Tailored heterogeneity increases overall stability regime of composites having a negative-stiffness inclusion

Recent theoretical and experimental results have shown the possibility of enormous increases in composite material overall elastic stiffness, damping, thermal expansion, piezoelectricity, etc., when the composite contains a tuned non-positive-definite (i.e., negative stiffness) constituent. For such composite materials to have practical utility, they must be stable. Recent research has shown they can be, for a limited range of constituent negative stiffness. This research has treated linear elastic composite materials with homogeneous phases, via the energy method and full dynamic stability analyses.In the present work, we first show how to analyze the composites previously treated by the comprehensive but simpler static stability approach, obtaining closed-form results. We then employ this approach to show that permitting heterogeneity of the positive-definite phase can substantially increase the range of constituent negative stiffness while maintaining overall composite stability. We first treat the positive-definite phase heterogeneity as piecewise homogeneous, and then treat it as continuously-varying. In the continuously-varying heterogeneity case, we seek the radially optimal distribution of the elastic moduli in the coatings, under constant coating average moduli constraint, to permit the most negative possible inclusion stiffness while maintaining overall composite stability. This is accomplished for three coating cases: constant bulk modulus but arbitrarily radially-varying shear modulus; constant shear modulus but arbitrarily radially-varying bulk modulus; and both moduli arbitrarily radially varying. We find the optimal coatings to be: a heterogeneous one with shear modulus being a specific continuously decreasing function of radius for the first case; a homogeneous one for the second case; and a heterogeneous one with both moduli being either Dirac-delta or Heaviside-step decreasing functions of radius for the last case (if the coating moduli are unrestricted in magnitude or have upper limits, respectively). The results show a substantial increase in the permissible inclusion negative stiffness range is provided by coating heterogeneity, while maintaining overall composite stability. Such an increased range of constituent negative stiffness provides an enlarged tuning parameter range for the development of novel, high-performance composite materials.     

Micromechanical study of elastic moduli of loose granular materials

In micromechanics of the elastic behaviour of granular materials, the macro-scale continuum elastic moduli are expressed in terms of micro-scale parameters, such as coordination number (the average number of contacts per particle) and interparticle contact stiffnesses in normal and tangential directions. It is well-known that mean-field theory gives inaccurate micromechanical predictions of the elastic moduli, especially for loose systems with low coordination number. Improved predictions of the moduli are obtained here for loose two-dimensional, isotropic assemblies. This is achieved by determining approximate displacement and rotation fields from the force and moment equilibrium conditions for small sub-assemblies of various sizes. It is assumed that the outer particles of these sub-assemblies move according to the mean field. From the particle displacement and rotation fields thus obtained, approximate elastic moduli are determined. The resulting predictions are compared with the true moduli, as determined from the discrete element method simulations for low coordination numbers and for various values of the tangential stiffness (at fixed value of the normal stiffness). Using this approach, accurate predictions of the moduli are obtained, especially when larger sub-assemblies are considered. As a step towards an analytical formulation of the present approach, it is investigated whether it is possible to replace the local contact stiffness matrices by a suitable average stiffness matrix. It is found that this generally leads to a deterioration of the accuracy of the predictions. Many micromechanical studies predict that the macroscopic bulk modulus is hardly influenced by the value of the tangential stiffness. It is shown here from the discrete element method simulations of hydrostatic compression that for loose systems, the bulk modulus strongly depends on the stiffness ratio for small stiffness ratios.     

On estimation methods for effective moduli of microcracked solids

Summary  Most of the conventional methods for estimating the overall elastic moduli of microcracked solids are defined based on the concept of effective medium or effective field. The formal similarity of these methods is examined in this paper. A one-to-one correspondence relation exists between the effective medium methods and the effective field methods in the sense that they yield identical results. In addition to the conventional estimation techniques, any other number of such approaches may be constructed by appropriately specifying the effective matrix compliance (or stiffness) tensor and the effective stress (or strain) field which a microcrack is assumed to be subjected to. To generate continuous spectra of new methods for estimating the effective elastic moduli, two simple and straightforward approaches are proposed, which contain one or two adjustable parameters in order to yield results of good accuracy. The discussion in this paper can be extended to other kinds of heterogeneous materials. Received 4 October 2000; accepted for publication 30 January 2001     

Effective elastic shear stiffness of a periodic fibrous composite with non-uniform imperfect contact between the matrix and the fibers

In this contribution, effective elastic moduli are obtained by means of the asymptotic homogenization method, for oblique two-phase fibrous periodic composites with non-uniform imperfect contact conditions at the interface. This work is an extension of previous reported results, where only the perfect contact for elastic or piezoelectric composites under imperfect spring model was considered. The constituents of the composites exhibit transversely isotropic properties. A doubly periodic parallelogram array of cylindrical inclusions under longitudinal shear is considered. The behavior of the shear elastic coefficient for different geometry arrays related to the angle of the cell is studied. As validation of the present method, some numerical examples and comparisons with theoretical results verified that the present model is efficient for the analysis of composites with presence of imperfect interface and parallelogram cell. The effect of the non uniform imperfection on the shear effective property is observed. The present method can provide benchmark results for other numerical and approximate methods.     

On the stiffness of materials containing a disordered array of microscopic holes or hard inclusions

We study the macroscopic mechanical behavior of materials with microscopic holes or hard inclusions. Specifically, we deal with the effective elastic moduli of composites whose microgeometry consists of either soft or hard isolated inclusions surrounded by an elastic matrix. We approach this problem by taking the stiffness of the inclusion phase to be a complex variable, which we eventually evaluate at the soft or hard limits. Our main result states that there is a certain class of non-physical, negative-definite values of the elastic moduli of the inclusion phase for which the effective tensor does not have infinities or become otherwise singular.We present applications of this result to the estimation of effective moduli and to homogenization theorems. The first application involves using complexanalytic methods to obtain rigorous and accurate bounds on the effective moduli of the high-contrast composites under consideration. We also discuss the variational estimates of Rubenfeld & Keller, which yield a complementary set of bounds on these moduli. The best bounds are given by a combination of the analytical and variational results. As a second application, we show that certain known theorems of homogenization for materials with holes are simple consequences of our main result, and in this connection we establish corresponding new theorems for materials with hard inclusions. While our rederivation of the homogenization theorems for materials with holes can be closely related to other known constructions, it appears that certain elements provided by our main result are essential in the proof of homogenization for the hard-inclusion case.     

Rigorous bounds on the effective moduli of composites and inhomogeneous bodies with negative-stiffness phases

We review the theoretical bounds on the effective properties of linear elastic inhomogeneous solids (including composite materials) in the presence of constituents having non-positive-definite elastic moduli (so-called negative-stiffness phases). Using arguments of Hill and Koiter, we show that for statically stable bodies the classical displacement-based variational principles for Dirichlet and Neumann boundary problems hold but that the dual variational principle for traction boundary problems does not apply. We illustrate our findings by the example of a coated spherical inclusion whose stability conditions are obtained from the variational principles. We further show that the classical Voigt upper bound on the linear elastic moduli in multi-phase inhomogeneous bodies and composites applies and that it imposes a stability condition: overall stability requires that the effective moduli do not surpass the Voigt upper bound. This particularly implies that, while the geometric constraints among constituents in a composite can stabilize negative-stiffness phases, the stabilization is insufficient to allow for extreme overall static elastic moduli (exceeding those of the constituents). Stronger bounds on the effective elastic moduli of isotropic composites can be obtained from the Hashin–Shtrikman variational inequalities, which are also shown to hold in the presence of negative stiffness.     

The boundaries of the effective elastic moduli for inhomogeneous solids

The calculation of the effective elastic moduli of inhomogeneous solids, which connect the stresses and strains averaged for the material, is accompanied by certain mathematical difficulties owing to correlation relationships of arbitrary orders. Neglect of correlation relationships leads to average elastic moduli, where averaging according to Voigt and Reuss establishes boundaries containing the effective elastic moduli [1]. Approximate values of the latter can be found by taking into account the correlation relationships of the second order in both calculation schemes [2, 3]. Another method of evaluating the true moduli consists of narrowing the boundaries of Voigt and Reuss on the basis of model representations [4-6]. The approximate effective elastic moduli for a series of polycrystals with various common-angle values are presented in [7]. An analysis of the effect of the correlation relationships between the grains of a mechanical mixture of isotropic components on the effective elastic moduli is carried out in [8], although in all the papers just mentioned the use of correlative corrections to narrow the range of elastic moduli is not investigated. Below it is shown that the calculation of the correlation corrections in the second approximation allows the range for the effective moduli to be narrowed.     

Displacement of surrounding rock in a deep circular hole considering double moduli and strength-stiffness degradation

The problem of cavity stability widely exists in deep underground engineering and energy exploitation. First, the stress field of the surrounding rock under the uniform stress field is deduced based on a post-peak strength drop model considering the rock's characteristics of constant modulus and double moduli. Then, the orthogonal non-associative flow rule is used to establish the displacement of the surrounding rock under constant modulus and double moduli, respectively, considering the stiffness degradation and dilatancy effects in the plastic region and assuming that the elastic strain in the plastic region satisfies the elastic constitutive relationship. Finally, the evolution of the displacement in the surrounding rock is analyzed under the effects of the double modulus characteristics, the strength drop, the stiffness degradation, and the dilatancy. The results show that the displacement solutions of the surrounding rock under constant modulus and double moduli have a unified expression. The coefficients of the expression are related to the stress field of the original rock, the elastic constant of the surrounding rock, the strength parameters, and the dilatancy angle. The strength drop, the stiffness degradation, and the dilatancy effects all have effects on the displacement. The effects can be characterized by quantitative relationships.     

Theory of the elastic moduli of a heterogeneous medium

It is shown that the theory of random functions permits the expansion of the effective tensor X~jkl for the elastic moduli with respect to correlation functions and that it leads in the second approximation in the Voigt-Reuss scheme to values that lie to one side of the Xijkl, while in the third approximation it brackets the latter. The analysis is used to refine the Hashin limits to the elastic moduli for a mechanical mixture of isotrcpic components and polycrystalline aggregates of cubic structure.There are two methods for calculating the effective elastic moduli of heterogeneous solids: virial expansion [2] (as a power series in the concentration of one of the components) and the method of correlation functions [2] (expansion with respect to relative fluctuation of the elastic moduli). Identical results should be obtained in the two cases if all terms are incorporated, but great mathematical difficulties restrict one to the lowest approximations. The first approximation in the virial method gives better results when the concentration of one component is low, while the method of correlation functions gives better results when the fluctuations in the elastic moduli are small and the concentrations are similar.Methods have been developed for determining the upper and lower bounds in both approaches, and various schemes of averaging are used for this purpose in the correlation-function method. The upper bound is established by renormalizing the equation of equilibrium, while the lower one is found by renormalizing the equation of incompatibility. The range of the bracketing can be reduced by means of higher approximations. The range can be reduced in the limit to zero, which implies passing from an approximate effective tensor to the true one, which relates the means in stress and strain over the material. Here we show that the two methods of renormalization give identical results when all terms of the series are summed.If the tensor has a Gaussian distribution, the moment functions of odd order are zero, while the even ones are expressed via combinations of the binary functions [3]. However, a mechanical mixture of several components is not Gaussian, and the odd moments are not zero. Splitting of the higher-order correlation functions is possible also for mechanical mixtures having determinate phase interfaces, but this involves various simplifying assumptions. A derivation is given for a moment of arbitrary order, which allows one to formulate the conditions under which such splitting is possible. The results are used in calculating the exact value of the effective bulk modulus for a medium with a homogeneous shear modulus.We are indebted to V. V. Bolotin for a discussion.     

Exact solutions for radial deformations of a functionally graded isotropic and incompressible second-order elastic cylinder

We find closed-form solutions for axisymmetric plane strain deformations of a functionally graded circular cylinder comprised of an isotropic and incompressible second-order elastic material with moduli varying only in the radial direction. Cylinder's inner and outer surfaces are loaded by hydrostatic pressures. These solutions are specialized to cases where only one of the two surfaces is loaded. It is found that for a linear through-the-thickness variation of the elastic moduli, the hoop stress for the first-order solution (or in a cylinder comprised of a linear elastic material) is a constant but that for the second-order solution varies through the thickness. The radial displacement, the radial stress and the hoop stress do not depend upon the second-order elastic constant but the hydrostatic pressure and hence the axial stress depends upon it. When the two elastic moduli vary as the radius raised to the power two or four, the radial and the hoop stresses in an infinite space with a pressurized cylindrical cavity equal the pressure in the cavity. For an affine variation of the elastic moduli, the hoop stress in an internally loaded cylinder made of a linear elastic isotropic and incompressible material at the point is the same as that in a homogeneous cylinder. Here R_in and R_ou equal, respectively, the inner and the outer radius of the undeformed cylinder and R the radial coordinate of a point in the unstressed reference configuration.     

固体的弹性模量和内耗测量方法研究进展

弹性模量和内耗是固体材料的基本力学性质, 其测量的准确性和便捷性对工业生产和科学研究都很重要. 本文回顾了近一百年来固体材料弹性模量和内耗的测量方法, 主要分为四类: 准静态方法、低频法、共振法和波传播法. 首先对每类方法的测量原理进行了简单介绍及总体评价. 接着对几种共振方法, 包括自由梁共振法、脉冲激励法、超声共振谱方法和压电超声复合振动技术(PUCOT)进行了详细介绍和评价. 然后, 重点介绍了本课题组最新提出的基于机电阻抗的模量内耗测量方法(称之为M-PUCOT或Q-EMI), 它可以同时、准确、快速地测量杨氏/剪切模量及相应内耗. 最后, 对这种新型弹性模量/内耗测量方法的意义和应用前景进行了讨论和展望.      

具有压电材料弹性环形板的屈曲

对在不同位置粘有任意多对压电片的弹性环形板在电压和径向压力作用下的轴对称屈曲进行了研究．根据压电效应的等效作用量，初参数法以及传递矩阵方法得到了环板屈曲的特征方程．对不同位置及不同宽度的压电片，计算了结构的屈曲载荷．并得到了稳定性边界曲线．     

Electroelastic analysis of a cracked piezoelectric ceramic strip sandwiched between two elastic dielectrics

The electroelastic analysis of a cracked piezoelectric composite is made. The piezoelectric composite consists of a piezoelectric ceramic strip sandwiched by two outer elastic dielectrics, and a crack is assumed to be located at the center of the piezoelectric strip and normal to the interfaces. By using an integral transform technique, the problem is reduced to singular integral equations with Cauchy kernel. Numerical solutions are determined via the Lobatto–Chebyshev collocation method. The field intensity factors for a realistic crack are obtained, and the solution of a realistic crack lies between those of an impermeable crack and a permeable crack. The results indicate that electric loading has an apparent influence on crack growth. This effect disappears when crack becomes permeable to electric field. Moreover, stiffer outer dielectrics can hinder crack growth.     

用压电材料进行损伤鉴别的理论与数值分析

对压电材料用于损伤监测的理论和数值分析做了一些研究。首先,设计了一种用压电材料进行损伤监测的模型。然后,对这个模型进行分析,找出简单有效的解答办法,将求解过程分解为断裂力学分析和压电分析两部分,并通过适当的假设,进行了详细的理论推导。通过正电有限元程序进行仿真计算,将数值计算结果与理论解进行比较以验证提出理论的正确性,并分析得到了裂纹参数与压电层表面电势变化之间的关系和普通弹性材料泊松比对波峰参数的影响。最后,用提出的方法验算了两个例题。从结果来看,理论结果和数值结果非常接近。     

内含弹性介质功能梯度压电球壳的径向振动调控

针对内含弹性介质的功能梯度压电球壳的径向振动问题,利用变量替换技术,求得了解析解。该解适用于材料参数沿厚度按幂律变化且密度的梯度指标可与其它物理量的梯度指标不同的功能梯度压电球壳,克服了以往分析中所有材料参数梯度指标均假设为相等的局限。数值结果表明,功能梯度压电球壳的径向振动特性可利用材料参数梯度指标和内部弹性介质的刚度进行有效调控。     

State dependent linear moduli in ferroelectrics

A novel experimental method is used to measure the evolution of the linear elastic, dielectric and piezoelectric moduli of a soft ferroelectric ceramic during loading. The applied loading states are combinations of uniaxial compressive stress and electric field. Short pulses of electric field and stress are used to increment the remanent strain and polarization state of the material, while the rates of change of electric displacement and strain during unloading are used to assess the moduli. The remanent quantities are treated as state variables, with a view to expressing the moduli as functions of the material state. The piezoelectric moduli are found to vary approximately linearly with polarization, regardless of the remanent strain state, whilst the dielectric moduli and elastic compliances show more complex behaviour. A simple model of the state dependence of the moduli, based on varying the volume fractions of six crystal variants in the tetragonal system, is used to interpret the results.     

具有弹性放大器的双稳态压电俘能器建模及参数影响分析

利用广义Hamilton变分原理,建立了具有弹性放大器的双稳态压电俘能系统BPH+EM的动力学方程。考虑谐波激励,采用调和平衡法获得了BPH+EM系统的位移、输出电压和功率的解析解。利用求得的解析解,讨论了BPH+EM系统扩大能量俘获的频率范围和提高能量俘获效率的机理,研究了弹性放大器的刚度质量比对BPH+EM系统的动力性能影响规律。当弹性放大器的刚度质量比趋于无限大时,具有弹性放大器的双稳态压电俘能系统退化为双稳态压电俘能系统BPH。弹性放大器的刚度质量比趋于0但不等于0时,BPH+EM的俘能效率低于BPH。结果表明,在合适的刚度质量比范围内,BPH+EM的俘能效率显著优于BPH。研究结果为BPH+EM系统的优化设计提供了理论指导。     

Closed-form solution for two collinear cracks in a piezoelectric strip

Under the permeable electric boundary condition, the problem of two collinear anti-plane shear cracks lying at the mid-plane of a piezoelectric strip is investigated. By using the Fourier transform, the associated problem is reduced to a singular integral equation. Solving the resulting equation analytically, the electro-elastic field intensity factors and energy release rates at the inner and outer crack tips can be determined in explicit form. Numerical results for PZT-5H piezoelectric ceramic are also presented graphically. The results reveal that the effect of electric field on crack growth in piezoelectric materials is dependent on applied elastic displacement.     

橡胶弹簧非线性刚度的有限元解

本文探讨了用双重非线性有限元手段，求解橡胶弹簧的非线性刚度。橡胶的本构关系采用了广义虎克定律和基于应变能的超弹性材料的本构关系联合使用的方案，用单元内的静水压力ｐ，来修正广义虎克定律的弹性常数Ｅ和Ｇ。还提出了带刚性域的超单元和波前凝聚法两种新的办法，获得橡胶弹簧的刚度，使内存用量和ＣＰＵ时间大幅度下降。因而几何、物理双重非线性橡胶弹簧的计算，能在微机上实现。文内选用英国ＤＵＮＬＯＰ橡胶公司橡胶元件     

Effective elastic properties of matrix composites with transversely-isotropic phases

The present work addresses the problem of calculation of the macroscopic effective elastic properties of composites containing transversely isotropic phases. As a first step, the contribution of a single inhomogeneity to the effective elastic properties is quantified. Relevant stiffness and compliance contribution tensors are derived for spheroidal inhomogeneities. The limiting cases of spherical, penny-shaped and cylindrical shapes are discussed in detail. The property contribution tensors are used to derive the effective elastic moduli of composite materials formed by transversely isotropic phases in two approximations: non-interaction approximation and effective field method. The results are compared with elastic moduli of quasi-random composites.