A stochastic-structurally based three dimensional finite-strain damage model for fibrous soft tissue

A fully three dimensional finite-strain damage model for fibrous soft tissue is developed. The model assumes uncoupled contributions for the matrix and collagen fibers, and uncoupled bulk and deviatoric response over any range of deformations. A simple isotropic damage mechanism within the framework of continuum damage mechanics has been used to describe the softening behavior under deformation for the matrix. On the other hand, statistical aspects related to the length distribution of the reinforcing fibers lead to a damage model for the reinforcing material. As a result, a general theoretical framework for constitutive modeling of biological soft tissue with continuum damage is obtained. A theoretical example consisting of a biaxial test of a soft tissue reinforced with two families of collagen fibers has been considered to demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed model and to study the sensitivity to changes in the statistical parameters associated with the reinforcing material. Also, a preliminary numerical example is included to demonstrate the model on a inhomogeneous boundary value problem. Results show that the model is able to capture the typical stress-strain behavior observed in fibrous soft tissue and seems to confirm the soundness of the proposed formulation.     

Micromechanics and macromechanics of carbon nanotube-enhanced elastomers

The effects of carbon nanotubes on the mechanical behavior of elastomeric materials is investigated. The large deformation uniaxial tension and uniaxial compression stress-strain behaviors of a representative elastomer are first presented. This elastomer is then reinforced with multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and the influence of weight fraction of MWNTs on the large deformation behavior of the resulting composite is quantified. The initial stiffness and subsequent strain-induced stiffening at large strains are both found to increase with MWNT content. The MWNTs are also found to increase both the tensile strength and the tensile stretch at break. A systematic approach for reducing the experimental data to isolate the MWNT contribution to the strain energy of the composite is presented. A constitutive model for the large strain deformation behavior of MWNT-elastomer composites is then developed. The effects of carbon nanotubes are modeled via a constitutive element which tracks the stretching and rotation of a distribution of wavy carbon nanotubes. The MWNT strain energy contribution is due to the bending/unbending of the initial waviness and provides the increase in initial stiffness as well as the retention and further enhancement of the increase in stiffness with large strains. The model is shown to track the stretching and rotation of the CNTs with macroscopic strain as well as predict the dependence of the macroscopic stress-strain behavior on the MWNT content for both uniaxial tension and uniaxial compression.     

A structural constitutive model for smooth muscle contraction in biological tissues

A structural constitutive model that characterizes the active and passive responses of biological tissues with smooth muscle cells (SMCs) is proposed. The model is formulated under the assumption that the contractile units in SMCs and the connected collagen fibers are the active tissue component, while the collagen fibers not connected to the SMCs are the passive tissue component. An evolution law describing the deformation of the active tissue component over time is developed based on the sliding filament theory. In this evolution law the contraction force is the sum of a motor force that initiates contraction, a viscous force that describes the actin–myosin filament sliding, and an elastic force that accounts for the deformation of the cross-bridges. The mechanical response of the collagen fibers is governed by the fiber recruitment process: collagen fibers support load and behave as a linear elastic material only after becoming taut. The proposed structural constitutive model is tested with published active and passive, uniaxial and biaxial experimental data on pig arteries.     

缝合复合材料层板面内局部纤维弯曲模型及刚度预报

提出了缝合层板面内局部纤维弯曲模型,假设缝合线受挤压后横截面为椭圆形,指出当纤维弯曲幅度较小时,缝合仅造成单胞内局部纤维弯曲,纤维弯曲角为特定值,由纤维种类决定;当纤维弯曲幅度较大时,缝合造成单胞内整体纤维弯曲,纤维弯曲角大于特定值,由纤维弯曲幅度和单胞尺寸决定。采用有限元法建立了缝合层板刚度分析方法,使缝合层板单胞满足周期性边界条件,预报结果与试验吻合较好,详细探讨了缝合参数对层板刚度的影响规律,结果表明缝合后层板刚度降低,缝合参数变化对层板刚度有较大影响。     

A constitutive model for fibrous tissues considering collagen fiber crimp

A micromechanically based constitutive model for fibrous tissues is presented. The model considers the randomly crimped morphology of individual collagen fibers, a morphology typically seen in photomicrographs of tissue samples. It describes the relationship between the fiber endpoints and its arc-length in terms of a measurable quantity, which can be estimated from image data. The collective mechanical behavior of collagen fibers is presented in terms of an explicit expression for the strain-energy function, where a fiber-specific random variable is approximated by a Beta distribution. The model-related stress and elasticity tensors are provided. Two representative numerical examples are analyzed with the aim of demonstrating the peculiar mechanism of the constitutive model and quantifying the effect of parameter changes on the mechanical response. In particular, a fibrous tissue, assumed to be (nearly) incompressible, is subject to a uniaxial extension along the fiber direction, and, separately, to pure shear. It is shown that the fiber crimp model can reproduce several of the expected characteristics of fibrous tissues.     

Elastic–plastic behavior of non-woven fibrous mats

Electrospinning is a novel method for creating non-woven polymer mats that have high surface area and high porosity. These attributes make them ideal candidates for multifunctional composites. Understanding the mechanical properties as a function of fiber properties and mat microstructure can aid in designing these composites. Further, a constitutive model which captures the membrane stress–strain behavior as a function of fiber properties and the geometry of the fibrous network would be a powerful design tool. Here, mats electrospun from amorphous polyamide are used as a model system. The elastic–plastic behavior of single fibers are obtained in tensile tests. Uniaxial monotonic and cyclic tensile tests are conducted on non-woven mats. The mat exhibits elastic–plastic stress–strain behavior. The transverse strain behavior provides important complementary data, showing a negligible initial Poisson's ratio followed by a transverse:axial strain ratio greater than ?1:1 after an axial strain of 0.02. A triangulated framework has been developed to emulate the fibrous network structure of the mat. The micromechanically based model incorporates the elastic–plastic behavior of single fibers into a macroscopic membrane model of the mat. This representative volume element based model is shown to capture the uniaxial elastic–plastic response of the mat under monotonic and cyclic loading. The initial modulus and yield stress of the mat are governed by the fiber properties, the network geometry, and the network density. The transverse strain behavior is linked to discrete deformation mechanisms of the fibrous mat structure including fiber alignment, fiber bending, and network consolidation. The model is further validated in comparison to experiments under different constrained axial loading conditions and found to capture the constraint effect on stiffness, yield, post-yield hardening, and post-yield transverse strain behavior. Due to the direct connection between microstructure and macroscopic behavior, this model should be extendable to other electrospun systems and other two dimensional random fibrous networks.     

A composites-based hyperelastic constitutive model for soft tissue with application to the human annulus fibrosus

This paper presents a composites-based hyperelastic constitutive model for soft tissue. Well organized soft tissue is treated as a composite in which the matrix material is embedded with a single family of aligned fibers. The fiber is modeled as a generalized neo-Hookean material in which the stiffness depends on fiber stretch. The deformation gradient is decomposed multiplicatively into two parts: a uniaxial deformation along the fiber direction and a subsequent shear deformation. This permits the fiber-matrix interaction caused by inhomogeneous deformation to be estimated by using effective properties from conventional composites theory based on small strain linear elasticity and suitably generalized to the present large deformation case. A transversely isotropic hyperelastic model is proposed to describe the mechanical behavior of fiber-reinforced soft tissue. This model is then applied to the human annulus fibrosus. Because of the layered anatomical structure of the annulus fibrosus, an orthotropic hyperelastic model of the annulus fibrosus is developed. Simulations show that the model reproduces the stress-strain response of the human annulus fibrosus accurately. We also show that the expression for the fiber-matrix shear interaction energy used in a previous phenomenological model is compatible with that derived in the present paper.     

Microstructural effects on the permeability of periodic fibrous porous media

An analytical–numerical approach is presented for computing the macroscopic permeability of fibrous porous media taking into account their microstructure. A finite element (FE) based model for viscous, incompressible flow through a regular array of cylinders/fibers is employed for predicting the permeability associated with this type of media. High resolution data, obtained from our simulations, are utilized for validating the commonly used semi-analytical models of drag relations from which the permeability is often derived. The effect of porosity, or volume fraction, on the macroscopic permeability is studied. Also microstructure parameters like particle shape, orientation and unit cell staggered angle are varied. The results are compared with the Carman–Kozeny (CK) equation and the Kozeny factor (often assumed to be constant) dependence on the microstructural parameters is reported and used as an attempt to predict a closed form relation for the permeability in a variety of structures, shapes and wide range of porosities.     

Direct simulation of flexible fibers

A numerical simulation of multiple flexible fibers in suspension in Newtonian simple shear flow is presented. The method used is similar to those of previous recent simulation works by Fan et al. [J. Non-Newtonian Fluid Mech. 74 (1998) 113] and Yamane et al. [J. Non-Newtonian Fluid Mech. 54 (1994) 405], however, the method has been modified to allow a small amount of bending and torsion in the fibers. A restoring moment acts to straighten the fibers as they interact in the flow.It is demonstrated that this simulation can be used to extract basic rheological information about the suspension including fiber orientations and suspension viscosity. The viscosity of semi-concentrated to concentrated flexible fiber suspensions are shown to increase by a magnitude of the order 7–10% greater than the equivalent rigid fiber suspension tested. This is in qualitative agreement with previous experimental work by Goto et al. [Rheologica Acta 25 (1986) 119] and Blakeney [J. Colloid Interface Sci. 22 (1966) 324]. The implication is that any constitutive relation involving particulate suspensions described by orientation vectors may quantitatively underestimate suspension viscosity, particularly for fibers of large aspect ratio, or low Young’s modulus, whereby the tendency to flex is greater [Rheologica Acta 25 (1986) 119]. If particulate deformation were accounted for (by whatever means) in the existing constitutive relationship, predictions of bulk suspension parameters such as viscosity should be noticeably improved. A method is developed to modify an existing rigid-fiber viscosity to an equivalent flexible fiber viscosity, hence improving viscosity prediction ability.     

A homogenization theory for time-dependentnonlinear composites with periodic internal structures

A homogenization theory for time-dependent deformation such as creep andviscoplasticity of nonlinear composites with periodic internal structures is developed. To beginwith, in the macroscopically uniform case, a rate-type macroscopic constitutive relation betweenstress and strain and an evolution equation of microscopic stress are derived by introducing twokinds of Y-periodic functions, which are determined by solving two unit cell problems.Then, the macroscopically nonuniform case is discussed in an incremental form using thetwo-scale asymptotic expansion of field variables. The resulting equations are shown to beeffective for computing incrementally the time-dependent deformation for which the history ofeither macroscopic stress or macroscopic strain is prescribed. As an application of the theory,transverse creep of metal matrix composites reinforced undirectionally with continuous fibers isanalyzed numerically to discuss the effect of fiber arrays on the anisotropy in such creep.     

Interpretation of the behavior of metals under large plastic shear deformations: comparison of macroscopic predictions to physically based predictions

A large plastic shear problem is analyzed by application of a macroscopic anisotropic plasticity model (Kuroda, M., 1997. Interpretation of the behavior of metals under large plastic shear deformations: a macroscopic approach. Int. J. Plasticity 13, 359–383), and the results are compared to predictions based on crystal plasticity with the Taylor assumption. It is found that these two different-scale models provide very similar predictions. The interpretations for such similarities are pursued in detail. The present macroscopic model reproduces quite well the change in orientation of anisotropy, which is directly predicted in the crystal plasticity analyses as a macroscopic manifestation of texture development. Consequently, the predictions for the rotation of the yield surface by the different-scale models become very similar. It is clearly shown that, in a macroscopic sense, the rotation of the anisotropic yield surface is a main cause of the axial effects in large plastic shear deformation.     

A mixed Von Mises distribution for modeling soft biological tissues with two distributed fiber properties

Constitutive modeling of biological tissues plays an important role in the understanding of tissue behavior and the development of synthetic materials for medical and bio-inspired applications. A structural continuum model that incorporates principal structural features of the tissue can potentially provide the link between microstructure and the macroscopic mechanical response of biological tissues. For most soft biological tissues, including arterial walls and skin tissue, the main load-carrying constituent is presumed to be the distributed collagen fibers embedded in a base matrix. It is believed that the organization of the collagen fibers gives rise to the anisotropy of the material. In this paper, a semi-structural constitutive model is proposed to account for planar fiber distributions with more than one distributed planar fiber property. Motivated by histology information of the wing membrane of the bat, a statistical treatment is formulated in this paper to capture the overall effect of the distribution of fiber cross-sectional area and the distribution of the number of fibers. This formulation is suitable for general cases when more than one fiber property varies spatially. Furthermore, this model is a two-dimensional specialization within the framework of a three-dimensional theory, which is different the formulation based on a fundamentally two-dimensional theory.     

Homogenization estimates for fiber-reinforced elastomers with periodic microstructures

This work presents a homogenization-based constitutive model for the mechanical behavior of elastomers reinforced with aligned cylindrical fibers subjected to finite deformations. The proposed model is derived by making use of the second-order homogenization method [Lopez-Pamies, O., Ponte Castañeda, P., 2006a. On the overall behavior, microstructure evolution, and macroscopic stability in reinforced rubbers at large deformations: I—theory. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 54, 807–830], which is based on suitably designed variational principles utilizing the idea of a “linear comparison composite.” Specific results are generated for the case when the matrix and fiber materials are characterized by generalized Neo-Hookean solids, and the distribution of fibers is periodic. In particular, model predictions are provided and analyzed for fiber-reinforced elastomers with Gent phases and square and hexagonal fiber distributions, subjected to a wide variety of three-dimensional loading conditions. It is found that for compressive loadings in the fiber direction, the derived constitutive model may lose strong ellipticity, indicating the possible development of macroscopic instabilities that may lead to kink band formation. The onset of shear band-type instabilities is also detected for certain in-plane modes of deformation. Furthermore, the subtle influence of the distribution, volume fraction, and stiffness of the fibers on the effective behavior and onset of macroscopic instabilities in these materials is investigated thoroughly.     

Rheological characterization of continuous fiber—reinforced viscous fluid

The present paper describes a micromechanical technique to determine rheological properties of viscous fluid reinforced with unidirectional continuous fibers. Fluid viscosity is described by a shear thinning model and high viscosity is considered for continuous fibers having considerable rigidity compared to net fluid. The microstructure is identified by a representative volume element that is subjected to equivalent macroscopic deformation fields. The energy balance and periodicity conditions are considered to relate deformation and stress in macro and micro-levels. It is shown that response of viscous fluid reinforced with rigid fibers depends on deformation history as well as rate-of-deformation in the transverse intraply shear and transverse squeeze flows. An orthotropic viscous constitutive equation is derived to describe response of such materials. The material viscosities are evaluated for viscous fluid reinforced with different fiber volume fractions during deformation applied in different rates of deformation. The results are used to derive the functions predicting effective anisotropic viscosities of reinforced fluid.     

聊聊动态塑性和黏塑性

固体力学研究者致力于具有应力-应变本构关系（以下简称为形变型本构关系）的变形体的力学响应研究，而流体力学研究者致力于具有应力-应变率本构关系（以下简称为流动型本构关系）的流动体的力学响应研究。当涉及结构和材料的动态塑性时，到底应该用“塑性变形”还是“塑性流动”来表示？本文从宏观塑性本构理论和微观位错动力学机理两个角度，分别讨论并指出塑性本构关系属于流动型黏塑性率相关本构关系，且同时适用于加载和卸载；因而不应该用应力-应变图来描述塑性加-卸载过程。弹塑性本构关系则是一种形变型和流动型本构关系的耦合。     

Analysis of the localization of damage and the complete stress-strain relation for mesoscopic heterogeneous brittle rock subjected to compressive loads

A micromechanics-based model is established. The model takes the interaction among sliding cracks into account, and it is able to quantify the effect of various parameters on the localization condition of damage and deformation for brittle rock subjected to compressive loads. The closed-form explicit expression for the complete stress-strain relation of rock containing microcracks subjected to compressive loads was obtained. It is showed that the complete stress-strain relation includes linear elasticity, nonlinear hardening, rapid stress drop and strain softening. The behavior of rapid stress drop and strain softening is due to localization of deformation and damage. Theoretical predictions have shown to be consistent with the exoerimental results.     

STATISTIC MODELING OF THE CREEP BEHAVIOR OF METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES BASED ON FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

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Grain-boundary sliding and separation in polycrystalline metals: application to nanocrystalline fcc metals

In order to model the effects of grain boundaries in polycrystalline materials we have coupled a crystal-plasticity model for the grain interiors with a new elastic-plastic grain-boundary interface model which accounts for both reversible elastic, as well irreversible inelastic sliding-separation deformations at the grain boundaries prior to failure. We have used this new computational capability to study the deformation and fracture response of nanocrystalline nickel. The results from the simulations reflect the macroscopic experimentally observed tensile stress-strain curves, and the dominant microstructural fracture mechanisms in this material. The macroscopically observed nonlinearity in the stress-strain response is mainly due to the inelastic response of the grain boundaries. Plastic deformation in the interior of the grains prior to the formation of grain-boundary cracks was rarely observed. The stress concentrations at the tips of the distributed grain-boundary cracks, and at grain-boundary triple junctions, cause a limited amount of plastic deformation in the high-strength grain interiors. The competition of grain-boundary deformation with that in the grain interiors determines the observed macroscopic stress-strain response, and the overall ductility. In nanocrystalline nickel, the high-yield strength of the grain interiors and relatively weaker grain-boundary interfaces account for the low ductility of this material in tension.     

A finite-deformation constitutive model for bulk metallic glass composites

The focus of this study is the development of an elastic-viscoplastic, three-dimensional, finite-deformation constitutive model to describe the large deformation behavior of bulk metallic glass (BMG) composite. A macroscopic theoretical formulation is proposed based on thermodynamic considerations to describe the response at ambient temperature and pressure, as well as at different strain rates. A constitutive equation is derived using the principle of thermodynamics and the augmenting of free energy. This is done by assuming that deformation within the constituent phases of the composite is affine; kinetic equations defining plastic shear and evolution of free volume concentration are then derived. The constitutive model is subsequently implemented in a finite-element program (Abaqus/Explicit) via a user-defined material subroutine. Numerical predictions are compared with experimental results from tests on La-based in situ BMG composite (La–Al–Cu–Ni) specimens cast in-house; this demonstrates that the model is able to describe the material behavior observed.