Coupled thermoviscoplasticity of glassy polymers in the logarithmic strain space based on the free volume theory

The paper outlines a constitutive model for finite thermo-visco-plastic behavior of amorphous glassy polymers and considers details of its numerical implementation. In contrast to existing kinematical approaches to finite plasticity of glassy polymers, the formulation applies a plastic metric theory based on an additive split of Lagrangian Hencky-type strains into elastic and plastic parts. The analogy between the proposed formulation in the logarithmic strain space and the geometrically linear theory of plasticity, makes this constitutive framework very transparent and attractive with regard to its numerical formulation. The characteristic strain hardening of the model is derived from a polymer network model. We consider the particularly simple eight chain model, but also comment on the recently developed microsphere model. The viscoplastic flow rule in the logarithmic strain space uses structures of the free volume flow theory, which provides a highly predictive modeling capacity at the onset of viscoplastic flow. The integration of this micromechanically motivated approach into a three-dimensional computational model is a key concern of this work. We outline details of the numerical implementation of this model, including elements such as geometric pre- and post-transformations to/from the logarithmic strain space, a thermomechanical operator split algorithm consisting of an isothermal mechanical predictor followed by a heat conduction corrector and finally, the consistent linearization of the local update algorithm for the dissipative variables as well as its relationship to the global tangent operator. The performance of the proposed formulation is demonstrated by means of a spectrum of numerical examples, which we compare with our experimental findings.     

A constitutive model of cold drawing in polycarbonates

This paper presents a set of constitutive equations to model cold-drawing (necking) in polycarbonates (PC). The model is based on a representation of cold drawing as a double glass transition, i.e., a transition from a glass into a rubbery state, when a certain yield surface in the stress space is reached, and a transition back to the glassy state upon unloading or when a certain molecular orientation (draw ratio) is achieved. The stretching process in the rubbery state is modeled by a hyperelastic extension of the J₂-flow theory to the finite strain range. An appropriate yield surface and an associative flow rule (defined via the Kuhn–Tucker optimality conditions) are presented to simulate this process in polycarbonates. The isochoric constraint during double glass transition is treated via an exact multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient into volume preserving and spherical parts. Numerical constitutive integration algorithm is based on an operator splitting technique where constraint/consistency during inelastic deformation is enforced via return mapping algorithm. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the correspondence with the experimental data.     

梯度塑性的有限元分析及应变局部化模拟

对梯度塑性连续体提出了一个有限元方法．内状态变量的Ｌａｐｌａｃｉａｎ的确定基于它在求积点邻域的最小二乘方多项式近似．具体地考虑了具有一点求积和Ｈｏｕｒｇｌａｓｓ控制特点的基于胡海昌－Ｗａｓｈｉｚｕ变分原理的混合应变元和单元平均意义下的ｖｏｎ－Ｍｉｓｅｓ屈服准则．解析地导出了梯度塑性下一致性单元切线刚度矩阵和速率本构方程的一致性积分算法．在所建议的非局部化途径中求积点的一致性条件在非局部化意义下逐点精确满足．数值例题表明所提出的非经典连续体的有限元方法求解应变局部化问题的有效性     

Roles of plastic spin in shear banding

In this paper, the effects of plastic spin on shear banding and simple shear are examined systematically. Three types of plastic constitutive model with plastic spin are considered: (i) a non-coaxial model in which the direction of the plastic strain rate depends on that of the stress rate; (ii) a strain-softening model based on the J₂ flow theory; and (iii) the pressure-sensitive porous plasticity model. All the constitutive models are formulated in viscoplastic forms and in conjunction with non-local concepts that have been recently focused and discussed. First, behavior in simple shear is examined by numerical analysee with the aforementioned constitutive models. Moreover, some experimental evidences for stress response to simple shear are shown; that is, several large torsion tests of metal tubes and bars are carried out. Next, finite element simulations of shear banding in plane strain tension are performed. A critical effect of plastic spin on shear banding is observed for the noncoaxial model, while an almost negligible effect is observed for the porous model. The identical effects of plastic spin are observed, whether nonlocality exists or not. Finally, we discuss the relationship between the behavior in simple shear and the shear band formation. It is emphasized that this is a critical issue in predicting shear banding in macroscopic grounds.     

Analyses of steady quasistatic crack growth in plane strain tension in elastic-plastic materials with non-isotropic hardening

Steady state crack propagation problems of elastic-plastic materials in Mode I, plane strain under small scale yielding conditions were investigated with the aid of the finite element method. The elastic-perfectly plastic solution shows that elastic unloading wedges subtended by the crack tip in the plastic wake region do exist and that the stress state around the crack tip is similar to the modified Prandtl fan solution. To demonstrate the effects of a vertex on the yield surface, the small strain version of a phenomenological J₂, corner theory of plasticity (Christoffersen, J. and Hutchinson, J. W. J. Mech. Phys. Solids,27, 465 C 1979) with a power law stress strain relation was used to govern the strain hardening of the material. The results are compared with the conventional J₂ incremental plasticity solution. To take account of Bauschinger like effects caused by the stress history near the crack tip, a simple kinematic hardening rule with a bilinear stress strain relation was also studied. The results are again compared with the smooth yield surface isotropic hardening solution for the same stress strain curve. There appears to be more potential for steady state crack growth in the conventional J₂ incremental plasticity material than in the other two plasticity laws considered here if a crack opening displacement fracture criterion is used. However, a fracture criterion dependent on both stress and strain could lead to a contrary prediction.     

Numerical study of the effects of constitutive models on plastic buckling of plate elements

Compared with experiments, the J₂ deformation theory of plasticity is known to predict plastic buckling with better accuracy than the more accepted incremental J₂ flow theory. This paradox is commonly known as the ‘plastic buckling paradox’. In an attempt to analyse this discrepancy, the two mentioned constitutive models were implemented in a non-linear finite element code, along with a third non-associative J₂ flow theory. The latter model incorporates a vertex-type plastic flow rule. Using these three constitutive models, the buckling behaviour of plate outstand elements was investigated. Comparisons between the buckling strengths derived are presented. The non-linear static buckling simulations show that the instability introduced by the alternative flow rule of the non-associative model has substantial influence on the buckling behaviour. The acceptance of only small departures from normality was shown to reduce the predicted ultimate capacity of the plates. Furthermore, for plates with small plate slendernesses it was found that the imperfection sensitivity was significantly reduced when using the non-associative flow rule.     

A simple theory of strain gradient plasticity based on stress-induced anisotropy of defect diffusion

A new strain gradient plasticity theory is formulated to accommodate more than one material length parameter. The theory is an extension of the classical J₂ flow theory of metal plasticity to the micron scale. Distinctive features of the proposed theory as compared to other existing theories are the simplicities of mathematical formulation, numerical implementation and physical interpretation.     

基于线性互补模型的梯度塑性连续体无网格方法

对梯度塑性连续体提出了一个归结为线性互补问题的数值分析方法. 塑性乘子与位移均为主要未知变量,并采用基于移动最小二乘的无网格方法分别在积分点与节点上插值. 联立弱形式下的平衡方程与积分点上逐点满足的非局部本构方程和屈服准则可以导出一个线性互补问题,并通过Lexico-Lemke算法求解. 构造了一个基于N-R方法的迭代方案,使得不需要形成一致性切线刚度矩阵而仍保持二阶收敛性. 一维和二维的数值算例证明了所提出的方法处理由应变软化引起的应变局部化问题的有效性.      

On internal dissipation inequalities and finite strain inelastic constitutive laws: Theoretical and numerical comparisons

Internal dissipation always occurs in irreversible inelastic deformation processes of materials. The internal dissipation inequalities (specific mathematical forms of the second law of thermodynamics) determine the evolution direction of inelastic processes. Based on different internal dissipation inequalities several finite strain inelastic constitutive laws have been formulated for instance by Simo [Simo, J.C., 1992. Algorithms for static and dynamic multiplicative plasticity that preserve the classical return mapping schemes of the infinitesimal theory. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering 99, 61–112]; Simo and Miehe [Simo, J.C., Miehe, C., 1992. Associative coupled thermoplasticity at finite strains: formulation, numerical analysis and implementation. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering 98, 41–104]; Lion [Lion, A., 1997. A physically based method to represent the thermo-mechanical behavior of elastomers. Acta Mechanica 123, 1–25]; Reese and Govindjee [Reese, S., Govindjee, S., 1998. A theory of finite viscoelasticity and numerical aspects. International Journal of Solids and Structures 35, 3455–3482]; Lin and Schomburg [Lin, R.C., Schomburg, U., 2003. A finite elastic–viscoelastic–elastoplastic material law with damage: theoretical and numerical aspects. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering 192, 1591–1627]; Lin and Brocks [Lin, R.C., Brocks, W., 2004. On a finite strain viscoplastic theory based on a new internal dissipation inequality. International Journal of Plasticity 20, 1281–1311]; and Lin and Brocks [Lin, R.C., Brocks, W., 2005. An extended Chaboche’s viscoplastic law at finite strains: theoretical and numerical aspects. Journal of Materials Science and Technology 21, 145–147]. These constitutive laws are consistent with the second law of thermodynamics. As the internal dissipation inequalities are described in different configurations or coordinate systems, the related constitutive laws are also formulated in the corresponding configurations or coordinate systems. Mathematically, these constitutive laws have very different formulations. Now, a question is whether the constitutive laws provide identical constitutive responses for the same inelastic constitutive problems. In the present work, four types of finite strain viscoelastic and endochronically plastic laws as well as three types of J₂-plasticity laws are formulated based on four types of dissipation inequalities. Then, they are numerically compared for several problems of homogeneous or complex finite deformations. It is demonstrated that for the same inelastic constitutive problem the stress responses are identical for deformation processes without rotations. In the simple shear deformation process with large rotation, the presented viscoelastic and endochronically plastic laws also show almost identical stress responses up to a shear strain of about 100%. The three laws of J₂-plasticity also produce the same shear stresses up to a shear strain of 100%, while different normal stresses are generated even at infinitesimal shear strains. The three J₂-plasticity laws are also compared at three complex finite deformation processes: billet upsetting, cylinder necking and channel forming. For the first two deformation processes similar constitutive responses are obtained, whereas for the third deformation process (with large global rotations) significant differences of constitutive responses can be observed.     

Strain gradient plasticity analysis of elasto-plastic contact between rough surfaces

From a microscopic point of view, the real contact area between two rough surfaces is the sum of the areas of contact between facing asperities. Since the real contact area is a fraction of the nominal contact area, the real contact pressure is much higher than the nominal contact pressure, which results in plastic deformation of asperities. As plasticity is size dependent at size scales below tens of micrometers, with the general trend of smaller being harder, macroscopic plasticity is not suitable to describe plastic deformation of small asperities and thus fails to capture the real contact area and pressure accurately. Here we adopt conventional mechanism-based strain gradient plasticity (CMSGP) to analyze the contact between a rigid platen and an elasto-plastic solid with a rough surface. Flattening of a single sinusoidal asperity is analyzed first to highlight the difference between CMSGP and J₂ isotropic plasticity. For the rough surface contact, besides CMSGP, pure elastic and J₂ isotropic plasticity analysis is also carried out for comparison. In all cases, the contact area A rises linearly with the applied load, but with a different slope which implies that the mean contact pressures are different. CMSGP produces qualitative changes in the distributions of local contact pressures compared with pure elastic and J₂ isotropic plasticity analysis, furthermore, bounded by the two.     

Thermomechanics of shape memory polymers: Uniaxial experiments and constitutive modeling

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) can retain a temporary shape after pre-deformation at an elevated temperature and subsequent cooling to a lower temperature. When reheated, the original shape can be recovered. Relatively little work in the literature has addressed the constitutive modeling of the unique thermomechanical coupling in SMPs. Constitutive models are critical for predicting the deformation and recovery of SMPs under a range of different constraints. In this study, the thermomechanics of shape storage and recovery of an epoxy resin is systematically investigated for small strains (within ±10%) in uniaxial tension and uniaxial compression. After initial pre-deformation at a high temperature, the strain is held constant for shape storage while the stress evolution is monitored. Three cases of heated recovery are selected: unconstrained free strain recovery, stress recovery under full constraint at the pre-deformation strain level (no low temperature unloading), and stress recovery under full constraint at a strain level fixed at a low temperature (low temperature unloading). The free strain recovery results indicate that the polymer can fully recover the original shape when reheated above its glass transition temperature (T_g). Due to the high stiffness in the glassy state (T < T_g), the evolution of the stress under strain constraint is strongly influenced by thermal expansion of the polymer. The relationship between the final recoverable stress and strain is governed by the stress–strain response of the polymer above T_g. Based on the experimental results and the molecular mechanism of shape memory, a three-dimensional small-strain internal state variable constitutive model is developed. The model quantifies the storage and release of the entropic deformation during thermomechanical processes. The fraction of the material freezing a temporary entropy state is a function of temperature, which can be determined by fitting the free strain recovery response. A free energy function for the model is formulated and thermodynamic consistency is ensured. The model can predict the stress evolution of the uniaxial experimental results. The model captures differences in the tensile and compressive recovery responses caused by thermal expansion. The model is used to explore strain and stress recovery responses under various flexible external constraints that would be encountered in applications of SMPs.     

A generalized approach to formulate the consistent tangent stiffness in plasticity with application to the GLD porous material model

It has been shown that the use of the consistent tangent moduli is crucial for preserving the quadratic convergence rate of the global Newton iterations in the solution of the incremental problem. In this paper, we present a general method to formulate the consistent tangent stiffness for plasticity. The robustness and efficiency of the proposed approach are examined by applying it to the isotropic material with J₂ flow plasticity and comparing the performance and the analysis results with the original implementation in the commercial finite element program ABAQUS. The proposed approach is then applied to an anisotropic porous plasticity model, the Gologanu–Leblond–Devaux model. Performance comparison between the consistent tangent stiffness and the conventional continuum tangent stiffness demonstrates significant improvement in convergence characteristics of the overall Newton iterations caused by using the consistent tangent matrix.     

Rate-dependent quasi-flow corner theory for elastic/visco-plastic materials

A rate-dependent quasi-flow plastic constitutive model with punch-speed sensitivity is proposed for the large-deformation sheet metal forming process, which is based on the quasi-flow corner theory and U–L formulation for the virtual work-rate equation. Three kinds of constitutive theories with strain rate dependence, classical flow theory, deformation theory with rate form obeying non-orthogonality rule, and the present quasi-flow corner theory, are introduced into the U–L finite element formulation to simulate the deformation localization processes of plane strain tension in order to investigate effects of strain rate sensitivity on the localizing deformation characters. Furthermore, three kinds of typical forming processes sheet metals, one being an uniaxial stretching and another being a square cup drawing with circular blank, and third being a deep drawing of an oil pan, actual industrial forming part, are also numerically simulated by the present model and compared with experimental results. Good agreement between numerical simulation and experimental ones exhibits the validity of the quasi-flow corner theory.     

Towards variational constitutive updates for non-associative plasticity models at finite strain: Models based on a volumetric-deviatoric split

In this paper, an enhanced variational constitutive update suitable for a class of non-associative plasticity theories at finite strain is proposed. In line with classical numerical formulations for plasticity models, such as the by now established return-mapping algorithm, variational constitutive updates represent a numerical method for computing the unknown state variables. However, in contrast to conventional algorithms, variational constitutive updates are fully variational, i.e., all unknown variables follow jointly from minimizing a certain potential. In addition to the physical and mathematical elegance of these variational schemes, they show several practical advantages as well. For instance, numerically efficient and robust optimization schemes can be directly employed for solving the resulting minimization problem. Since mathematically, plasticity is a non-smooth problem and often, it leads to highly singular systems of equations as known from single crystal plasticity, a robust implementation is of utmost importance. So far, variational constitutive updates have been developed for different classes of standard dissipative solids, i.e., solids characterized by associative evolution equations and flow rules. In the present paper, this framework is extended to a certain class of non-associative plasticity models at finite strain. All models falling into this class show a volumetric-deviatoric split of the Helmholtz energy and the yield function. Typical prototypes are Drucker-Prager or Mohr-Coulomb models playing an important role in soil mechanics. The efficiency and robustness of the resulting algorithmic formulation is demonstrated by means of selected numerical examples.     

An implicit algorithm for hypoelasto-plastic and hypoelasto-viscoplastic endochronic theory in finite strain isotropic–kinematic-hardening model

This paper is concerned with objective stress update algorithm for elasto-plastic and elasto-viscoplastic endochronic theory within the framework of additive plasticity. The elastic response is stated in terms of hypoelastic model and endochronic constitutive equations are stated in unrotated frame of reference. A trivially incrementally objective integration scheme for rate constitutive equations is established. Algorithmic modulus consistent with numerical integration algorithm of constitutive equations is extracted. The implementation is validated by means of a set of simple deformation paths (simple shear, extension and rotation), two benchmark test in nonlinear mechanics (the necking of a circular bar and expansion of a thick-walled cylinder), a test which demonstrates the capabilities of the proposed model in simulation of cyclic loading and ratcheting in finite strain case (cyclically loaded notched bar) and finally, the analysis of a tensile test, which presents a shear band with a finite thickness independent of the finite element mesh using endochronic viscoplastic constitutive model.     

On the extension of the Gurson-type porous plasticity models for prediction of ductile fracture under shear-dominated conditions

One of the major drawbacks of the Gurson-type of porous plasticity models is the inability of these models to predict material failure under low stress triaxiality, shear dominated conditions. This study addresses this issue by combining the damage mechanics concept with the porous plasticity model that accounts for void nucleation, growth and coalescence. In particular, the widely adopted Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman (GTN) model is extended by coupling two damage parameters, representing the volumetric damage (void volume fraction) and the shear damage, respectively, into the yield function and flow potential. The effectiveness of the new model is illustrated through a series of numerical tests comparing its performance with existing models. The current model not only is capable of predicting damage and fracture under low (even negative) triaxiality conditions but also suppresses spurious damage that has been shown to develop in earlier modifications of the GTN model for moderate to high triaxiality regimes. Finally the modified GTN model is applied to predict the ductile fracture behavior of a beta-treated Zircaloy-4 by coupling the proposed damage modeling framework with a recently developed J₂–J₃ plasticity model for the matrix material. Model parameters are calibrated using experimental data, and the calibrated model predicts failure initiation and propagation in various specimens experiencing a wide range of triaxiality and Lode parameter combinations.     

J-integral and crack driving force in elastic–plastic materials

This paper discusses the crack driving force in elastic–plastic materials, with particular emphasis on incremental plasticity. Using the configurational forces approach we identify a “plasticity influence term” that describes crack tip shielding or anti-shielding due to plastic deformation in the body. Standard constitutive models for finite strain as well as small strain incremental plasticity are used to obtain explicit expressions for the plasticity influence term in a two-dimensional setting. The total dissipation in the body is related to the near-tip and far-field J-integrals and the plasticity influence term. In the special case of deformation plasticity the plasticity influence term vanishes identically whereas for rigid plasticity and elastic-ideal plasticity the crack driving force vanishes. For steady state crack growth in incremental elastic–plastic materials, the plasticity influence term is equal to the negative of the plastic work per unit crack extension and the total dissipation in the body due to crack propagation and plastic deformation is determined by the far-field J-integral. For non-steady state crack growth, the plasticity influence term can be evaluated by post-processing after a conventional finite element stress analysis. Theory and computations are applied to a stationary crack in a C(T)-specimen to examine the effects of contained, uncontained and general yielding. A novel method is proposed for evaluating J-integrals under incremental plasticity conditions through the configurational body force. The incremental plasticity near-tip and far-field J-integrals are compared to conventional deformational plasticity and experimental J-integrals.