, we examine the bending stresses in the filaments due to effective moment stresses in the material. The constructed model describes the phenomenon of fracture of the fibers occurring during crack propagation in those composites. The following assumptions are used as the main hypotheses for the micromechanical model. The matrix contains a nucleation crack. When the load is increased the crack grows and its boundary comes into contact with the reinforcing fibers. A further increase of the stress causes bending of the fiber. When~the fiber curvature reaches a specific critical value, the fiber ruptures. If the stress at infinity is given, the fibers no longer delay the development of failure during crack propagation The degree of bending distortion of the fiber in the vicinity of the boundary of the crack is determined by the moment model of the material. The necessity to take into account the moment stresses in the failure theory of the reinforced material was stressed in [Muki and Sternberg (1965) Zeitschrift f angew Math und Phys 16:611–615; Garajeu and Soos (2003) Math Mech Solids 8(2):189–218; Ostoja-Starzewski et al (1999) Mech Res Commun 26:387–396]. The moment Cosserat stresses were accounted also for inhomogeneous biomechanical materials by Buechner and Lakes (2003) Bio Mech Model Mechanobiol 1: 295–301. We should also mention the important methodological studies [Sternberg and Muki (1967) J Solids Struct 1:69–95; Atkinson and Leppington (1977) Int J Solids Struct 13: 1103–1122] concerned with the moment stresses in homogeneous fracture mechanics.     

Estimates for the elastic moduli of random trigonal polycrystals and their macroscopic uncertainty

Explicit expressions of the upper and lower estimates on the macroscopic elastic moduli of random trigonal polycrystals are derived and calculated for a number of aggregates, which correct our earlier results given in Pham [Pham, D.C., 2003. Asymptotic estimates on uncertainty of the elastic moduli of completely random trigonal polycrystals. Int. J. Solids Struct. 40, 4911–4924]. The estimates are expected to predict the scatter ranges for the elastic moduli of the polycrystalline materials. The concept of effective moduli is reconsidered regarding the macroscopic uncertainty of the moduli of randomly inhomogeneous materials.     

Buckling analysis of multi-walled carbon nanotubes: a continuum model accounting for van der Waals interaction

Explicit formulas are derived for the van der Waals (vdW) interaction between any two layers of a multi-walled carbon nanotube (CNT). Based on the derived formulas, an efficient algorithm is established for the buckling analysis of multi-walled CNTs, in which individual tubes are modeled as a continuum cylindrical shell. The explicit expressions are also derived for the buckling of double-walled CNTs. In previous studies by Ru (J. Appl. Phys. 87 (2000b) 7227) and Wang et al. (Int. J. Solids Struct. 40 (2003) 3893), only the vdW interaction between adjacent two layers was considered and the vdW interaction between the other two layers was neglected. The vdW interaction coefficient was treated as a constant that was not dependent on the radii of the tubes. However, the formulas derived herein reveal that the vdW interaction coefficients are dependent on the change of interlayer spacing and the radii of the tubes. With the increase of radii, the coefficients approach constants, and the constants between two adjacent layers are about 10% higher than those reported by Wang et al. (Int. J. Solids. Struct. 40 (2003) 3893). In addition, the numerical results show that the vdW interaction will lead to a higher critical buckling load in multi-walled CNTs. The effect of the tube radius on the critical buckling load of a multi-walled CNT is also examined.     

Determination of hourglass coefficients in the theory of a Cosserat point for nonlinear elastic beams

The theory of a Cosserat point has recently been used [Int. J. Solids Struct. 38 (2001) 4395] to formulate the numerical solution of problems of nonlinear elastic beams. In that theory the constitutive equations for inhomogeneous elastic deformations included undetermined constants associated with hourglass modes which can occur due to nonuniform cross-sectional extension and nonuniform torsion. The objective of this paper is to determine these hourglass coefficients by matching exact solutions of pure bending and pure torsion applied in different directions on each of the surfaces of the element. It is shown that the resulting constitutive equations in the Cosserat theory do not exhibit unphysical stiffness increases due to thinness of the beam, mesh refinement or incompressibility that are present in the associated Bubnov–Galerkin formulation. Also, example problems of a bar hanging under its own weight and a bar attached to a spinning rigid hub are analyzed.     

Implicit finite element formulations for multi-phase transformation in high carbon steel

An anomalous plastic deformation observed during the phase transformation of steels was implemented into the finite element modeling. The constitutive equations for the transformation plasticity originally proposed by Greenwood and Johnson [Greenwood, G.W., Johnson, R.H., 1965. The deformation of metals under small stresses during phase transformation. Proc. Roy. Soc. A 283, 403] and further extended by Leblond et al. [Leblond, J.B., Mottet, G., Devaux, J.C., 1986a. A theoretical and numerical approach to the plastic behavior of steels during phase transformations, I. Derivation of general relations. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 34, 395–409; Leblond, J.B., Mottet, G., Devaux, J.C., 1986b. A theoretical and numerical approach to the plastic behavior of steels during phase transformations, II. Study of classical plasticity for ideal-plastic phases. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 34, 411–432; Leblond, J.B., Devaux, J., Devaux, J.C., 1989a. Mathematical modeling of transformation plasticity in steels, I: case of ideal-plastic phases. Int. J. Plasticity 5, 511–572; Leblond, J.B., 1989b. Mathematical modeling of transformation plasticity in steels, II: coupling with strain hardening phenomena. Int. J. Plasticity 5, 573–591] were modified to consider the thermo-mechanical response of generalized multi-phase steel during phase transformations from austenite at high temperature. An implicit numerical solution procedure to calculate the plastic deformation of each constituent phase was newly proposed and implemented into the general purpose implicit finite element program via user material subroutine. The new algorithms include efficient calculation of consistent tangent modulus for the transformation plasticity and application of general anisotropic yield functions without limitation to the isotropic yield function. Besides the thermo-elastic–plastic constitutive equations, non-isothermal transformation kinetics was characterized by the Johnson–Mehl–Avrami–Kolmogorov (JMAK) equation and additivity relationship for the diffusional transformation, while the model proposed by Koistinen and Marburger was used for the diffusionless transformation. Numerical verifications for the continuous cooling experiments under various loading conditions were conducted to demonstrate the applicability of the developed numerical algorithms to the high carbon steel SK5.     

Modeling quasi-static crack growth with the extended finite element method Part II: Numerical applications

In Part I [Int. J. Solids Struct., 2003], we described the implementation of the extended finite element method (X-FEM) within Dynaflow™, a standard finite element package. In our implementation, we focused on two-dimensional crack modeling in linear elasticity. For crack modeling in the X-FEM, a discontinuous function and the near-tip asymptotic functions are added to the finite element approximation using the framework of partition of unity. This permits the crack to be represented without explicitly meshing the crack surfaces and crack propagation simulations can be carried out without the need for any remeshing. In this paper, we present numerical solutions for the stress intensity factor for crack problems, and also conduct crack growth simulations with the X-FEM. Numerical examples are presented with a two-fold objective: first to show the efficacy of the X-FEM implementation in Dynaflow™; and second to demonstrate the accuracy and versatility of the method to solve challenging problems in computational failure mechanics.     

On the importance of thermo-elastic cooling in the fracture of glassy polymers at high rates

In a previous thermo-mechanical analysis [Estevez, R., Basu, S., van der Giessen, E., 2005. Analysis of temperature effects near mode I cracks in glassy polymers. Int. J. Fract. 132, 249–273] in which shear yielding of the bulk and failure by crazing were accounted for, we examined which of these two viscoplastic processes contributed to heat in mode I fracture. The present study completes this work by investigating the conditions for thermo-elastic cooling prior to crack propagation as reported experimentally by Rittel [Rittel, D., 1998. Experimental investigation of transient thermo-elastic effects in dynamic fracture. Int. J. Solids Struct. 35, 2959–2973] and Bougaut and Rittel [Bougaut, O., Rittel, D., 2001. On crack tip cooling during dynamic crack propagation. Int. J. Solids Struct. 38, 2517–2532] on high strain rate loading of PMMA. To this end, coupled thermo-mechanical finite element simulations are carried out by accounting for the thermo-elastic source, in addition to the heat sources related to shear yielding and crazing. The bulk as well as cohesive zone parameters for crazing realistically describe PMMA as they are obtained from detailed calibration experiments. Our results show that if significant thermo-elastic cooling has to be observed in the vicinity of the crack tip of a polymeric material, suppression of shear yielding as well as suppression of crazing is necessary. It seems that at these high strain rates a brittle fracture mechanism activated at very high stresses takes over from crazing, or at least that craze initiation occurs for stress levels very different to those for quasi-static conditions.     

A homogenized Reissner–Mindlin model for orthotropic periodic plates: Application to brickwork panels

This paper describes a new procedure for the homogenization of orthotropic 3D periodic plates. The theory of Caillerie [Caillerie, D., 1984. Thin elastic and periodic plates. Math. Method Appl. Sci., 6, 159–191.] – which leads to a homogeneous Love–Kirchhoff model – is extended in order to take into account the shear effects for thick plates. A homogenized Reissner–Mindlin plate model is proposed. Hence, the determination of the shear constants requires the resolution of an auxiliary 3D boundary value problem on the unit cell that generates the periodic plate. This homogenization procedure is then applied to periodic brickwork panels.A Love–Kirchhoff plate model for linear elastic periodic brickwork has been already proposed by Cecchi and Sab [Cecchi, A., Sab, K., 2002b. Out-of-plane model for heterogeneous periodic materials: the case of masonry. Eur. J. Mech. A-Solids 21, 249–268 ; Cecchi, A., Sab, K., 2006. Corrigendum to A comparison between a 3D discrete model and two homogenised plate models for periodic elastic brickwork [Int. J. Solids Struct., vol. 41/9–10, pp. 2259–2276], Int. J. Solids Struct., vol. 43/2, pp. 390–392.]. The identification of a Reissner–Mindlin homogenized plate model for infinitely rigid blocks connected by elastic interfaces (the mortar thin joints) has been also developed by the authors Cecchi and Sab [Cecchi A., Sab K., 2004. A comparison between a 3D discrete model and two homogenised plate models for periodic elastic brickwork. Int. J. Solids Struct. 41/9–10, 2259–2276.]. In that case, the identification between the 3D block discrete model and the 2D plate model is based on an identification at the order 1 in the rigid body displacement and at the order 0 in the rigid body rotation.In the present paper, the new identification procedure is implemented taking into account the shear effect when the blocks are deformable bodies. It is proved that the proposed procedure is consistent with the one already used by the authors for rigid blocks. Besides, an analytical approximation for the homogenized shear constants is derived. A finite elements model is then used to evaluate the exact shear homogenized constants and to compare them with the approximated one. Excellent agreement is found. Finally, a structural experimentation is carried out in the case of masonry panel under cylindrical bending conditions. Here, the full 3D finite elements heterogeneous model is compared to the corresponding 2D Reissner–Mindlin and Love–Kirchhoff plate models so as to study the discrepancy between these three models as a function of the length-to-thickness ratio (slenderness) of the panel. It is shown that the proposed Reissner–Mindlin model best fits with the finite elements model.     

Non-uniform frictional sliding under cyclic loading with frictional characteristics changing in the process of sliding

Frictional sliding on a crack with non-uniform frictional characteristics is considered. The present work continues the investigation of Gorbatikh et al. [Int. J. Solids Struct., in press] and focuses on the cyclic loading. The evolution of the sliding process in loading–reloading–unloading cycles is analyzed. We also extend the analysis to the important case when the frictional resistance changes in the process of sliding (such changes may model “degradation” of the sliding surface during sliding, as well as other physical factors, not necessarily related to the sliding itself).     

Finite boundary effects in problem of a crack perpendicular to and terminating at a bimaterial interface

In this paper, the problem of a crack perpendicular to and terminating at an interface in bimaterial structure with finite boundaries is investigated. The dislocation simulation method and boundary collocation approach are used to derive and solve the basic equations. Two kinds of loading form are considered when the crack lies in a softer or a stiffer material, one is an ideal loading and the other one fits to the practical experiment loading. Complete solutions of the stress field including the T stress are obtained as well as the stress intensity factors. Influences of T stress on the stress field ahead of the crack tip are studied. Finite boundary effects on the stress intensity factors are emphasized. Comparisons with the problem presented by Chen et al. (Int. J. Solids and Structure, 2003, 40, 2731–2755) are discussed also.The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10202023 and 10272103), and the Key Project of CAS (KJCX2-SW-L2).     

A structural mechanics approach for predicting the mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes

Based on molecular mechanics, a structural mechanics model of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was developed with special consideration given to the bending stiffness of the graphite layer. The potentials associated with the atomic interactions within a CNT were evaluated by the strain energies of beam elements which serve as structural substitutions of covalent bonds in a CNT. In contrast to the original model developed by Li and Chou (Int. J. Solids Struct. 40(10):2487–2499, 2003), in the current model the out-of-plane deformation (inversion) of the bond was distinguished from the in-plane deformation by considering a rectangular cross-section for the beam element. Consequently, the model is able to study problems where the effect of local bending of the graphite layer in a carbon nanotube is significant. A closed-form solution of the sectional properties of the beam element was derived analytically. The model was verified through the analysis of rolling a graphite sheet into a carbon nanotube. Using the present model, the buckling behavior of nanotubes under bending is simulated. The predicted critical bending angle agrees well with molecular dynamics simulations.     

Some comments on the higher order theories of piezoelectric,piezothermoelastic and thermopiezoelectric rods and shells

In this note, the derivations of the higher order, 1-D (or 2-D), theories are discussed for the dynamic analysis of electroelastic (i.e., piezoelectric, piezothermoelastic and thermopiezoelectric) structural elements of uniform cross-section (or uniform thickness). Certain oversights are clarified concerning the higher order theories, including their variational formulation, invariant form and uniqueness of solutions that obscure the availability of earlier contributions in the open literature. In this respect, a higher order theory with some applications by Wu et al. most recently appeared in this journal [Int. J. Solids Struct. 39 (2002) 5325] is mentioned as one of the examples.     

Evolution of subsequent yield surfaces and elastic constants with finite plastic deformation. Part-I: A very low work hardening aluminum alloy (Al6061-T6511)

In the present study, the initial and subsequent yield surfaces in Al 6061-T6511, based on 10 με deviation from linearity definition of yield, are presented. The subsequent yield surfaces are determined during tension, free end torsion, and combined tension–torsion proportional loading paths after reaching different levels of strains. The yield surfaces are also obtained after linear, bi-linear and non-linear unloading paths after finite plastic deformation. The initial yield surface is very close to the von-Mises yield surface and the subsequent yield surfaces undergo translation and distortion. In the case of this low work hardening material, the size of the yield surfaces is smaller and negative cross-effect is observed with finite plastic deformation. The subsequent yield have a usual “nose” in the loading direction and flattened shape in the reverse loading direction; the observed nose is more dominant in the case of tension and combined tension–torsion loading than in torsional loading. The size of the yield surfaces after unloading is smaller than the initial yield surface but larger than subsequent yield surfaces obtained during prior loading, show much smaller cross-effect, and the shape of these yield surfaces depends strongly on the loading and unloading paths. Elastic constants (Young’s and shear moduli) are also measured within each subsequent yield surfaces. Evolution of these constants with finite deformation is also presented. The decrease of the two moduli is found to be much smaller than reported earlier in tension by Cleveland and Ghosh [Cleveland, R.M., Ghosh, A.K., 2002. Inelastic effects on springback in metals. Int. J. Plast. 18, 769–785]. Part-II and III [(Khan et al., 2009a) and (Khan et al., 2009b)] of the papers will include experimental results on annealed 1100 Al (a very high work hardening material) and on both Al alloys (Al6061-T6511 and annealed 1100 Al) in tension- tension stress space, respectively. The results for both cases are quite different than the ones that are presented in this paper.     

A note on the critical points of equilibrium paths in imperfect structures

In a recent work (Int. J. Solids Struct. 37 (2000) 1561) by one of the authors, an extended system for calculating critical points of equilibrium paths in imperfect structures was presented. However, the extremum nature of these points was not analyzed explicitly in that paper. In this note, we will fill in the gap and establish a sufficient condition for determining the buckling strength of imperfect structures.     

Modeling of crack growth in ductile solids: a three-dimensional analysis

A population of several spherical voids is included in a three-dimensional, small scale yielding model. Two distinct void growth mechanisms, put forth by [Int. J. Solids Struct. 39 (2002) 3581] for the case of a two-dimensional model containing cylindrical voids, are well contained in the model developed in this study for spherical voids. A material failure criterion, based on the occurrence of void coalescence in the unit cell model, is established. The critical ligament reduction ratio, which varies with stress triaxiality and initial porosity, is used to determine ligament failure between the crack tip and the nearest void. A comparison of crack initiation toughness of the model containing cylindrical voids with the model containing spherical voids reveals that the material having a sizeable fraction of spherical voids is tougher than the material having cylindrical voids. The proposed material failure determination method is then used to establish the fracture resistance curve (J–R curve) of the material. For a ductile material containing a small volume fraction of microscopic voids initially, the void by void growth mechanism prevails, which results in a J–R curve having steep slope. On the other hand, for a ductile material containing a large volume fraction of initial voids, the multiple voids interaction mechanism prevails, which results in a flat J–R curve. Next, the effect of T-stress on fracture resistance is examined. Finally, nucleation and growth of secondary microvoids and their effects on void coalescence are briefly discussed.     

A problem for drug release from 2D polymeric systems

A nonlinear diffusion problem for drug release from 2D polymeric systems with finite dissolution rate is considered. The numerical solutions of such problems were obtained under some constraints in respect to the system geometry, the type of adsorption isotherm and concentration dependent diffusivity [Frenning, G., Stromme, M., 2003. Drug release modeled by dissolution, diffusion and immobilization. Int. J. Pharm. 250, 137–145; Frenning, G., Brohede, U., Stromme, M., 2005. Finite element analysis of the release of slowly dissolving drugs from cylindrical matrix systems. J. Control. Release 107, 320–329]. It is derived a numerical approach to solving a generalized problem, which avoids the above limitations. The proposed numerical scheme based on finite element domain approximation and time difference method is used for simulation of 2D drug release under various model parameters. The effects of drug adsorption and concentration dependent drug diffusivity are demonstrated.