Grain-scale processes governing shear band initiation and evolution in sands

A variety of experimental techniques have been used to advance understanding of strain localization phenomena in sands. However, all of these methods have fallen short in characterizing the evolution of the grain-scale processes that necessarily control shear band formation and growth in sands. This paper presents results of application of the non-destructive displacement measurement technique of digital image correlation (DIC) to measure two- and three-dimensional surface displacements on plane strain and axisymmetric sand specimens over short time steps. The abundance of local displacement data, high level of accuracy, and nearly continuous (spatially and temporally) record of displacement evolution afforded by the DIC technique has finally enabled a means to quantify local displacements to particulate-scale intensity. The data have been used to evaluate the local displacement mechanisms leading to the triggering of the formation of persistent shear bands, the timing of shear band formation with regard to the achievement of peak stress, and the character of displacements within fully formed shear bands. Insights are offered regarding the relation between strain localization and global stress-strain behavior, and the ensuing interpretations of shear banding as a hardening or softening phenomenon. Comparison of behavior between plane strain and triaxial tests offer additional perspective on the influences of three-dimensional stresses and boundary conditions on shear banding. The results further shed light on the micro-deformation mechanisms (i.e. buckling columns) responsible for the observed local strain non-uniformities that characterize “steady-state” shear band evolution.     

岩石试件端面摩擦效应数值模拟研究

试件端面摩擦效应直接影响试件内的塑性等效应变、侧向位移的分布和单元应力应变曲线。本文运用ANSYS中的接触单元模拟了平面应变状态下端面摩擦效应对塑性等效应变、侧向位移和单元应力应变曲线的影响,得到了不同摩擦系数时塑性等效应变及侧向位移的渐进变化形式。当接触面摩擦较小时,塑性等效应变图案为上下两个X形网络,侧向位移上下分布均匀;当接触面摩擦增大时,塑性等效应变网络向中部靠拢并且明显增大,侧向位移上下分布不均匀,中部较上下端面位移大;当试件端面侧向位移被限制,即摩擦力很大时,塑性等效应变网络变为一个X形局部化带,侧向位移分布更加不均匀,中部明显隆起。     

Strain gradient crystal plasticity effects on flow localization

In metal grains one of the most important failure mechanisms involves shear band localization. As the band width is small, the deformations are affected by material length scales. To study localization in single grains a rate-dependent crystal plasticity formulation for finite strains is presented for metals described by the reformulated Fleck–Hutchinson strain gradient plasticity theory. The theory is implemented numerically within a finite element framework using slip rate increments and displacement increments as state variables. The formulation reduces to the classical crystal plasticity theory in the absence of strain gradients. The model is used to study the effect of an internal material length scale on the localization of plastic flow in shear bands in a single crystal under plane strain tension. It is shown that the mesh sensitivity is removed when using the nonlocal material model considered. Furthermore, it is illustrated how different hardening functions affect the formation of shear bands.     

Refined Series Methodology for the Fully Coupled Thin-Walled Laminated Beams Considering Foundation Effects

The refined power series solutions are presented for the coupled static analysis of thin-walled laminated beams resting on elastic foundation. For this purpose, the elastic strain energy considering the material and structural coupling effects and the energy including the foundation effects are constructed. The equilibrium equations and the force-displacement relationships are derived from the extended Hamilton's principle, and the explicit expressions for displacement parameters are presented based on power series expansions of displacement components. Finally, the member stiffness matrix is determined by using the force-displacement relationships. For comparison, the finite element model based on the Hermite cubic interpolation polynomial is presented. In order to verify the accuracy and the superiority of the laminated beam element developed by this study, the numerical solutions are presented and compared with results obtained from the regular finite beam elements and the ABAQUS's shell elements. The influences of the fiber angle change and the boundary conditions on the coupled behavior of laminated beams with mono-symmetric I-sections are investigated.     

Nonlocal damage theory in hybrid-displacement formulations

This paper discusses three hybrid-displacement finite element formulations for the simulation of strain localization based on nonlocal damage theory. An isotropic integral nonlocal damage model is chosen. The hybrid finite element formulations adopted in this work are developed from first principles of Mechanics. The first one defines the domain approximations using the Trefftz functions derived for the linear elastic regime. When damage appears the hybrid-Trefftz displacement formulation degenerates into an hybrid-displacement formulation. The second formulation uses an enriched Trefftz basis with the consideration of local Heaviside functions. The third formulation uses orthonormal Legendre polynomials for the domain approximations. A set of benchmark tests is presented and discussed in order to compare the performance and accuracy of the different models. It is shown that the proposed hybrid-Trefftz formulation allows the reproduction of the general behavior of the structure but does not lead to a correct simulation of the strain tensor evolution. The hybrid-displacement formulation that uses orthonormal Legendre polynomials gives coherent results, so it appears to be a promising field of investigation.     

Nonlinear free vibration and post-buckling analysis of functionally graded beams on nonlinear elastic foundation

In this study, simple analytical expressions are presented for large amplitude free vibration and post-buckling analysis of functionally graded beams rest on nonlinear elastic foundation subjected to axial force. Euler–Bernoulli assumptions together with Von Karman’s strain–displacement relation are employed to derive the governing partial differential equation of motion. Furthermore, the elastic foundation contains shearing layer and cubic nonlinearity. He’s variational method is employed to obtain the approximate closed form solution of the nonlinear governing equation. Comparison between results of the present work and those available in literature shows the accuracy of this method. Some new results for the nonlinear natural frequencies and buckling load of the FG beams such as the effect of vibration amplitude, elastic coefficients of foundation, axial force, and material inhomogenity are presented for future references.     

一种新的弹塑性杂交应力元法

本文基于一个改进的弹塑性的Hellinger/Reis■ner 混合变分原理构造了一种用于解弹塑性问题的四节点等参杂交应力元.新的模型中,在单元内增加了等效应力增量、塑性等效应变增量及不协调位移变量,从而使单元内的屈服准则及流动法则平均得到满足,不协调位移改进了单元应力精度.计算表明,新的模型可以提高弹塑性杂交法的精度和计算效率.     

A method of three-dimensional strain measurement on non-ideal objects using holographic interferometry

Holographic interferometry has been applied to determine the components of tensile, compressive and shear strain in the surface layer of a non-ideal object subjected to high values of stress. The method consists of determining the three components of the vector displacement at a sufficient number of discrete points on the surface of the object. Functions in the form of truncated power series are fitted to the fringe order-distance data using the method of least squares. Interpolation of these functions is then carried out to obtain the fringe-order numbers at closely spaced equal intervals. The displacement in each interval is calculated and the displacement-distance relationship is then numerically differentiated to obtain strain. Components of stress at a particular point are then estimated by multiplying the strain value by the appropriate modulus. These stresses result from the application of considerable forces that are likely to cause large rigid-body displacements unless the object can be satisfactorily restrained. The difficulty of providing the required restraining forces has been avoided by mounting the object on a kinematic mount from which it can be removed before stressing and replaced afterwards. The accuracy of relocation of the object is sufficient to ensure the satisfactory formation of holographic interference fringes. As the use of the two-exposure holographic method results in a direction ambiguity of the displacement vector at any point of the surface, this method is complemented by electrical strain measurement. The strain is sampled in two convenient orthogonal directions at some part of the surface. The application of the uniqueness theorem of elasticity then permits the direction of displacement to be uniquely specified at any point of the surface. The electrical strain measurement also provides a check of the strain values determined by interferometry at various positions on the surface. This check is necessary since precise knowledge of the surface geometry of a non-ideal object may be lacking. Incorrect assumptions made about the geometry are shown to result in serious errors in the evaluation of strain. The method described has been used to estimate the stresses in the vicinity of a threaded hole in a sample of pipe for representative values of torque applied in screwing a connecting member into the pipe. Possible reasons for failure of the pipe in service are then deduced.     

Deformation measurements by digital image correlation: Implementation of a second-order displacement gradient

This paper outlines the procedure for refining the digital image correlation (DIC) method by implementing a second-order approximation of the displacement gradients. The second-order approximation allows the DIC method to directly measure both the first- and second-order displacement gradients resulting from nonlinear deformation. Thirteen unknown parameters, consisting of the components of displacement, the first- and second-order displacement gradients and the gray-scale value offset, are determined through optimization of a correlation coefficient. The previous DIC method assumes that the local deformation in a subset of pixels is represented by a first-order Taylor series approximation for the displacement gradient terms, so actual deformations consisting of higher order displacement gradients tend to distort the infinitesimal strain measurements. By refining the method to measure both the first- and second-order displacement gradients, more accurate strain measurements can be achieved in large-deformation situations where second-order deformations are also present. In most cases, the new refinements allow the DIC method to maintain an accuracy of ±0.0002 for the first-order displacement gradients and to reach ±0.0002 per pixel for the second-order displacement gradients.     

Fatigue-crack-tip plastic strains by the stereoimaging technique

The stereoimaging technique is an accurate, high-resolution means of measuring the in-plane displacements resulting from the deformation of a specimen so that the corresponding components of the strain tensor can be computed independently of the stresses. The example used in this paper is a fatigue-cracked specimen of a microscopically homogeneous experimental powder-metallurgy aluminum alloy, analyzed to determine the displacement and strain fields accompanying the opening of the fatigue crack. The displacement measurements are processed by a computer program which compensates for measurement fluctuations in the displacement data by smoothing, and derives the strain magnitudes. The principal strains and the maximum shear strain are determined using Mohr's circle, and the latter strain is then used to estimate the plastic-zone size. The crack-opening mode may be inferred from the displacement map, and the state of stress (plane stress or plane strain) inferred by applying the in-plane compatibility equation.     

A new hybrid stress element method for the analysis of elastoplastic solids

Based on a modified Hellinger/Reissner variational principle which includes the equivalent stress, equivalent plastic strain and non-conforming displacement increments as independent variables, a quadrilateral isoparametric hybrid stress element for the analysis of elastoplastic problem is proposed. By this formulation, the yield criterion and flow rule are satisfied in an average sense and greater accuracy can be obtained by using non-conforming displacement. A numerical example is presented to show that the present model has high accuracy and computational effectiveness.This project is supported by the Natural Science Foundation of the State Education Commission.     

Anisotropic damage law of evolution

A formulation for anisotropic damage is established in the framework of the principle of strain equivalence. The damage variable is still related to the surface density of microcracks and microvoids and, as its evolution is governed by the plastic strain, it is represented by a second order tensor and is orthotropic. The coupling of damage with elasticity is written through a tensor on the deviatoric part of the energy and through a scalar taken as its trace on the hydrostatic part. The kinetic law of damage evolution is an extension of the isotropic case. Here, the principal components of the damage rate tensor are proportional to the absolute value of principal components of the plastic strain rate tensor and are a nonlinear function of the effective elastic strain energy. The proposed damage evolution law does not introduce any other material parameter. Several series of experiments on metals give a good validation of this theory. The coupling of damage with plasticity and the quasi-unilateral conditions of partial closure of microcracks naturally derive from the concept of effective stress. Finally, a study of strain localization makes it possible to determine the critical value of the damage at mesocrack initiation.     

Accuracy of heterodyne holographic strain and stress determination

The basic equations for the evaluation of surface displacement, strain and stress from holographic interferograms are derived. The object shape and the geometry of the optical setup are taken in to account. A corresponding computer program is described. Heterodyne holographic interferometry is used for fringe interpolation (better than 1/1000 of a fringe) to get sufficient accuracy and spatial resolution. Errors and accuracy of holographic strain and stress determination are discussed with the aid of the computer program. A cylindrical tube under pressure load is presented as a numerical example.     

Energy-consistent shear coefficients for beams with circular cross sections and radially inhomogeneous materials

An exact computational method for the shear stiffness of beams with circular cross sections and arbitrarily radially inhomogeneous Young’s modulus is presented. We derive the displacement and stress field of a cantilever beam according to 3D theory of elasticity, which requires to solve just a 1D linear boundary value problem. The shear stiffness is obtained by setting the shear strain energy from the exact solution equal to that from technical beam theory. Results and closed analytical formulae are given for several functionally graded and layered cross sections.     

Crack propagation at material interfaces: II experiments on mode interaction

Optical interferometry is used to measure crackopening profiles for interfacial cracks in a model adhesive joint. Application of boundary displacements with a resolution of 0.16 μm is achieved through a combination of thermal expansions and optical control in a servo loop. The degree of nonlinear deformation accompanying small levels of normal and shear strain across the bond is documented, and crackfront displacement fields are exploited to evaluate possible criteria for crack growth under combined normal and shear loading. Within the accuracy afforded by the crack-propagation investigation it appears that crack growth is governed by the vectorial crack-tip displacements, namely by the vector sum of the local normal and tangential displacement components. In the limit of infinitesimal strains this criterion reduces to the strain energy-release-rate criterion of linear fracture mechanics.     

Full-field representation of discretely sampled surface deformation for displacement and strain analysis

A detailed evaluation of the feasibility of determining displacements and displacement gradients from measured surface displacement fields is presented. An improved methodology for both the estimation and elimination of noise is proposed. The methodology is used to analyze the gradients for three tests: (1) uniform rotation, (2) uniform strain, and (3) crack-tip displacement fields. Results of the study indicate that the proposed methodology can be used to extract the underlying two-dimensional displacements and their corresponding gradients from the noisy data with reasonable accuracy. Specifically, it is shown that (a) the digital correlation method for acquiring displacement fields has an error in strain of approximately 150 strain at each point, (b) the average strain in a region of uniform strain has much less error, typically on the order of 20 strain, (c) the displacement nolse present in digital correlation is very small, approximately 0.01 pixels, (d) the proposed methodology for reducing noise in the data is essential to the accurate evaluation of displacement gradients and (e) the successful evaluation of displacement and displacement gradients for all three cases indicates that the proposed methodology can be used both to quantify the displacement fields and to reasonably estimate the overall gradient trends.     

Micromechanical model for cohesive materials based upon pseudo-granular structure

A micromechanical model for cohesive materials is derived by considering their underlying microstructure conceptualized as a collection of grains interacting through pseudo-bonds. The pseudo-bond or the inter-granular force–displacement relations are formulated taking inspiration from the atomistic-level particle interactions. These force–displacement relationships are then used to derive the incremental stiffnesses at the grain-scale, and consequently, obtain the sample-scale stress–strain relationship of a representative volume of the material. The derived relationship is utilized to study the stress–strain and failure behavior including the volume change and “brittle” to “ductile” transition behavior of cohesive materials under multi-axial loading condition. The model calculations are compared with available measured data for model validation. Model predictions exhibit both quantitative and qualitative consistency with the observed behavior of cohesive material.     

Displacement and strain measurement with automated grid methods

An image-processing-based automated grid method is investigated to determine the method's displacement and strain accuracy limits, and how these limits are influenced by the choice of camera-calibration models. A CCD camera and a PC-based frame grabber are used to record grid spot motion, then ordering and centroiding are used to identify each spot and calculate their individual displacements. The displacements are fitted with a moving biquadratic surface, and the strains are obtained by analytical differentiation of that surface. Camera-calibration models which are considered include various combinations of image-perspective transformation, image stretching, and elliptical-lens distortion. The strain and displacement accuracy are explored through rigid-body motion and uniaxial tension tests. In the process, sensitivity to in-plane and out-of-plane rigid-body translation, and extreme sensitivity to in-plane rigid-body rotation (for non-synchronized frame grabbers) are confirmed. It is found that under the best conditions the displacement accuracy is 015 pixels and that the strain accuracy is 120 microstrain. Finally, the automated grid method is used to investigate the strains developed in an aluminum perforated strip subjected to uniaxial tension.     

Integration of laser-speckle and finite-element techniques of stress analysis

A study of the combined use of laser-speckle and finite-element methods for stress analysis is described. The speckle technique provides displacement data which can be directly input to a finite-element computer program for the determination of stresses. The displacement data can be used as boundary conditions for the examination of a subregion of the structural component to be analyzed. A substantial reduction in computational effort can be realized over conventional finite-element analysis of the entire structure. Also, a sizeable reduction in the required amount of experimental data may occur since direct numerical differentiation of the data is not required for strain evaluation. Acceptable accuracy may be obtained even when experimental displacement data may be too scarce for traditional numerical differentiation. Random error in experimental displacement is illustrated to have localized effects on the calculated stress field. Paper was presented at 1983 SESA Spring Meeting held in Cleveland, OH on May 15–19, 1983.     

A General Methodology for Full-Field Plastic Strain Measurements Using X-ray Absorption Tomography and Internal Markers

Probing the strain locally and throughout the bulk of various materials has long been of interest in Materials Science. This article presents a general methodology for assessing the plastic strain in terms of the displacement gradient tensor throughout the bulk of opaque samples. The method relies on a homogenous distribution of marker particles throughout the bulk of a sample, markers which are detected through the application of synchrotron X-ray tomography. Making use of the morphology of individual markers, motion of individual markers is tracked during deformation allowing the local displacement field to be determined throughout the bulk. The local displacement gradient tensor is derived from the displacement field. Spatial resolution is directly related to marker particle density in the sample, here 30 μm. The accuracy of the displacement gradient tensor calculation is dependent on the accuracy with which each marker position is determined and is shown to be in the range from 0.005 to 0.012. The software implementation of the procedures and algorithms presented in this work has been collected to form the “3Dstrain” program package which is intended to be free for use by the scientific community. It is available at under GNU General Public License.