Magneto-elastic modeling of composites containing chain-structured magnetostrictive particles

Magneto-elastic behavior is investigated for two-phase composites containing chain-structured magnetostrictive particles under both magnetic and mechanical loading. To derive the local magnetic and elastic fields, three modified Green's functions are derived and explicitly integrated for the infinite domain containing a spherical inclusion with a prescribed magnetization, body force, and eigenstrain. A representative volume element containing a chain of infinite particles is introduced to solve averaged magnetic and elastic fields in the particles and the matrix. Effective magnetostriction of composites is derived by considering the particle's magnetostriction and the magnetic interaction force. It is shown that there exists an optimal choice of the Young's modulus of the matrix and the volume fraction of the particles to achieve the maximum effective magnetostriction. A transversely isotropic effective elasticity is derived at the infinitesimal deformation. Disregarding the interaction term, this model provides the same effective elasticity as Mori-Tanaka's model. Comparisons of model results with the experimental data and other models show the efficacy of the model and suggest that the particle interactions have a considerable effect on the effective magneto-elastic properties of composites even for a low particle volume fraction.     

Combined numerical simulation and nanoindentation for determining mechanical properties of single crystal copper at mesoscale

Constitutive laws are critical in the investigation of mechanical behavior of single crystal or polycrystalline materials in applications spanning from microscale to macroscale. In this investigation, a combined FEM simulation and experimental nanoindentation approach was taken to determine the mechanical behavior of single crystal copper incorporating the mesoplastic constitutive model. This model was implemented in a user-defined subroutine in 3D ABAQUS/Explicit code. Nanoindentation was modeled using the multiscale modeling technique involving mesoplasticity and elasticity, i.e., mesoplastic constitutive model was used near the local nanoindentation region (where the dislocations are generated) while elastic constitutive model was used in rest of the region in the workmaterial. The meso-mechanical behavior of the crystalline structure and the effect of the mesoplastic parameters on the nanoindentation load-displacement relationships were investigated in the FEM analysis. Nanoindentation tests were conducted on single crystal copper to determine load-displacement relationships. Appropriate mesoplastic parameters were determined by fitting the simulated load-displacement curves to the experimental data. The mesoplastic model, with appropriate parameters, was then used to determine the stress-strain relationship of a single crystal copper at meso-scale. The effect of indenter radius (3.4-) on material hardness under nanoindentation was simulated and found to match the experimental data for several indenter radii (3.4, 10 and ). A comparison of the topographies of nanoindentation impressions in the experiments with FEM results showed a reasonably good agreement.     

A perspective on trends in multiscale plasticity

Research trends in metal plasticity over the past 25 years are briefly reviewed. The myriad of length scales at which phenomena involving microstructure rearrangement during plastic flow is discussed, along with key challenges. Contributions of the author’s group over the past 30 years are summarized in this context, focusing on the statistical nature of microstructure evolution and emergent multiscale behavior associated with metal plasticity, current trends and models for length scale effects, multiscale kinematics, the role of grain boundaries, and the distinction of the roles of concurrent and hierarchical multiscale modeling in the context of materials design.     

Elastic properties of glasses: a multiscale approach

Very different materials are named ‘Glass’, with Young's modulus E and Poisson's ratio ν extending from 5 to 180 GPa and from 0.1 to 0.4, respectively, in the case of bulk inorganic glasses. Glasses have in common the lack of long range order in the atomic organization. Beside the essential role of elastic properties for materials selection in mechanical design, we show in this analysis that macroscopical elastic characteristics (E,ν) provide an interesting way to get insight into the short- and medium-range orders existing in glasses. In particular, ν, the packing density (C_g) and the glass network dimensionality appear to be strongly correlated. Networks consisting primarily of chains and layers units (chalcogenides, low Si-content silicate glasses) correspond to ν>0.25 and C_g>0.56, with maximum values observed for metallic glasses (ν0.4 and C_g>0.7). On the contrary, ν<0.25 is associated to a highly cross-linked network with a tri-dimensional organization resulting in a low packing density. Moreover, the temperature dependence of the elastic moduli brings a new light on the ‘fragility’ of glasses (as introduced by Angell) and on the level of cooperativity of atomic movements at the source of the deformation process. To cite this article: T. Rouxel, C. R. Mecanique 334 (2006).     

A second gradient theoretical framework for hierarchical multiscale modeling of materials

A theoretical framework for the hierarchical multiscale modeling of inelastic response of heterogeneous materials is presented. Within this multiscale framework, the second gradient is used as a nonlocal kinematic link between the response of a material point at the coarse scale and the response of a neighborhood of material points at the fine scale. Kinematic consistency between these scales results in specific requirements for constraints on the fluctuation field. The wryness tensor serves as a second-order measure of strain. The nature of the second-order strain induces anti-symmetry in the first-order stress at the coarse scale. The multiscale internal state variable (ISV) constitutive theory is couched in the coarse scale intermediate configuration, from which an important new concept in scale transitions emerges, namely scale invariance of dissipation. Finally, a strategy for developing meaningful kinematic ISVs and the proper free energy functions and evolution kinetics is presented.     

A non-equilibrium multiscale simulation of shock wave propagation

A novel non-equilibrium multiscale dynamics (NEMSD) is proposed to simulate non-equilibrium thermal–mechanical processes. The model couples coarse-grain thermodynamics with a fine scale molecular dynamics. A Distributed Nośe-Hoover Thermostat Network is used, which regulates the temperature in each coarse scale Voronoi cell according to the finite element (FE) nodal temperature. The atoms in each element-cell, namely Voronoi cell-ensemble, are assumed to be in a local equilibrium state within one coarse scale time step. The change of FE nodal temperature provides a source of random forces, which drive the system out of equilibrium. The proposed NEMSD can successfully simulate shock wave propagation in a cubic lattice.     

A discrete mechanics approach to dislocation dynamics in BCC crystals

A discrete mechanics approach to modeling the dynamics of dislocations in BCC single crystals is presented. Ideas are borrowed from discrete differential calculus and algebraic topology and suitably adapted to crystal lattices. In particular, the extension of a crystal lattice to a CW complex allows for convenient manipulation of forms and fields defined over the crystal. Dislocations are treated within the theory as energy-minimizing structures that lead to locally lattice-invariant but globally incompatible eigendeformations. The discrete nature of the theory eliminates the need for regularization of the core singularity and inherently allows for dislocation reactions and complicated topological transitions. The quantization of slip to integer multiples of the Burgers’ vector leads to a large integer optimization problem. A novel approach to solving this NP-hard problem based on considerations of metastability is proposed. A numerical example that applies the method to study the emanation of dislocation loops from a point source of dilatation in a large BCC crystal is presented. The structure and energetics of BCC screw dislocation cores, as obtained via the present formulation, are also considered and shown to be in good agreement with available atomistic studies. The method thus provides a realistic avenue for mesoscale simulations of dislocation based crystal plasticity with fully atomistic resolution.     

Multiscale material modeling and its application to a dynamic crack propagation problem

Here we present a multiscale field theory for modeling and simulation of multi-grain material system which consists of several different kinds of single crystals and a large number of different kinds of discrete atoms. The theoretical construction of the multiscale field theory is briefly introduced. The interatomic forces are used to formulate the governing equations for the system. A compact tension specimen made of magnesium oxide is modeled by discrete atoms in front of the crack tip and finite elements in the far field. Results showing crack propagation through the atomic region are presented.     

A stochastic approximation approach to improve the convergence behavior of hierarchical atomistic-to-continuum multiscale models

The aim of this work is to provide an improved information exchange in hierarchical atomistic-to-continuum settings by applying stochastic approximation methods. For this purpose a typical model belonging to this class is chosen and enhanced. On the macroscale of this particular two-scale model, the balance equations of continuum mechanics are solved using a nonlinear finite element formulation. The microscale, on which a canonical ensemble of statistical mechanics is simulated using molecular dynamics, replaces a classic material formulation. The constitutive behavior is computed on the microscale by computing time averages. However, these time averages are thermal noise-corrupted as the microscale may practically not be tracked for a sufficiently long period of time due to limited computational resources. This noise prevents the model from a classical convergence behavior and creates a setting that shows remarkable resemblance to iteration schemes known from stochastic approximation. This resemblance justifies the use of two averaging strategies known to improve the convergence behavior in stochastic approximation schemes under certain, fairly general, conditions. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategies, three numerical examples are studied.     

Gravitational effects on global hemodynamics in different postures: A closed-loop multiscale mathematical analysis

We present a novel methodology and strategy to predict pressures and flow rates in the global cardio-vascular network in different postures varying from supine to upright. A closed-loop, multiscale mathematical model of the entire cardiovascular system (CVS) is developed through an integration of one-dimensional (1D) modeling of the large systemic arteries and veins, and zero-dimensional (0D) lumped-parameter modeling of the heart, the cardiac-pulmonary circulation, the cardiac and venous valves, as well as the microcirculation. A versatile junction model is proposed and incorporated into the 1D model to cope with splitting and/or merging flows across a multibranched junc-tion, which is validated to be capable of estimating both subcritical and supercritical flows while ensuring the mass conservation and total pressure continuity. To model grav-itational effects on global hemodynamics during postural change, a robust venous valve model is further established for the 1D venous flows and distributed throughout the entire venous network with consideration of its anatomically real-istic numbers and locations. The present integrated model is proven to enable reasonable prediction of pressure and flow rate waveforms associated with cardiopulmonary circu-lation, systemic circulation in arteries and veins, as well as microcirculation within normal physiological ranges, partic-ularly in mean venous pressures, which well match the in vivo measurements. Applications of the cardiovascular model at different postures demonstrate that gravity exerts remarkable influence on arterial and venous pressures, venous returns and cardiac outputs whereas venous pressures below the heart level show a specific correlation between central venous and hydrostatic pressures in right atrium and veins.     

A multiscale model for analyzing the synergy of CS and WSS on the endothelium in straight arteries

A multiscale model was proposed to calculate the circumferential stress (CS) and wall shear stress (WSS) and analyze the effects of global and local factors on the CS, WSS and their synergy on the arterial endothelium in large straight arteries. A parameter pair [Zs,SPA] (defined as the ratio of CS amplitude to WSS amplitude and the phase angle between CS and WSS for different harmonic components, respectively) was proposed to characterize the synergy of CS and WSS. The results demonstrated that the CS or WSS in the large straight arteries is determined by the global factors, i.e. the preloads and the afterloads, and the local factors, i.e. the local mechanical properties and the zero-stress states of arterial walls, whereas the Zs and SPA are primarily determined by the local factors and the afterloads. Because the arterial input impedance has been shown to reflect the physiological and pathological states of whole downstream arterial beds, the stress amplitude ratio Zs and the stress phase difference SPA might be appropriate indices to reflect the influences of the states of whole downstream arterial beds on the local blood flow-dependent phenomena such as angiogenesis, vascular remodeling and atherosgenesis. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10132020 and 10472027). The English text was polished by Yunming Chen.     

A selfconsistent formulation for the prediction of the anisotropic behavior of viscoplastic polycrystals with voids

In this work we consider the presence of ellipsoidal voids inside polycrystals subjected to large strain deformation. For this purpose, the originally incompressible viscoplastic selfconsistent (VPSC) formulation of Lebensohn and Tomé (Acta Metall. Mater. 41 (1993) 2611) has been extended to deal with compressible polycrystals. In doing this, both the deviatoric and the spherical components of strain-rate and stress are accounted for. Such an extended model allows us to account for the void and for porosity evolution, while preserving the anisotropy and crystallographic capabilities of the VPSC model. The formulation can be adjusted to match the Gurson model, in the limit of rate-independent isotropic media and spherical voids. We present several applications of this extended VPSC model, which address the coupling between texture, plastic anisotropy, void shape, triaxiality, and porosity evolution.     

A multiscale approach of fatigue and shakedown for notched structures

The aim of this paper is to analyse the fatigue phenomena in the presence of stress gradients. It is well-known that most fatigue criteria fail to predict the lifetime of components in the presence of high stress concentrations or stress gradients, as it is the case in the neighbourhood of cracks, holes notches and encountered for example in riveted or threaded structures. Proposed is a numerical approach in the framework of the high cycle fatigue domain in order to give a qualitative answer. The work starts from the numerical computation of macroscopic loading corresponding to some fatigue experiments on specimens with an inclusion of metallic grains embedded in a macroscopic matrix. The computed fields are then analysed in terms of the HCF (high cycle fatigue) criterion [1], which is based on the estimation of the shakedown limit at the grain scale. The infinite lifetime prediction is based on the assumption that fatigue occurs if at least one grain fails, i.e. reaches plastic shakedown. The predictions at mesoscopic and macroscopic scales are close if the macroscopic stress distribution is homogeneous. However in the case of the stress gradient, lifetime predicted at the macroscopic scale is underestimated when compared to the predictions made at the mesoscopic scale. Another result is that the gap between microscopic and macroscopic predictions obtained from these numerical computations can roughly be estimated by a diminution of stress of the same order of magnitude as found in the experiments and phenomenological observations.     

A multiscale approach to hybrid RANS/LES wall modeling within a high-order discontinuous Galerkin scheme using function enrichment

We present a novel approach to hybrid Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS)/ large eddy simulation (LES) wall modeling based on function enrichment, which overcomes the common problem of the RANS-LES transition and enables coarse meshes near the boundary. While the concept of function enrichment as an efficient discretization technique for turbulent boundary layers has been proposed in an earlier article by Krank & Wall (A new approach to wall modeling in LES of incompressible flow via function enrichment. J Comput Phys. 2016;316:94-116), the contribution of this work is a rigorous derivation of a new multiscale turbulence modeling approach and a corresponding discontinuous Galerkin discretization scheme. In the near-wall area, the Navier-Stokes equations are explicitly solved for an LES and a RANS component in one single equation. This is done by providing the Galerkin method with an independent set of shape functions for each of these two methods; the standard high-order polynomial basis resolves turbulent eddies, where the mesh is sufficiently fine and the enrichment automatically computes the ensemble-averaged flow if the LES mesh is too coarse. As a result of the derivation, the RANS model is applied solely to the RANS degrees of freedom, which effectively prevents the typical issue of a log-layer mismatch in attached boundary layers. As the full Navier-Stokes equations are solved in the boundary layer, spatial refinement gradually yields wall-resolved LES with exact boundary conditions. Numerical tests show the outstanding characteristics of the wall model regarding grid independence, superiority compared to equilibrium wall models in separated flows, and achieve a speed-up by two orders of magnitude compared to wall-resolved LES.     

A multiscale approach for modeling scale-dependent yield stress in polycrystalline metals

Modeling of scale-dependent characteristics of mechanical properties of metal polycrystals is studied using both discrete dislocation dynamics and continuum crystal plasticity. The initial movements of dislocation arc emitted from a Frank-Read type dislocation source and bounded by surrounding grain boundaries are examined by dislocation dynamics analyses system and we find the minimum resolved shear stress for the FR source to emit at least one closed loop. When the grain size is large enough compared to the size of FR source, the minimum resolved shear stress levels off to a certain value, but when the grain size is close to the size of the FR source, the minimum resolved shear stress shows a sharp increase. These results are modeled into the expression of the critical resolved shear stress of slip systems and continuum mechanics based crystal plasticity analyses of six-grained polycrystal models are made. Results of the crystal plasticity analyses show a distinct increase of macro- and microscopic yield stress for specimens with smaller mean grain diameter. Scale-dependent characteristics of the yield stress and its relation to some control parameters are discussed.     

A cyclic plasticity model for single crystals

The Armstrong–Frederick type kinematic hardening rule was invoked to capture the Bauschinger effect of the cyclic plastic deformation of a single crystal. The yield criterion and flow rule were built on individual slip systems. Material memory was introduced to describe strain range dependent cyclic hardening. The experimental results of copper single crystals were used to evaluate the cyclic plasticity model. It was found that the model was able to accurately describe the cyclic plastic deformation and properly reflect the dislocation substructure evolution. The well-known three distinctive regimes in the cyclic stress–strain curve of the copper single crystals oriented for single slip can be reproduced by using the model. The model can predict the enhanced hardening for crystals oriented for multislip, showing the model's ability to describe anisotropic cyclic plasticity. For a given loading history, the model was able to capture not only the saturated stress–strain response but also the detailed transient stress–strain evolution. The model was used to predict the cyclic plasticity under a high–low loading sequence. Both the stress–strain responses and the microstructural evolution can be appropriately described through the slip system activation.     

A multiscale approach of nonlinear composites under finite deformation: Experimental characterization and numerical modeling

The present paper is devoted to the study of the mechanical behavior of an ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber reinforced by polypropylene (PP) particles, revealed as compressible. The hyperlastic behavior of this blend has been characterized under cyclic uni-axial tensile tests. The experimental results show a significant effect of the fraction of (PP) particles (5%, 10%, 25% and 30% by weight) on the macroscopic behavior of the composite. In order to model this behavior, we first develop and implement a micromechanically-based nonlinear model for hyperelastic composites. The approach is based on the second order homogenization method proposed by Ponte Castaneda and Tiberio (2000) and for which suitable energy densities are adopted for the matrix and the inclusions phases, both assumed as compressible. We then proceed to the model verification by comparison with Finite Element simulations on a unit cell. Finally, we propose an extension of the model in order to take into account damage due to voids growth phenomena. The comparison of the multiscale damage model predictions with the experimental data obtained on the EPDM/PP composite indicates a very good agreement.     

Extracting inter-particle forces in opaque granular materials: Beyond photoelasticity

This paper presents the first example of inter-particle force inference in real granular materials using an improved version of the methodology known as the Granular Element Method (GEM). GEM combines experimental imaging techniques with equations governing particle behavior to allow force inference in cohesionless materials with grains of arbitrary shape, texture, and opacity. This novel capability serves as a useful tool for experimentally characterizing granular materials, and provides a new means for investigating force networks. In addition to an experimental example, this paper presents a precise mathematical formulation of the inverse problem involving the governing equations and illustrates solution strategies.