STATE OF THE ART OF CONSTITUTIVE RELATIONS OF HYPERELASTIC MATERIALS 1)

超弹性材料是工程实际中的常用材料, 具有在外力作用下经历非常大变形、在外力撤去后完全恢复至初始状态的特征. 超弹性材料是典型的非线性弹性材料, 其性能可通过材料的应变能函数予以表征. 近几十年来, 围绕应变能函数形式的构造, 已提出许多超弹性材料本构关系研究的数学模型和物理模型, 但适用于多种变形模式和全变形范围的完全本构关系仍是该领域期待解决的重要问题. 本文从3个不同角度, 对超弹性材料本构关系研究的最新进展进行了总结和分析: (1)不同体积变化模式, 包含不可压与可压两种; (2)多变形模式, 包含单轴拉伸、剪切、等双轴以及复合拉剪等多个种类; (3)全范围变形程度, 包含小变形、中等变形到较大变形范围. 超弹性材料本构关系研究的最新进展表明, 为了全面描述具体材料的实验数据并在实际问题中应用超弹性材料, 需要建立适合于多种变形模式和全变形范围的可压超弹性材料的完全本构关系. 对实际超弹性材料完全本构关系的建立及可压超弹性材料应变能函数的构造, 笔者还提出了相应的实施步骤和研究方法.     

超弹性材料本构关系的最新研究进展

超弹性材料是工程实际中的常用材料, 具有在外力作用下经历非常大变形、在外力撤去后完全恢复至初始状态的特征. 超弹性材料是典型的非线性弹性材料, 其性能可通过材料的应变能函数予以表征. 近几十年来, 围绕应变能函数形式的构造, 已提出许多超弹性材料本构关系研究的数学模型和物理模型, 但适用于多种变形模式和全变形范围的完全本构关系仍是该领域期待解决的重要问题. 本文从3个不同角度, 对超弹性材料本构关系研究的最新进展进行了总结和分析: (1)不同体积变化模式, 包含不可压与可压两种; (2)多变形模式, 包含单轴拉伸、剪切、等双轴以及复合拉剪等多个种类; (3)全范围变形程度, 包含小变形、中等变形到较大变形范围. 超弹性材料本构关系研究的最新进展表明, 为了全面描述具体材料的实验数据并在实际问题中应用超弹性材料, 需要建立适合于多种变形模式和全变形范围的可压超弹性材料的完全本构关系. 对实际超弹性材料完全本构关系的建立及可压超弹性材料应变能函数的构造, 笔者还提出了相应的实施步骤和研究方法.      

Finite torsion and shearing of a compressible and anisotropic tube

The finite deformation of a hyperelastic, compressible and anisotropic tube subjected to torsion, circular and axial shearing is studied. The analysis is carried out for a class of Ogden elastic material and the governing non-linear equations are solved numerically with the Runge–Kutta method. The solution is used to study the effects of a specific material model on the local volume change and the circumferential stretch ratio.     

On constitutive modelling of porous neo-Hookean composites

In this paper a hyperelastic constitutive model is developed for neo-Hookean composites with aligned continuous cylindrical pores in the finite elasticity regime. Although the matrix is incompressible, the composite itself is compressible because of the existence of voids. For this compressible transversely isotropic material, the deformation gradient can be decomposed multiplicatively into three parts: an isochoric uniaxial deformation along the preferred direction of the material (which is identical to the direction of the cylindrical pores here); an equi-biaxial deformation on the transverse plane (the plane perpendicular to the preferred direction); and subsequent shear deformation (which includes “along-fibre” shear and transverse shear). Compared to the multiplicative decomposition used in our previous model for incompressible fibre reinforced composites [Guo, Z., Peng, X.Q., Moran, B., 2006, A composites-based hyperelastic constitutive model for soft tissue with application to the human annulus fibrosus. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 54(9), 1952–1971], the equi-biaxial deformation is introduced to achieve the desired volume change. To estimate the strain energy function for this composite, a cylindrical composite element model is developed. Analytically exact strain distributions in the composite element model are derived for the isochoric uniaxial deformation along the preferred direction, the equi-biaxial deformation on the transverse plane, as well as the “along-fibre” shear deformation. The effective shear modulus from conventional composites theory based on the infinitesimal strain linear elasticity is extended to the present finite deformation regime to estimate the strain energy related to the transverse shear deformation, which leads to an explicit formula for the strain energy function of the composite under a general finite deformation state.     

Internal constraints in linear elasticity

Sufficient conditions are obtained for continuous dependence of solutions of boundary value problems of linear elasticity on internal constraints. Arbitrary hyperelastic materials with arbitrary (linear) internal constraints are included. In particular the results of Bramble and Payne, Kobelkov, Mikhlin for homogeneous, isotropic, incompressible materials are obtained as a special case. In the case of boundary value problem of place, a compatibility condition is obtained between the internal constraints and the boundary data which is necessary for the existence of solutions. With a further coercivity assumption on the compliance tensor, it is shown that the compatibility condition is also sufficient for existence. An orthogonal decomposition theorem for second order tensor fields modeled after Weyl's decomposition of solenoidal and gradient fields leads to the variational formulation of the problem and existence theorems.Almost all the results here apply to materials both with or without internal constraints. For internally constrained materials however, the verification of certain hypothesis is surprisingly non-trivial as indicated by the computation in the appendix.     

Bulk Cavitation and the Possibility of Localized Interface Deformation due to Surface Layer Swelling

We consider the uniform swelling of a compressible hyperelastic surface layer with finite thickness that is attached to an underlying bulk material composed of a non-swelling incompressible hyperelastic material. In addition to classically smooth solutions, two additional phenomena may occur for sufficiently large swelling. One is the formation of cavities in the interior of the underlying bulk material. The other is the disappearance of smooth solutions in the surface layer while the underlying bulk material remains intact. It is conjectured that the latter may be associated with the concentration of deformation at the swelling interface. Both phenomena are investigated by the consideration of solutions to a boundary value problem for a sphere involving radial deformation with a prescribed swelling field that acts as an effective loading device. Specific material models for both the compressible swollen surface layer and the non-swollen incompressible bulk are invoked so as to permit an analytical treatment. Swelling thresholds are obtained that depend on the thickness of the surface layer for the onset of these separate phenomena.     

Inhomogeneous shearing of strain-stiffening rubber-like hollow circular cylinders

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of strain-stiffening for the classical problems of axial and azimuthal shearing of a hollow circular cylinder composed of an incompressible isotropic non-linearly elastic material. For some specific strain-energy densities that give rise to strain-stiffening in the stress–stretch response, the stresses and resultant axial forces are obtained in explicit closed form. While such results are well known for classical constitutive models such as the Mooney–Rivlin and neo-Hookean models, our main focus is on materials that undergo severe strain-stiffening in the stress–stretch response. In particular, we consider in detail two phenomenological constitutive models that reflect limiting chain extensibility at the molecular level and involve constraints on the deformation. The amount of shearing that tubes composed of such materials can sustain is limited by the constraint. Numerical results are also obtained for an exponential strain-energy that exhibits a less abrupt strain-stiffening effect. Potential applications of the results to the biomechanics of soft tissues are indicated.     

Distortion of Anisotropic Hyperelastic Solids Under Pure Pressure Loading: Compressibility, Incompressibility and Near-Incompressibility

The purpose of this note is to examine distortion during pure pressure loading for anisotropic hyperelastic solids. We contrast the corresponding issues in compressible and incompressible hyperelasticity, and then use these results to examine nearly incompressible materials. An anisotropic compressible hyperelastic solid will generally exhibit both volume change and distortion under hydrostatic pressure loading. In contrast, an incompressible hyperelastic solid—both isotropic and anisotropic—exhibits no change to its current state of deformation as the hydrostatic pressure is varied. Nearly incompressible hyperelastic materials are compressible, but approach an incompressible response in an appropriate limit. We examine this limiting process in the context of transverse isotropy. The issue arises as to how to implement a nearly incompressible version of a given truly incompressible material model. Here we examine how certain implementations eliminate distortion under pure pressure loading and why alternative implementations do not eliminate the distortion.     

Constitutive Models for Compressible Nonlinearly Elastic Materials with Limiting Chain Extensibility

Constitutive models are proposed for compressible isotropic hyperelastic materials that reflect limiting chain extensibility. These are generalizations of the model proposed by Gent for incompressible materials. The goal is to understand the effects of limiting chain extensibility when the compressibility of polymeric materials is taken into account. The basic homogeneous deformation of simple tension is considered and simple closed-form relations for the deformation characteristics are obtained for slightly compressible materials. An explicit first-order approximation is obtained for the lateral contraction and for the Poisson function in terms of the axial extension which is shown to be valid for each of two specific compressible versions of the Gent model. One of the main results obtained is that the effect of limiting chain extensibility is to stiffen the material relative to the neo-Hookean compressible case. Mathematics Subject Classifications (2000) 74B20, 74G55.     

A continuum thermodynamics formulation for micro-magneto-mechanics with applications to ferromagnetic shape memory alloys

A continuum thermodynamics formulation for micromagnetics coupled with mechanics is devised to model the evolution of magnetic domain and martensite twin structures in ferromagnetic shape memory alloys. The theory falls into the class of phase-field or diffuse-interface modeling approaches. In addition to the standard mechanical and magnetic balance laws, two sets of micro-forces and their associated balance laws are postulated; one set for the magnetization order parameter and one set for the martensite order parameter. Next, the second law of thermodynamics is analyzed to identify the appropriate material constitutive relationships. The proposed formulation does not constrain the magnitude of the magnetization to be constant, allowing for spontaneous magnetization changes associated with strain and temperature. The equations governing the evolution of the magnetization are shown to reduce to the commonly accepted Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equations for the case where the magnetization magnitude is constant. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrates that under certain limiting conditions, the equations governing the evolution of the martensite-free strain are shown to be equivalent to a hyperelastic strain gradient theory. Finally, numerical solutions are presented to investigate the fundamental interactions between the magnetic domain wall and the martensite twin boundary in ferromagnetic shape memory alloys. These calculations determine under what conditions the magnetic domain wall and the martensite twin boundary can be dissociated, resulting in a limit to the actuating strength of the material.     

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.     

气泡在液体中运动过程的数值模拟

本文用数值方法预测气泡在液体中的百定常运动。运用位标函数进行界面的隐含跟踪并且与有限体积法相结合构成一种可行的计算方法。本文方法允许在界面处存在很大的物性差，而且较容易将表面张力引入控制方程。我们对气液两相流中单个气泡的运动进行了计算，得到了与实验结果符合很好的数值结果。     

A Constitutive Framework for Tubular Structures that Enables a Semi-inverse Solution to Extension and Inflation

Traditional constitutive frameworks for high-strain materials are ill-suited to solve extension and inflation, one of the simplest problems involving tubes, or more complicated problems. Moreover, it is experimentally necessary to minimize the covariance amongst constitutive response functions. We sought, hence, a constitutive framework that minimizes covariance and simplifies the balance equations for tubes, hoses, and arteries. Central to this theory are six objective scalars or strain attributes that decouple dilatation and distortion and succinctly define the strain. Because there is a one-to-one relationship between them and the components of the Right Cauchy–Green deformation tensor, these six strain attributes can be used to define the strain energy density function for hyperelastic materials. This approach yields mostly orthogonal response terms for high strain deformation (14 of the 15 inner products vanish). For infinitesimal deformation, the response terms are fully orthogonal. Further utility is demonstrated by showing how the governing equations are simplified for tubular structures and how response functions can be determined for the first time from the extension and inflation of thick-walled tubes composed of a homogeneous material with incompressible, hyperelastic behavior. This solution is applicable for materials with orthotropic behavior, and using the chain rule, this solution can be used for materials with isotropic behavior.     

An empirical statistical constitutive relationship for rock joint shearing considering scale effect

The scale effect of rock joint shearing is of great significance in rock engineering. Most existing shear constitutive models could describe the pre- and post-peak deformation of rock joints, but only in one particular scale, that is, those existing models will fail to depict the rock joint shearing in different length scales. Therefore, this study aims to establish a constitutive relationship for rock joints with considering the scale effect. Based on the assumption of a random statistical distribution of rock material strength and statistical mesoscopic damage theory, damage variables are defined as the ratio of the number of damaged elements to the total number in the shear process. Together with the nonlinear relationship between the microelement failure and the joint scale, an empirical statistical constitutive relationship for joint is established. And then, the determination method of constitutive relationship parameters and the variation laws with the scale are discussed. Results show that the predicted results of the proposed empirical relationship not only agree well with the experimental results but also fully describe nonlinear deformation, pre-peak softening, post-peak softening, residual stage, and other mechanical properties of the shear deformation of joint with different dimensions, thereby demonstrating the rationality of the constitutive relationship. The physical meaning of the constitutive relationship parameters is clear, and the expressions of the constitutive relationship parameters can be deduced from the experimental results. In addition, the influence of scale effect on the shear deformation of rock joints can be quantified using parameters, which help accurately describe the action form of scale effect.     

Mathematical modeling of volumetric material growth

Growth (resp. atrophy) describes the physical processes by which a material of solid body increases (resp. decreases) its size by addition (resp. removal) of mass. In the present contribution, we propose a sound mathematical analysis of growth, relying on the decomposition of the geometric deformation tensor into the product of a growth tensor describing the local addition of material and an elastic tensor, which is characterizing the reorganization of the body. The Blatz-Co hyperelastic constitutive model is adopted for an isotropic body, satisfying convexity conditions (resp. concavity conditions) with respect to the transformation gradient (resp. temperature). The evolution law for the transplant is obtained from the natural assumption that the evolution of the material is independent of the reference frame. It involves a modified Eshelby tensor based on the specific free energy density. The heat flux is dependent upon the transplant. The model consists of the constitutive equation, the energy balance, and the evolution law for the transplant. It is completed by suitable boundary conditions for the displacement, temperature and transplant tensor. The existence of locally unique solutions is obtained, for sufficiently smooth data close to the stable equilibrium. The question of the global existence is examined in the simplified situation of quasistatic isothermal equations of linear elasticity under the assumption of isotropic growth.     

On some connections between equivalent single material and mixture theory models for fiber reinforced hyperelastic materials

There are two approaches that can be used to model the large strain mechanical response of material systems in which elastic fibers are embedded in an elastic matrix. In the first approach, a fiber reinforced material undergoing large deformation is homogenized in the sense that it is assumed to act as an equivalent single material that is transversely isotropic and hyperelastic. Both constituents then share a common reference configuration, which is typically assumed to be a natural or stress-free configuration for the equivalent single material. The stress depends on a single deformation gradient defined with respect to the natural configuration.In the second approach, the fiber/matrix system is treated as a mixture, with the matrix and the fibrous constituents having their own reference configurations and material symmetries. The total stress depends on the deformation gradients and material symmetries for both constituents, defined with respect to their reference configurations.Under appropriate assumptions, the constitutive theory developed using mixture theory can coincide with the constitutive theory assuming an equivalent single material that is transversely isotropic and hyperelastic. This paper explores the connection between the two approaches by considering the various reference configurations and material symmetries.     

Analysis of local singular fields near the corner of a quarter-plane with mixed boundary conditions in finite plane elastostatics

We consider a quarter-plane of compressible hyperelastic material of harmonic-type undergoing finite plane deformations. The plane is subjected to mixed (free–fixed) boundary conditions. In contrast to the analogous case from classical linear elasticity, we find that the deformation field is smooth in the vicinity of the vertex and is actually bounded at the vertex itself. In particular, the normal displacement remains positive eliminating the possibility of material interpenetration. Finally, explicit expressions for Cauchy and Piola stress distributions are obtained in the vicinity of the vertex.     

Hyperelastic Internal Balance by Multiplicative Decomposition of the Deformation Gradient

The multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient \({{\bf F} = {{\hat{\bf F}}}{\bf F}^*}\) is often used in finite deformation continuum mechanics as a basis for treating mechanical effects including plasticity, biological growth, material swelling, and notions of material morphogenesis. Evolution rules for the particular effect from this list are then posed for F*. The tensor \({{{\hat{\bf F}}}}\) is then invoked to describe a subsequent elastic accommodation, and a hyperelastic framework is put in place for its determination using an elastic energy density function, say \({W({\hat{\bf F}})}\) , as a constitutive specification. Here we explore the theory that emerges if both F* and \({{\hat{\bf F}}}\) are governed by hyperelastic criteria; thus we consider energy densities \({W({{\hat{\bf F}}}, {\bf F}^*)}\) . The decomposition of F is itself determined by energy minimization, and the variation associated with the multiplicative decomposition gives a tensor relation that is interpreted as an internal balance requirement. Our initial development purposefully proceeds with minimal presumptions on the kinematic interpretation of the factors in the deformation gradient decomposition. Connections are then made to treatments that ascribe particular kinematic properties to the decomposition factors—the theory of structured deformations is especially significant in this regard. Such theories have broad utility in describing certain substructural reconfigurations in solids. To demonstrate in the context of the present variational treatment we consider a boundary value problem that involves an imposed twist. If the twist is small then the minimizer is classically smooth. At larger values of twist the energy minimizer exhibits a non-smooth deformation that localizes slip at a singular surface.     

可压超弹性-塑性材料中的空穴生成

本文研究了材料的弹塑性性质对球体中空穴生成问题的影响，材料的弹性用一种可压超弹性材料的本构关系来描述，材料的塑性用满足材料的不可压条件和Tresca屈服条件的理想塑性材料的本构关系来描述。这类超弹性．塑性材料中可以发生空穴的生成现象，得到了在表面拉伸作用下球体中空穴生成时空穴半径与临界拉伸之间的关系式和临界拉伸。球体的变形可分为弹-塑性变形阶段和完全塑性变形阶段，球体中心首先形成塑性变形区域，并有空穴的突然生成；塑性变形区域能够快速增长，并且使球体很快进入完全塑性变形阶段；空穴在弹-塑性变形阶段迅速增长，但进入完全塑性变形阶段后增长较慢。同时给出了不同变形阶段球体中的应力分布。数值结果表明材料的塑性性质对材料中的空穴生成有明显的影响。