Three-dimensional micromechanical modeling of voided polymeric materials

A three-dimensional micromechanical unit cell model for particle-filled materials is presented. The cell model is based on a Voronoi tessellation of particles arranged on a body-centered cubic (BCC) array. The three-dimensionality of the present cell model enables the study of several deformation modes, including uniaxial, plane strain and simple shear deformations, as well as arbitrary principal stress states.The unit cell model is applied to studies on the micromechanical and macromechanical behavior of rubber-toughened polycarbonate. Different load cases are examined, including plane strain deformation, simple shear deformation and principal stress states. For a constant macroscopic strain rate, the different load cases show that the macroscopic flow strength of the blend decreases with an increase in void volume fraction, as expected. The main mechanism for plastic deformation is broad shear banding across inter-particle ligaments. The distributed nature of plastic straining acts to reduce the amount of macroscopic strain softening in the blend as the initial void volume fraction is increased. In the case of plane strain deformation, the plastic flow is observed to initiate across inter-particle ligaments in the direction of constraint. This particular mode of deformation could not have been captured using a two-dimensional, plane strain idealization of cylindrical voids in a matrix.The potential for localized crazing and/or cavitation in the matrix is addressed. It is observed that the introduction of voids acts to relieve hydrostatic stress in the matrix material, compared to the homopolymer. It is also seen that the predicted peak hydrostatic stress in the matrix is higher under plane strain deformation than under triaxial tension (with equal lateral stresses), for the same macroscopic stress triaxiality.The effect of void volume fraction on the macroscopic uniaxial tension behavior of the different blends is examined using a Considère construction for dilatant materials. The natural draw ratio was predicted to decrease with an increase in void volume fraction.     

Void interaction and coalescence in polymeric materials

Beyond pressure-sensitivity, plastic deformation of glassy polymers exhibits intrinsic softening followed by progressive rehardening at large strains. This highly nonlinear stress–strain behavior is captured by a constitutive model introduced in this work. In the first part of the paper, we focus on void growth and coalescence in an axisymmetric representative material volume consisting of a single large void and a population of discrete microvoids. Our study shows that microvoid cavitation, enhanced by strain softening, accelerates the process of void coalescence resulting in brittle-like failure at lowered stresses and strains. Pressure-sensitivity also reduces stress-carrying capacity as well as influences the strain for void coalescence; plastic dilatancy effects are relatively milder. In the second part of the paper, we introduce a population of discrete spherical voids within a three-dimensional computational model to study void growth and damage ahead of a crack front. Our studies reveal a distinctive change in the deformed void shape from oblate to prolate when strain softening is followed by high rehardening at large plastic strains. By contrast, an extended strain softening regime promotes oblacity and facilitates multiple void interaction and their cooperative growth over large distances ahead of the crack front. This multi-void failure mechanism is exacerbated by pressure-sensitivity.     

压力敏感材料中的空洞长大研究及其在页岩及高分子材料中的应用

主要研究压力敏感材料中含内压的空洞长大,如页岩或者高分子材料。采用数值方法研究含内压空洞的对称和非对称球形和柱形胞元的宏观力学行为。结果表明,压力敏感性及其空洞内压将极大影响空洞的形核与长大。在球形胞元情形中未出现柱形胞元的单轴拉伸现象。将胞元有限变形的数值计算结果与基于近期提出的考虑压力敏感材料中空洞长大的塑形力学模型的分析结果进行了对比。     

Macroscopic yield criteria for plastic anisotropic materials containing spheroidal voids

The combined effects of void shape and matrix anisotropy on the macroscopic response of ductile porous solids is investigated. The Gologanu–Leblond–Devaux’s (GLD) analysis of an rigid-ideal plastic (von Mises) spheroidal volume containing a confocal spheroidal cavity loaded axisymmetrically is extended to the case when the matrix is anisotropic (obeying Hill’s [Hill, R., 1948. A theory of yielding and plastic flow of anisotropic solids. Proc. Roy. Soc. London A 193, 281–297] anisotropic yield criterion) and the representative volume element is subjected to arbitrary deformation. To derive the overall anisotropic yield criterion, a limit analysis approach is used. Conditions of homogeneous boundary strain rate are imposed on every ellipsoidal confocal with the cavity. A two-field trial velocity satisfying these boundary conditions are considered. It is shown that for cylindrical and spherical void geometries, the proposed criterion reduces to existing anisotropic Gurson-like yield criteria. Furthermore, it is shown that for the case when the matrix is considered isotropic, the new results provide a rigorous generalization to the GLD model. Finally, the accuracy of the proposed approximate yield criterion for plastic anisotropic media containing non-spherical voids is assessed through comparison with numerical results.     

A physically-based constitutive model for anisotropic damage in rubber-toughened glassy polymers during finite deformation

The present work focuses on the development of a physically-based model for large deformation stress-strain response and anisotropic damage in rubber-toughened glassy polymers. The main features leading to a microstructural evolution (regarding cavitation, void aspect ratio, matrix plastic anisotropy and rubbery phase deformation) in rubber-toughened glassy polymers are introduced in the proposed constitutive model. The constitutive response of the glassy polymer matrix is modelled using the hyperelastic-viscoplastic model of [Boyce et al., 1988] and [Boyce et al., 2000]. The deformation mechanisms of the matrix material are accounted for by two resistances: an elastic-viscoplastic isotropic intermolecular resistance acting in parallel with a visco-hyperelastic anisotropic network resistance, each resistance being modified to account for damage effects by void growth with a variation of the void aspect ratio. The effective contribution of the hyperelastic particles to the overall composite behaviour is taken into account by treating the overall system in a composite scheme framework. The capabilities of the proposed constitutive model are checked by comparing experimental data with numerical simulations. The deformation behaviour of rubber-toughened poly(methyl methacrylate) was investigated experimentally in tension at a temperature of 80 °C and for different constant true strain rates monitored by a video-controlled technique. The reinforcing phase is of the soft core-hard shell type and its diameter is of the order of one hundred nanometers. The particle volume fraction was adjusted from 15% to 45% by increments of 5%. The stress-strain response and the inelastic volumetric strain are found to depend markedly on particle volume fraction. For a wide range of rubber volume fractions, the model simulations are in good agreement with the experimental results. Finally, a parametric analysis demonstrates the importance of accounting for void shape, matrix plastic anisotropy and rubber content.     

A new formulation of the effective elastic–plastic response of two-phase particulate composite materials

In this paper the double-inclusion model, originally developed to determine effective linear elastic properties of composite materials, is reformulated and extended to predict the effective nonlinear elastic–plastic response of two-phase particulate composites reinforced with spherical particles. The resulting problem of elastic–plastic deformation of a double-inclusion embedded in an infinite reference medium subjected to an incrementally applied far-field strain is solved by the finite element method. The proposed double-inclusion model is evaluated by comparison of the model predictions to the available exact results obtained by the direct approach using representative volume elements containing many particles. It is found that the double-inclusion formulation is capable of providing accurate prediction of the effective elastic–plastic response of two-phase particulate composites at moderate particle volume fractions.     

Influences of microscope size effect of matrix on plastic potential and void growth of porous materials

Based on approximate theoretical analyses on a typical spherical cell containing a spherical microvoid, the influences of matrix materials' microscopic scale on the macroscopic constitutives potential theory of porous material and microvoid growth have been investigated in detail. By assuming that the plastic deformation behavior of matrix materials follows the strain gradient (SG) plastic theory involving the stretch and rotation gradients, the ratio (λ=l/a) of the matrix materials' intrinsic characteristic lengthl to the microvoid radiusa is introduced into the plastic constitutives potential and the void growth law. The present results indicate that, when the radiusa of microvoids is comparable with the intrinsic characteristic lengthl of the matrix materials, the influence of microscopic size effect on neither the constitutive potential nor the microvoid evolution predicted can be ignored. And when the void radiusa is much lager than the intrinsic characteristic lengthl of the matrix materials, the present model can retrogress automatically to the improved Gurson model that takes into account the strain hardening effect of matrix materials. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. A10102006).     

Verification of the transferability of micromechanical parameters by cell model calculations with visco-plastic materials

Finite element (FE) calculations of a cylindrical cell containing a spherical hole have been performed under large strain conditions for varying triaxiality with three different constitutive models for the matrix material, i.e. rate independent plastic material with isotropic hardening, visco-plastic material under both isothermal and adiabatic conditions, and porous plastic material with a second population of voids nucleating strain controlled. The “mesoscopic” stress-strain and void growth responses of the cell are compared with predictions of the modified Gurson model in order to study the effects of varying triaxiality and strain rate on the critical void volume fraction. The interaction of two different sizes of voids was modelled by changing the strain level for nucleation and the stress triaxiality. The study confirms that the void volume fraction at void coalescence does not depend significantly on the triaxiality if the initial volume fraction of the primary voids is small and if there are no secondary voids. The strain rate does not affect f_c either. The results also indicate that a single internal variable, f, is not sufficient to characterize the fracture processes in materials containing two different size-scales of void nucleating particles.     

随机载荷下疲劳裂纹的闭合和扩展估算模型

本文分析了裂尖前,后方塑性区对闭合性能的影响,提出从裂尖塑性钝化量和尾迹区残余塑性变形两个方面来确定裂纹面的残余变形,并讨论了压缩载荷对闭合应力的影响,由此建立了一个疲劳裂纹闭合模型,然后通过模型“有限记忆”性质的假定将它应用到随机加载情况。用此模型对铝合金2219——T851受飞机谱载荷的CCT平面应力试件进行了疲劳寿命估算,估算值与实验结果接近。     

On fatigue crack growth in ductile materials by crack-tip blunting

One of the basic mechanisms for fatigue crack growth in ductile metals is that depending on crack-tip blunting under tensile loads and re-sharpening of the crack-tip during unloading. In a standard numerical analysis accounting for finite strains it is not possible to follow this process during many cycles, as severe mesh distortion at the crack-tip results from the huge geometry changes developing during the cyclic plastic straining. In the present numerical studies, based on an elastic-perfectly plastic material model, crack growth computations are continued up to 200 full cycles by using remeshing at several stages of the plastic deformation. Three different values of the load ratio R=K_min/K_max are considered. It is shown that the crack-tip opening displacement, CTOD, typically undergoes a transient behaviour, with no crack closure during many cycles, before a steady-state cycling with crack closure at the tip starts to gradually develop.     

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.     

Scale-dependent plasticity potential of porous materials and void growth

In the present paper, a boundary value problem about the macroscopic response and its microscopic mechanism of a representative spherical cell with a spherical microvoid under axisymmetric triaxial tension has been theoretically investigated. To capture the size effects of local plastic deformation in the matrix, the strain gradient constitutive theory including the rotation and the stretch gradients developed by Fleck and Hutchinson [Strain gradient plasticity, in: J.W. Hutchinson, T.Y. Wu (Eds.), Advance in Applied Mechanics, vol. 33, Academic Press, New York, 1997, p. 295] is adopted. By means of the principle of minimum plasticity potential and the Lagrange multipliers method, the self-contained displacement field within the matrix has been computationally determined. Based on these, a size-dependent constitutive potential theory for porous material has been developed. The results indicate clearly that the microvoid evolution predicted by the present constitutive model displays very significant dependences on the void size especially when the radius a of microvoids is comparable with the intrinsic characteristic length l of the matrix. And when the void radius a is much lager than l, the present model can retrogress automatically to the Gurson model improved by Wang and Qin [Acta Mech. Solid. Sin. 10 (1989) 127, in Chinese].     

Damage of ductile materials deforming under multiple plastic or viscoplastic mechanisms

This work presents a model to represent ductile failure (i.e. failure controlled by nucleation, growth and coalescence) of materials whose irreversible deformation is controlled by several plastic or viscoplastic deformation mechanisms. In addition work hardening may result from both isotropic and kinematic hardening. Damage is represented by a single variable representing void volume fraction. The model uses an additive decomposition of the plastic strain rate tensor. The model is developed based on the definition of damage dependant effective scalar stresses. The model is first developed within the generalized standard material framework and expressions for Helmholtz free energy, yield potential and dissipation potential are proposed. In absence of void nucleation, the evolution of the void volume fraction is governed by mass conservation and damage does not need to be represented by state variables. The model is extended to account for void nucleation. It is implemented in a finite element software to perform structural computations. The model is applied to three case studies: (i) failure by void growth and coalescence by internal necking (pipeline steel) where plastic flow is either governed by the Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman model or the Thomason model, (ii) creep failure (Grade 91 creep resistant steel) where viscoplastic flow is controlled by dislocation creep or diffusional creep and (iii) ductile rupture after pre-compression (aluminum alloy) where kinematic hardening plays an important role.     

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.     

Prediction of ductile fracture in tension by bifurcation,localization, and imperfection analyses

In this investigation, it is shown that the onset of ductile fracture in tension can be interpreted as the result of a supercritical bifurcation of homogeneous deformation and that this fact can be applied to predict ductile fracture initiation of materials with general imperfections or flaws. We focus on one dimensional quasi-static simple tension for rate-independent isotropic plastic materials. For deformation beyond the bifurcation point, multiple equilibrium paths appear. The homogeneous deformation, as one of the equilibrium paths, loses stability while the inhomogeneous paths are stable, thus indicating the occurrence of strain localization. This investigation also provides a physical example for the application of the Lambert W function in material localization analyses. Material instability is treated as the instability of a static system with dynamic perturbation. We also address the presence of microvoids in a power law plastic material as an unfolding of the supercritical pitchfork bifurcation. The imperfect system, idealized as spherical voids within the plastic matrix, is analyzed using the familiar Gurson model which is based on the presumption of a randomly voided material and characterized by the volume fraction of voids. If, in addition, the sizes of the microvoids are known, this then provides a length scale for the imperfection zone. In this manner, relevance to the sample size effects of strain-to-failure for ductile fracture initiation is addressed by considering separate zones with variations in void volume fractions. Fracture initiation predictions are presented and compare very well to existing experimental results.     

Rupture mechanisms in combined tension and shear—Micromechanics

A micromechanics model based on the theoretical framework of plastic localization into a band introduced by Rice is developed. The model consists of a planar band with a square array of equally sized cells, with a spherical void located in the centre of each cell. The periodic arrangement of the cells allows the study of a single unit cell for which fully periodic boundary conditions are applied. The micromechanics model is applied to analyze failure by ductile rupture in experiments on double notched tube specimens subjected to combined tension and torsion carried out by the present authors. The stress state is characterized in terms of the stress triaxiality and the Lode parameter. Two rupture mechanisms can be identified, void coalescence by internal necking at high triaxiality and void coalescence by internal shearing at low triaxiality. For the internal necking mechanism, failure is assumed to occur when the deformation localizes into a planar band and is closely associated with extensive void growth until impingement of voids. For the internal shearing mechanism, a simple criterion based on the attainment of a critical value of shear deformation is utilized. The two failure criteria capture the transition between the two rupture mechanisms successfully and are in good agreement with the experimental result.     

A new yield function and a hydrostatic stress-controlled void nucleation model for porous solids with pressure-sensitive matrices

A macroscopic yield function for porous solids with pressure-sensitive matrices modeled by Coulomb's yield function was obtained by generalizing Gurson's yield function with consideration of the hydrostatic yield stress of a spherical thick-walled shell and by fitting the finite element results of the yield stresses of a voided cube. The macroscopic yield function is valid for the negative hydrostatic stress as well as for the positive hydrostatic stress. From the yield function, a plastic potential function for the porous solids was derived either for plastic normality flow or for plastic non-normality flow of the pressure-sensitive matrices. In addition, void nucleation was modeled by a normal distribution function with the macroscopic hydrostatic stress regarded as a controlling stress. This set of constitutive relations was implemented into a finite element code abaqus as a user material subroutine to analyze the cavitation and the deformation behavior of a rubber-modified epoxy around a crack tip under the Mode I plane strain conditions. By comparing the cavitation zone and the plastic zone obtained in the analysis with those observed in an experiment, the mean stress and the standard deviation for the void nucleation model could be determined. The cavitation and the deformation behavior of the rubber-modified epoxy were also analyzed around notches under four-point bending. The size and shape of the cavitation zone and the plastic zone were shown to be in good agreement with those observed in an experiment.     

Influences of initial porosity,stress triaxiality and Lode parameter on plastic deformation and ductile fracture

Local mechanical properties in aluminum cast components are inhomogeneous as a consequence of spatial distribution of microstructure,e.g.,porosity,inclusions,grain size and arm spacing of secondary dendrites.In this work,the effect of porosity is investigated.Cast components contain voids with different sizes,forms,orientations and distributions.This is approximated by a porosity distribution in the following.The aim of this paper is to investigate the influence of initial porosity,stress triaxiality and Lode parameter on plastic deformation and ductile fracture.A micromechanical model with a spherical void located at the center of the matrix material,called the representative volume element(RVE),is developed.Fully periodic boundary conditions are applied to the RVE and the values of stress triaxiality and Lode parameter are kept constant during the entire course of loading.For this purpose,a multi-point constraint(MPC)user subroutine is developed to prescribe the loading.The results of the RVE model are used to establish the constitutive equations and to further investigate the influences of initial porosity,stress triaxiality and Lode parameter on elastic constant,plastic deformation and ductile fracture of an aluminum die casting alloy.     

The evolution of voids in the plasticity strain hardening gradient materials

The main aim of this paper is to opens out the meso-mechanism of void growth and coalescence in the matrix materials with graded strain-hardening exponent distribution. For this end, detailed finite element computations of a representative cylindrical cell containing a spherical void have been carried out. According to the FE analyses, significant effects of the strain-hardening exponent gradient (SEG) in the matrix on the void growth and coalescence are revealed: (1) In the homogeneous materials, the void growth and coalescence are slightly dependent on the strain-hardening exponent, however, the SEG distribution in the matrix can increase remarkably the void growth rate and decrease seriously the void coalescence strain. (2) The critical void shapes in the homogeneous materials are mainly governed by the macroscopic stress triaxiality, but due to earlier plastic flow localization in the softer matrix layer, the SEG distribution in the matrix has very significant effects on the deformed void shapes, especially when the stress triaxiality is lower. (3) When the triaxial stress levels are lower, in the homogeneous materials, the shape change mode of the void evolution is dominate so the void growth rate is very low; however, the SEG distribution in the matrix can bring the volume change mode out, as a result of increasing the void growth rate. (4) Comparisons of the numerical results with the existing damage model indicate that the classic damage model cannot give satisfying prediction to the void growth in both the homogeneous strain-hardening matrix and the SEG materials. On the basis of large numbers of numerical computations, a new damage model, which can uniformly describe the void growing in the homogeneous and plasticity gradient materials, is suggested. A mass of element computations have validated that the new damage model can give satisfying agreement with the FE results of cell model.     

The effect of straining mode on void growth

Large strain finite element method is employed to investigate the effect of straining mode on void growth. Axisymmetric cell model embedded with spherical void is controlled by constant triaxiality loading, while plane-stress model containing a circular void is loaded by constant ratio of straining. Elastic-plastic material is used for the matrix in both cases. It is concluded that, besides the known effect of triaxiality, the straining mode which intensifies the plastic concentration around the void is also a void growth stimulator. Experimental results are cited to justify the computation results. This paper is jointly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (19872064), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KJ951-1-201) and the Laboratory for Nonlinear mechanics of Continuous Media of the Institute of Mechanics