Mullins effect and cyclic stress softening of filled elastomers by internal sliding and friction thermodynamics model

Elastomers are characterized by their ability to undergo large elastic deformation. Nevertheless, their behavior exhibits stress softening, hysteresis and cyclic softening. The first phenomenon, known as Mullins effect, is commonly assumed to be either the result of an evolution in the hard and soft domain microstructure whereby the effective volume fraction of the soft domain increases with stretch or the result of irreversible damage in the material or combination of both. Hysteresis and cyclic stress softening are often considered as the result of the effect of stress relaxation. Based on the physical structure of filled elastomers, the present study shows that the Mullins effect, hysteresis and cyclic softening can be modeled by dissipative friction phenomena due to internal sliding of the macromolecular chains and to sliding of the connecting chains on the reinforcing filler particles. This implies that the three effects are in fact related to one single deformation process. The proposed analysis allows to identify the state variables and to build a thermodynamic potential which accounts for the nonlinearity of the material behavior and for a time independent hysteresis. The constitutive model is 3D. Written in a rate form it applies to complex loadings: monotonic, cyclic, random fatigue, etc. Filled elastomers hysteresis loops and cyclic softening are represented with no need to introduce neither damage nor viscosity. The model was implemented in a Finite Element software to simulate a metal/elastomer lap joint. Good agreement with experiment was achieved.     

Experimentally determined properties of softening functions in pseudo-elastic models of the Mullins effect

This paper aims to identify the true source of limitations of pseudo-elastic models for describing the stress-softening phenomenon in elastomers which were recently proposed in the literature [Ogden, R.W., Roxburgh, D.G., 1999. A pseudo-elastic model for the Mullins effect in filled rubber. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London A 455 (1988), 2861–2877; Elías-Zúñiga, A., Beatty, M.F., 2002. A new phenomenological model for stress-softening in elastomers. Zeitschrift für angewandte Mathematik und Physik (ZAMP) 53 (5), 794–814]. These models as well as their modified versions [Mars, W.V., 2004. Evaluation of pseudo-elastic model for the Mullins effect. Tire Science and Technology, TSTCA 32 (3), 120–145; Elías-Zúñiga, A., 2005. A phenomenological energy-based model to characterize stress-softening effect in elastomers. Polymer 46 (10), 3496–3506] fail to give fully satisfactory coincidence of experimental data and theoretical predictions. In this paper a suitable analysis of experimental data published in the open literature is presented. This analysis shows several interesting features regarding the nature of the stress-softening phenomenon (widely known as the Mullins effect). In particular, it is shown that the magnitude of stress softening varies with strain in a non-monotonous manner and this non-monotonous character of the stress-softening phenomenon strongly depends on magnitude of the pre-strain. This experimental fact is in contradiction with the basic assumption used in pseudo-elastic models that the stress softening is described by a monotonously increasing function of strain. The common theoretical basis of pseudo-elastic models of stress softening and the source of this conflict are clarified.     

Anisotropic plastic stress field near a singular point

On condition that any perfectly plastic stress component near a singular point is nothing but the function of θ only, making use of equilibrium equations and Hill anisotropic yield condition, we derive the general analytical expressions of the anisotropic plastic stress field near a singular point in both the cases of anti-plane and in-plane strains. Applying these general analytical expressions to the concrete cracks and the plane-strain bodies with a singular point, the anisotropic plastic stress fields at the tips of Mode Ⅰ, Mode Ⅱ, Mode Ⅲ and mixed mode Ⅰ-Ⅱ cracks, and the limit loads of anisotropic plastic plane-strain bodies with a singular point are obtained.     

Anisotropic plastic stress fields at a rapidly propagating crack-tip

All the stress components at a rapidly propagating crack-tip in an elastic perfectly-plastic material are the functions of only. Making use of this condition and the equations of steady-state motion, stress-strain relations and Hill anisotropic yield condition, we obtain the general solutions in both the cases of anti-plane and in-plane strain. Applying these two general solutions to propagating Mode III and Mode I cracks, respectively, the anisotropic plastic stress fields at the rapidly propagating tips of Mode III and Mode I cracks are derived.     

Axisymmetric flexure of an infinite plate resting on a finitely deformed incompressible elastic halfspace

This paper investigates the axisymmetric flexural behaviour of an infinite elastic plate resting on an isotropic incompressible elastic halfspace which is initially deformed by a state of finite radial extension or compression. The small axisymmetric flexural deformations of the infinite plate are due to forces which act normal to the plane of radial deformation. The basic problem is of interest in connection with geomechanics problems which deal with interaction analysis of the earth's crustal plate and the underlying mantle.     

Anisotropic plastic stress fields at a slowly propagating crack tip

Under the condition that any perfectly plastic stress components at a crack tip are nothing but the functions of 0 only making use of equilibrium equations. Hill anisotropic yield condition and unloading stress-strain relations, in this paper, we derive the general analytical expressions of anisotropic plastic stress fields at the slowly steady propagating tips of plane and anti-plane strain. Applying these general analytical expressions to the concrete cracks, the analytical expressions of anisotropic plastic stress fields at the-slowly steady propagating tips of Mode I and Mode III cracks are obtained. For the isotropic plastic material, the anisotropic plastic stress fields at a slowly propagating crack tip become the perfectly plastic stress fields.     

Photoviscoelastic stress analysis of a plate with a central hole

An epoxy resin containing excessive plasticizer was developed and characterized. The material, which deforms viscously at room temperature, has optical properties that depend on stress and strain. A tensile specimen was prepared from the epoxy resin so that the mechanical and optical properties of the epoxy resin could be characterized. The elastic and plastic behavior was determined at 37°C using tensile stresses between 4 and 26 MPa. The birefringence was also recorded as a function of time and stress. From these results, a photoviscoelastic constitutive equation was constructed to describe the dependence of the birefringence on stress and strain. The constitutive equation was then applied to study the deformation of a tensile specimen containing a central circular hole. By using the isochromatic fringes in combination with the isoclinic, the time-dependent variation of the stress field in the specimen was solved.     

Dynamics stress concentrations in Ambartsumian's plate with a cutout

Based on the motion equations of flexural wave in Ambartsumian's plates including the effects of transverse shear deformations, by using perturbation method of small parameter, the scattering of flexural waves and dynamic stress concentrations in the plate with a cutout have been studied. The asymptotic solution of the dynamic stress problem is obtained. Numerical results for the dynamic stress concentration factor in Ambartsumian's plates with a circular cutour are graphically presented and discussed. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

Anisotropic work hardening of steel sheets under plane stress

This work is a follow-up of the previous report by Kim and Yin [Kim, K.H., Yin, J.J., 1997. Evolution of anisotropy under plane stress. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 45, 841–851] regarding the anisotropic work hardening of cold rolled steel sheets. Tensile prestrain has been applied at angles to the rolling direction and then tensile uniaxial yield stress and R-value distributions are measured. As reported earlier, the orientations of local maxima and minima in the yield stress are altered when the prestrain axis is not in the rolling direction. This led Kim and Yin [Kim and Yin (1997)] to suggest that the orientations of orthotropy axes are altered by the tensile prestrain at angles to the rolling direction. However, R-value distribution is found to be hardly affected by the prestrain. The unchanging R-value distribution shows that the material remembers the rolling direction even after the prestrain. An attempt is made to approximate the observed yield and flow behavior based upon isotropic-kinematic hardening with the quadratic yield function (Hill, 1948). The degree of approximation raises the issues of yield point definition, flexibility of yield function, non-associated flow rules, distortional hardening and others.     

Modelling of stress softening in elastomeric materials: foundations of simple theories

This work is concerned with formulation of constitutive relations for materials exhibiting the stress softening phenomenon (known as the Mullins effect) typical observed in elastomeric and other amorphous materials during loading–reloading cycles. It is assumed that microstructural changes in such materials during the deformation process can be represented by a single scalar-valued softening variable whose evolution is accompanied by microforces satisfying their own law of balance, besides the classical laws of mechanics underlying macroscopic deformation of a material. The constitutive equations are then derived in consistency with thermodynamics of irreversible processes with the restriction to purely mechanical theory. The general form of the derived constitutive equations is subsequently simplified through introduction of additional assumptions leading to various models of the stress softening phenomenon. As an illustration of the general theory, it is shown that the so-called pseudo-elastic model proposed in the literature may be derived without an ad hoc postulate of the variational principle.     

The stress state of a plate subjected to a piecewise homogeneous load

We consider the stress-strain state of a plate having a doubly connected domain S bounded from the outside by a circle of radius R and from the inside by an ellipse with two rectilinear cuts. The cuts lie symmetrically on the x-axis. The plate is subjected to various forces: the hole contour (the ellipse) is under the action of uniformly distributed forces of intensity q, and the cut shores are free of loads; at the points ±ib of the imaginary axis, the plate is under the action of a lumped force P.The solution of the problem is reduced to determining two analytic functions φ(z) and ψ(z) satisfying certain boundary conditions (depending on the type of the acting loads).We use the Kolosov-Muskhelishvili method to reduce the problem to a system of linear algebraic equations for the coefficients in the expansions of the functions φ(z) and ψ(z). The solution thus obtained is illustrated by numerical examples.     

Photothermoelastic study of stress concentrations in a plate with internal heating

This paper describes a photothermoelastic method for simulating, in a three-dimensional model, the temperature gradients that occur in structural parts subjected to internal heating such as is frequently encountered in certain areas of nuclear-reactor design. The method is applied to a plate which has a step change in thickness and sustains a nonlinear temperature gradient through its thickness. The shapes of the gradients simulate internal heating of the plate material. The values for the highest stresses on the free surfaces of the plate, within the thickness of the plate, and at the root of the step are presented in graphical form for a range of internal heat-generated conditions. Thermal-stress-concentration factors are presented for a step change in the thickness of a plate under this type of heating. Its design significance is discussed. The same stress and stress-concentration values are shown to also apply to nonnuclear problems. During shut-down in conventional thermal plants, when the walls sustain linear steady-state temperature drops across their thicknesses, temperature profiles exactly analogous to those presented in this paper occur. The stresses can then be computed from the values presented here.     

Geometric elasticity problem of stress concentration in a plate with a circular hole

We use the geometric elasticity equations [1], which permit relating the medium stress state to the geometry of the Riemannian space generated by the stresses, to consider the plane problem of stress concentration near a circular hole in a thin unbounded plate loaded by normal and tangential stresses. The Riemannian space metric coefficient corresponding to the coordinate normal to the plate plane is treated as the variable thickness of the plate in three-dimensional Euclidean space, which determines the optimal law for the plate material distribution. We consider plates in uniaxial tension, biaxial tension, and shear. For the plate with thickness variation laws thus obtained, we construct direct numerical solutions of the corresponding classical elasticity problems and determine the stress concentration factors.