Multi-grain analysis versus self-consistent estimates of ferroelectric polycrystals

Ferroelectrics are polycrystalline materials consisting of intragranular regions with different polarization directions, called domains. The domains can be switched into different states by the application of an electric field or mechanical stress. We study the influence of grain-to-grain interactions on the overall and local switching behavior. The behavior inside each grain is represented by the micromechanics model of Huber et al. [1999. A constitutive model for ferroelectric polycrystals. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 47 (8), 1663-1697]. The predictions of a self-consistent model of the polycrystal response are compared with those of a multi-grain model in which grains are represented individually. In one flavor of the multi-grain model, each grain is represented by a single finite element, while in the other the fields inside each grain are captured in more detail through a fine discretization. Different electrical and mechanical loading situations are investigated. It is found that the overall response is only mildly dependent on the accuracy with which grain-to-grain interactions are captured, while the distribution of grain-average stresses is quite sensitive to the resolution of the intragranular fields.     

Energy principle of ferroelectric ceramics and single domain mechanical model

Many physical experiments have shown that the domain switching in a ferroelectric material is a complicated evolution process of the domain wall with the variation of stress and electric field. According to this mechanism, the volume fraction of the domain switching is introduced in the constitutive law of ferroelectric ceramic and used to study the nonlinear constitutive behavior of ferroelectric body in this paper. The principle of stationary total energy is put forward in which the basic unknown quantities are the displacement u _i , electric displacement D _i and volume fraction ρ _I of the domain switching for the variant I. Mechanical field equation and a new domain switching criterion are obtained from the principle of stationary total energy. The domain switching criterion proposed in this paper is an expansion and development of the energy criterion. On the basis of the domain switching criterion, a set of linear algebraic equations for the volume fraction ρ _I of domain switching is obtained, in which the coefficients of the linear algebraic equations only contain the unknown strain and electric fields. Then a single domain mechanical model is proposed in this paper. The poled ferroelectric specimen is considered as a transversely isotropic single domain. By using the partial experimental results, the hardening relation between the driving force of domain switching and the volume fraction of domain switching can be calibrated. Then the electromechanical response can be calculated on the basis of the calibrated hardening relation. The results involve the electric butterfly shaped curves of axial strain versus axial electric field, the hysteresis loops of electric displacement versus electric filed and the evolution process of the domain switching in the ferroelectric specimens under uniaxial coupled stress and electric field loading. The present theoretic prediction agrees reasonably with the experimental results given by Lynch. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10572138).     

Analysis of the electromechanical behavior of ferroelectric ceramics based on a nonlinear finite element model

A nonlinear finite element (FE) model based on domain switching was proposed to study the electromechanical behavior of ferroelectric ceramics. The incremental FE formulation was improved to avoid any calculation instability. The problems of mesh sensitivity and convergence, and the efficiency of the proposed nonlinear FE technique have been assessed to illustrate the versatility and potential accuracy of the said technique. The nonlinear electromechanical behavior, such as the hysteresis loops and butterfly curves, of ferroelectric ceramics subjected to both a uniform electric field and a point electric potential has been studied numerically. The results obtained are in good agreement with those of the corresponding theoretical and experimental analyses. Furthermore, the electromechanical coupling fields near (a) the boundary of a circular hole, (b) the boundary of an elliptic hole and (c) the tip of a crack, have been analyzed using the proposed nonlinear finite element method (FEM). The proposed nonlinear electromechanically coupled FEM is useful for the analysis of domain switching, deformation and fracture of ferroelectric ceramics.The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10025209, 10132010 and 90208002), the Research Grants of the Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (HKU7086/02E) and the Key Grant Project of the Chinese Ministry of Education (0306)     

Crack instability of ferroelectric solids under alternative electric loading

The low fracture toughness of the widely used piezoelectric and ferroelectric materials in technological applications raises a big concern about their durability and safety. Up to now, the mechanisms of electric-field induced fatigue crack growth in those materials are not fully understood. Here we report experimental observations that alternative electric loading at high frequency or large amplitude gives rise to dramatic temperature rise at the crack tip of a ferroelectric solid. The temperature rise subsequently lowers the energy barrier of materials for domain switch in the vicinity of the crack tip, increases the stress intensity factor and leads to unstable crack propagation finally. In contrast, at low frequency or small amplitude, crack tip temperature increases mildly and saturates quickly, no crack growth is observed. Together with our theoretical analysis on the non-linear heat transfer at the crack tip, we constructed a safe operating area curve with respect to the frequency and amplitude of the electric field, and validated the safety map by experiments. The revealed mechanisms about how electro-thermal-mechanical coupling influences fracture can be directly used to guide the design and safety assessment of piezoelectric and ferroelectric devices.     

冲击作用下炸药热点形成的3维离散元模拟

为了探讨非均质炸药在冲击作用下的细观响应特性,分别对以HMX为基的PBX塑料粘接炸药和含孔洞的HMX炸药在活塞推动下热点的形成过程进行了3维离散元模拟(未考虑化学反应)。结果表明,塑料粘接炸药中的热点集中在炸药晶体与粘结剂的结合部,晶体温升低于粘结剂,且晶体边界温升高于内部。对于含孔洞炸药,热点温度与孔洞的尺寸和形状有关,大孔洞塌缩形成的热点温度高于小孔洞塌缩形成的热点温度,球形孔洞塌缩形成的热点温度高于立方体孔洞塌缩得到的热点温度。     

雨载作用下浮顶结构有限元分析的载荷修正法

浮顶结构的受力与变形之间存在着非线性的耦合关系,这给计算分析带来了很大的麻烦。为了解决这一问题,本文提出了单盘式浮顶结构在雨水载荷作用下有限元分析的载荷修正计算方法。通过对浮顶结构力学模型的分析,建立了浮顶结构载荷与单盘挠度之间的关系式,并基于这一关系式给出了浮顶结构有限元分析的载荷修正法和相应计算方案。载荷修正法的基本思想是,首先利用有限元方法对浮顶结构进行几何大变形非线性分析,然后通过迭代修正来调整载荷大小,使得计算得到的载荷与挠度满足给定关系式,最终获得浮顶结构的变形与受力情况。最后,将计算结果与试验结果进行了比较,验证了本文提出的计算方法的有效性和可靠性,为浮顶结构的进一步有限元分析打下基础。     

Prediction of fatigue crack growth life under variable-amplitude loading using finite element analysis

This article presents an elastic-plastic study aiming at predicting the fatigue crack growth (FCG) of 2024-T3 aluminum alloys under variable-amplitude loading. The proposed analysis needs the estimation of the residual stress distribution ahead of the crack tip during propagation. An elastic-plastic FE analysis has been implemented for modeling FCG using Chaboche's model. The FE study has been carried out through consideration of the loading history effect using the memory rules. Three different loading spectra have been applied in this work. The obtained results have been compared to the experimental ones and it has been proved that the suggested model has a better prediction of the FCG lives of cracked 2024-T3 aluminum alloy structures subjected to variable-amplitude loading.     

Three-dimensional characterization of strain localization bands in high-resolution elastoplastic polycrystals

In crystalline materials, the experimental observation of the localization of plastic strains in particular directions is generally restricted to the surface of a sample containing some hundreds of grains, because of the difficulties underlying microstructural analysis. In these conditions, the determination of the morphological characteristics of localization can be limited by the poor statistical representativity of the domain of observation. The purpose of this work is to extend the analysis of localization – localization bands or else – to the 3D elastoplastic strain fields of a high-resolution representative volume element of a polycrystal.     

Theoretical model of acoustic emission under mechanical loading of rocks in the maximum compaction region

A theoretical model of changes in acoustic emission activity in a geomaterial under continuous or stepwise mechanical loading is justified. Based on this model, the experimentally found laws of emission in the region of the maximum compaction of rock samples with different rates of mechanical loading of these samples are analyzed. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 145–152, July–August, 2006.     

On variational formulations with rigid-body constraints for finite elasticity: Applications to 2D and 3D finite element simulations

We investigate a recently proposed variational principle with rigid-body constraints and present an extension of its implementation in three dimensional finite elasticity problems. Through numerical examples, we illustrate that the proposed variational principle with rigid-body constraints is applicable to both single field and mixed finite elements of arbitrary order and geometry, e.g. triangular/tetrahedral and quadrilateral/hexagonal elements, in two and three dimensions. Moreover, we demonstrate that, as compared to the commonly adopted approach of discretizing the rigid domains with standard finite elements, the proposed formulation requires neither discretization nor numerical integration in the interior of each rigid domain. As a comparative result, the variational formulation may reduce the total number of degrees of freedom of the resulting finite element system and provide improved accuracy.     

三点弯曲试样动态冲击特性的有限元分析

本文使用动态有限元技术，对于两种不同几何尺寸，两种不同材料的三点弯曲试样在三类七种不同冲击载荷作用下的动态响应进行了分析，求得了动态应力强度因子随时间的变化规律。并与准静态应力强度因子进行了比较。计算结果表明：将冲击载荷历史代入静态公式确定动态应力强度因子的做法是不正确的，要求得动态应力强度因子，必须对试样进行完全的动态分析。当材料的Ｅ／ρ值相同时，动态应力强度因子的响应曲线完全相同。而动态应力强度因子分别与加载点的位移及裂纹的张开位移之间存在着与准静态情况下各自相同的线性关系。这与资料［５］［６］中的结论完全相同。     

Continuum thermodynamics of ferroelectric domain evolution: Theory, finite element implementation, and application to domain wall pinning

A continuum thermodynamics framework is devised to model the evolution of ferroelectric domain structures. The theory falls into the class of phase-field or diffuse-interface modeling approaches. Here a set of micro-forces and governing balance laws are postulated and applied within the second law of thermodynamics to identify the appropriate material constitutive relationships. The approach is shown to yield the commonly accepted Ginzburg-Landau equation for the evolution of the polarization order parameter. Within the theory a form for the free energy is postulated that can be applied to fit the general elastic, piezoelectric and dielectric properties of a ferroelectric material near its spontaneously polarized state. Thereafter, a principle of virtual work is specified for the theory and is implemented to devise a finite element formulation. The theory and numerical methods are used to investigate the fields near straight 180° and 90° domain walls and to determine the electromechanical pinning strength of an array of line charges on 180° and 90° domain walls.     

Parallel finite element simulation of large ram-air parachutes

In the near future, large ram-air parachutes are expected to provide the capability of delivering 21 ton payloads from altitudes as high as 25,000 ft. In development and test and evaluation of these parachutes the size of the parachute needed and the deployment stages involved make high-performance computing (HPC) simulations a desirable alternative to costly airdrop tests. Although computational simulations based on realistic, 3D, time-dependent models will continue to be a major computational challenge, advanced finite element simulation techniques recently developed for this purpose and the execution of these techniques on HPC platforms are significant steps in the direction to meet this challenge. In this paper, two approaches for analysis of the inflation and gliding of ram-air parachutes are presented. In one of the approaches the point mass flight mechanics equations are solved with the time-varying drag and lift areas obtained from empirical data. This approach is limited to parachutes with similar configurations to those for which data are available. The other approach is 3D finite element computations based on the Navier–Stokes equations governing the airflow around the parachute canopy and Newton’s law of motion governing the 3D dynamics of the canopy, with the forces acting on the canopy calculated from the simulated flow field. At the earlier stages of canopy inflation the parachute is modelled as an expanding box, whereas at the later stages, as it expands, the box transforms to a parafoil and glides. These finite element computations are carried out on the massively parallel supercomputers CRAY T3D and Thinking Machines CM-5, typically with millions of coupled, non-linear finite element equations solved simultaneously at every time step or pseudo-time step of the simulation. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A constitutive model and elastoplastic analysis of structures under cyclic loading

A constitutive model for cyclic plasticity is briefly outlined. Then the model is implemented in a finite element code to predict the response of cyclic loaded structural components such as a double-edge-notched plate, a grove bar and a nozzle in spherical shell. Comparision with results from other theories and experiments shows that the results obtained by using the present model are very satisfactory.The Project Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

A two-surface model describing ratchetting behaviors and transient hardening under nonproportional loading

A new superposed rule of Mroz's kinematic hardening rule and Ziegler's kinematic hardening rule based on two-surface model is proposed in the paper. Some experimental results on ratchetting of 2014-T6 aluminum alloy are predicted very well under multiaxial loading. In addition the conformability of the model is discussed for transient cyclic hardening under two kinds of nonproportional cyclic loading paths, i.e. square and rhombic path. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China     

表面裂纹准静态扩展的有限元模拟计算

由于现有断裂准则未能考虑表面裂纹前沿各点实际断裂阻力的变化，所作的表面裂纹准静态扩展模拟计算不能很好地预测几何形貌的真实变化规律。本文提出了一个考虑应力状态不同对实际断裂阻力影响的变阻力断裂准则；并以该准则作为表面裂纹前沿局部断裂扩展的判据，通过三维有限元法进行了表面裂纹准静态扩展的模拟计算；还将模拟预测值与用多试件法测得的实验值进行比较，验证了变阻力断裂准则作为裂纹稳态扩展判据的有效性     

The study of relations between loading history and yield surfaces in powder materials using discrete finite element simulations

Only a few studies in the literature have applied the finite-element method to analyse assemblies of meshed particles. These studies illustrated the relevance of this method for granular materials. Here, the compaction of ductile metal powders was studied through a numerical assembly of elastic–plastic and rate-independent spherical particles. The aim of this paper was to understand the evolution of yield surfaces with complex loading paths up to high relative density at the macroscopic scale and at the granular scale. Simulation results revealed that yield surfaces evolved with both isotropic and kinematic hardening mechanisms, depending on the compaction stage. An analysis of the sample microstructure was proposed, and a detailed study of contacts between particles revealed some of the mechanisms that led to the observed evolution of yield surfaces.     

Utilizing mechanical loads and flexoelectricity to induce and control complicated evolution of domain patterns in ferroelectric nanofilms

We have conducted a systematical investigation to reveal the stability and evolution path of various ferroelectric domain patterns in nanofilms subjected to mechanical loads and related flexoelectric field. Within a rigorous framework of flexoelectricity, a phase-field approach has been established for simulating the domain structure of ferroelectric nanofilms. The electromechanical fields of the nanofilms are numerically solved by a fast Fourier transform technique (FFT) based on the combination of Khachaturyan's microscopic elastic theory and Stroh's formalism of anisotropic elasticity. Using this approach, we simulate eight types of domain patterns that can be stabilized in the nanofilms. It is further demonstrated that these domain patterns can be significantly affected by the mechanical loads and related flexoelectric field and exhibit fruitful evolution paths. To adapt the applied mechanical strain and strain gradient, the domain pattern may remain stable, evolve into another polydomain pattern, or become a monodomain state (an effect of domain erasing). The domain fraction, detailed domain morphology, average stresses in the nanofilms, average polarization and temporal evolution characteristics of the domain patterns under various mechanical loads and sources of flexoelectric field have been analyzed. This investigation should provide instructive information for the practical application of ferroelectric nanofilms under complex and changeable mechanical conditions.     

A novel specimen for investigating the mechanical behavior of elastomers under multiaxial loading conditions

In this paper we describe the design and manufacture of an axial-torsion test specimen, and provide relationships needed when conducting stress-strain characterization experiments with the specimen. The specimen is a short hollow cylinder of rubber bonded between two steel mounting rings, in which simultaneous axial and shear strains are produced via independently controlled axial and twist displacements. We present calculations for the strain-displacement and stress-load relationships, and strain energy density. These relationships have been established and validated via a combination of analytical and experimental techniques, and finite element analysis. We have investigated the extent and effects of strain and stress field non-uniformity in the test specimen. The specimen design is sufficiently simple that a closed-form expression for the strain-displacement relationship has been successfully developed.     

Comparison of finite element techniques for 2D and 3D crack analysis under impact loading

For several technical applications the dynamic aspect in fracture mechanics cannot be neglected. When the reliability of components with macroscopic cracks has to be assessed, the consideration of dynamic effects may lead to much higher stress intensity factors than under static conditions. In this paper three different methods to calculate the dynamic stress intensity factor for the mode-I loading of stationary cracks are compared. Based on two- and three-dimensional finite element simulations, the dynamic stress intensity factor is computed with the dynamic J-integral, the modified crack closure integral and the displacement interpretation method. The theoretical fundamentals of all three methods are summarized in the paper and the numerical implementation is explained briefly. Results for different models are shown and compared to findings in the literature.