Modeling long-term creep rupture by debonding in unidirectional fibre-reinforced composites

Delayed fracture due to debonding can be observed in many unidirectional fibre-reinforced composites when the fibre/matrix interface experiences creep. The aim of this work is to describe such a phenomenon within the recently proposed modeling framework of transverse isotropy that allows for a neat decomposition of the mechanical behavior into fibre-directional, transverse, and pure shear parts. Specifically, debonding is here chosen to be governed by the tension transverse to the fibres. One can then speak of a mode-I debonding if use is made of the terminology adopted in fracture mechanics. On another hand, the time-dependent response is attributed to the matrix constituent. As the role of this latter is to deform and support stresses primarily in shear, a viscoelastic behavior is introduced that affects solely the pure shear part of the behavior. We show that both characteristics can be easily embedded into the aforementioned formulation. Among others, the occurrence of tertiary creep is made possible to predict. It is otherwise found that the predicted debonding path always propagates along the direction of the fibres in agreement with many experimental observations found in the literature. On the numerical side, the algorithmic treatment of debonding is independent of the one for viscoelasticity. This renders the implementation within the context of the finite element method very easy.     

Stress relaxation,creep and set recovery of elastomers

The stress relaxation, creep and recovery behaviour of a cross-linked unfilled natural rubber has been investigated at moderate stresses in tension. The aim being to extend the idea, initially developed by Alan Gent in his seminal 1962 paper on the relaxation behaviour of rubber, in order to understand and examine the time dependent mechanisms that are present in elastomers under strain. A method based upon the Boltzmann superposition principle was used to compare the creep compliance with a measurement of its recovery after release from a range of constant loads held for different times. The creep behaviour was seen to exhibit the usual linear dependence on the logarithm of time. The recovery data was also seen to reduce onto a single recovery curve for any given applied tensile stress for a range of loading times using the Boltzmann superposition principle. The differences between the relative rates of the creep and the recovery behaviour can in part be attributed to the non-linearity in the stress–strain behaviour exhibited in tension of the elastomer.     

Interrelation of creep and relaxation for nonlinearly viscoelastic materials: application to ligament and metal

Creep and stress relaxation are known to be interrelated in linearly viscoelastic materials by an exact analytical expression. In this article, analytical interrelations are derived for nonlinearly viscoelastic materials which obey a single integral nonlinear superposition constitutive equation. The kernel is not assumed to be separable as a product of strain and time dependent parts. Superposition is fully taken into account within the single integral formulation used. Specific formulations based on power law time dependence and truncated expansions are developed. These are appropriate for weak stress and strain dependence. The interrelated constitutive formulation is applied to ligaments, in which stiffness increases with strain, stress relaxation proceeds faster than creep, and rate of creep is a function of stress and rate of relaxation is a function of strain. An interrelation was also constructed for a commercial die-cast aluminum alloy currently used in small engine applications.     

STATISTIC MODELING OF THE CREEP BEHAVIOR OF METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES BASED ON FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

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Stress relaxation and creep of polymer gels in solvent under uniaxial and biaxial deformations

Stress relaxation and creep of polymer gels in solvent under various deformation modes such as uniaxial, strip-biaxial, and equibiaxial were theoretically investigated. The magnitudes of relaxed stress and the creep at equilibrium under each deformation mode were derived by a thermodynamic consideration of gel system. Combining a constitutive equation of gel with the equation of motion of polymer network, the stress and strain under each deformation mode have been formulated. The theory proposed here was applied to the rectangular gels under various deformations to calculate the stress relaxation and creep behavior of polymer networks in solvent. Two methods different in treatment of swelling under the constant strain or stress were employed for the calculation: one is based on the assumption that the swelling proceeds isotropically, and the other considers the anisotropic swelling process. The results obtained by the two methods mainly differ in the diffusion mode determining the swelling behavior. The possibility of undershoot of relative strain in load-free direction in the creep is also expected.     

From dynamic modulus via different relaxation spectra to relaxation and creep functions

The main goal of the paper is to compare predictive power of relaxation spectra found by different methods of calculations. The experimental data were obtained for a new family of propylene random copolymers with 1-pentene as a comonomer. The results of measurements include flow curves, viscoelastic properties, creep curves and rubbery elasticity of copolymer melts. Different relaxation spectra were calculated using independent methods based on different ideas. It lead to various distributions of relaxation times and their “weights”. However, all of them correctly describe the frequency dependencies of dynamic modulus. Besides, calculated spectra were used for finding integral characteristics of viscoelastic behaviour of a material (Newtonian viscosity, the normal stress coefficient, steady-state compliance). In this sense all approaches are equivalent, though it appears impossible to estimate instantaneous modulus. The most crucial arguments in estimating the results of different approaches is calculating the other viscoelastic function and predicting behaviour of a material in various deformation modes. It is the relaxation and creep functions. The results of relaxation curve calculations show that all methods used give rather similar results in the central part of the curves, but the relaxation curves begin to diverge when approaching the high-time (low-frequency) boundary of the relaxation curves. The distributions of retardation times calculated through different approaches also appear very different. Meanwhile, predictions of the creep curves based on these different retardation spectra are rather close to each other and coincide with the experimental points in the wide time range. Relatively slight divergences are observed close to the upper boundary of the experimental window. All these results support the conclusion about a rather free choice of the relaxation time spectrum in fitting experimental data and predicting viscoelastic behaviour of a material in different deformation modes. Received: 15 March 2000 Accepted: 18 September 2000     

A strength reliability model by Markov process of unidirectional composites with fibers placed in hexagonal arrays

This paper proposes a strength reliability model based on a Markov process for unidirectional composites with fibers in a hexagonal array. The model assumes that a group of fiber breaking points, a so-called cluster, evolves with increased stress. The cluster evolution process branches because of various fiber-breakage paths. Load-sharing structure of intact fibers around clusters was estimated from geometric and mechanical local load-sharing rules. Composites fracture if a cluster achieves a critical size, so the model expresses a fracture criterion by setting an absorbing state. Next, the author constituted a state transition diagram concerning cluster evolutions of 1-fiber to 7-fiber breaks and analytically solved simultaneous differential equations obtained from the diagram. Results showed that, as critical cluster size increases, slope of the fracture probability distribution is given in a Weibull probability scale as follows: m_c=i×m_f (i, the number of broken fibers in a cluster; m_c and m_f, Weibull shape parameters for fracture probabilities of a critical cluster and fiber strength, respectively). This relation between m_c and m_f had been shown by Smith et al. [Proc. R. Soc. London, A 388 (1983) 353–391], but the present study demonstrated it analytically without any lower tail of the Weibull distribution used in that paper. In addition, the present model can be approximated by a one-state birth model.     

Stress relaxation,creep, failure and hysteresis in a linear elastic material with voids

I study several specific boundary-value problems in a theory recently proposed to model linear elastic materials with voids. I show that, in addition to the known fact that the model exhibits stress relaxation, it also exhibits creep, hysteresis, and a phenomenon which can be interpreted as failure. In order to maintain plausible physical behavior, I suggest an a priori inequality not contained in the original theory.     

Failure analysis of unidirectional fiber composites under combined axial tension and shear

A method of analysis is proposed for investigating the mechanics of failure of unidirectional, fiber composite materials subjected to axial tension and shear. The mechanisms of failure are assumed to result from the interaction of the applied shear stress and local matrix shear stress concentrations which arise as a result of the scattered fiber breaks that occur throughout the material. Two modes of failure are identified. One is associated with the unstable growth of shear failure regions in the matrix. The other is primarily a tensile failure mode which is influenced by the applied shear. The analysis predicts that a variety of shear-tensile stress failure surfaces are possible, depending on material properties. The results suggest that radical changes in the shape of failure surfaces can occur as the result of environmental effects. This has significant implications for reliability.     

Stress relaxation,creep, and internal stresses in high density polyethylene filled with calcium carbonate

The effect of filling high density polyethylene (HDPE) with calcium carbonate (up to 50% by weight) on the stress relaxation and the creep in uniaxial extension at room temperature was investigated. The addition of CaCO₃ was found to have a strong influence on the flow behaviour of HDPE. In particular, it was observed that the internal stress level, calculated from relaxation data, increased markedly with the filler content. The reduction in creep rate of the filled samples suggested that the CaCO₃-particles induce a change in the structure of the HDPE-interphase close to the filler surface. This was supported by dynamic mechanical measurements performed at low temperatures on swollen HDPE-CaCO₃ samples.     

On the influence of material non-linearities in geometric modeling of kink band instabilities in unidirectional fiber composites

The axial compressive failure of aligned fiber composites triggered by kink band instabilities is the topic of investigation herein. Particular emphasis is put on the accurate prediction of the post-failure regime, where fiber composites are known to exhibit substantial post-failure strength. In this regard, a previous analytical model, based on geometric relationships and energy principles, is enhanced by consistently taking into account material non-linearities. Therefore, a non-linear constitutive law is introduced herein based on a newly developed exponential formulation. This non-linear constitutive law is subsequently implemented into the stress–strain response in interlaminar shearing as well as the compression response. The model enhancements are validated against published experimental data yielding excellent comparisons. Furthermore, the relevance of modeling non-linear material behavior in interlaminar dilation and bending is assessed using a bilinear constitutive law. However, implementing non-linear material behavior does not yield any improvements and can therefore be neglected.     

Application of nonlinear hereditary strain theory to description of stress relaxation in metals,and conversion of relaxation data to creep

The possibility of describing relaxation and creep processes in metals and the possibility of direct conversion of data obtained in one type of tests to another, within the framework of the theory of hereditary creep based on the application of the Rabotnov nonlinear integral equation [1], are investigated.     

Stress relaxation due to chain fractures in transient polymer networks

Aspects of a network model for concentrated dispersions are applied to polymer networks. It is shown how network deformation caused by network fracture affects the macroscopic stress.     

Application of kinetic theory to the analysis of high-temperature creep rupture of metals under complex stress (review)

This paper gives an analytical review of the results obtained using the kinetic theory of creep and creep rupture to analyze the creep rupture of metals under complex stress. Special note is made of the outstanding contribution of Soviet scientists L. M. Kachanov and Yu. N. Rabotnov, who introduced the concept of material damage and developed the fundamentals of the kinetic theory. Different versions of this theory are used in studies of Russian and foreign scientists. The possibility of applying the kinetic theory to model the deformation and fracture of metals under creep conditions using scalar, vector, and tensor damage parameters and their combinations is considered.     

Experimental investigation and modeling of non-monotonic creep behavior in polymers

The deformation behavior of two unfilled engineering thermoplastics, ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and polycarbonate (PC), has been investigated in creep test conditions. It has been found that a loading history (prior to the creep test) comprising of loading to a maximum stress or strain value followed by partial unloading to arrive at the target stress value can greatly modify the strain-time behavior. Under such a test protocol, while the expected increase in strain during creep (constant tensile load) is observed, at relatively low creep stresses specimens have also demonstrated a monotonic decrease in strain. In an intermediate stress range, specimens have demonstrated time dependent behavior comprising of a transition from decreasing to increasing strain during creep in tension. This paper presents experimental results to delineate these findings and explore the effect of prior strain rate on the qualitative and quantitative changes in the output (strain-time) behavior. Furthermore, modification of the viscoplasticity theory based on overstress (VBO) model into a double element configuration is introduced. These changes confer upon the model the ability to yield non-monotonic behavior in creep, and supporting simulation results have been included. These changes, therefore, allow the model to simulate strain rate sensitivity, creep, relaxation, and recovery behavior, but more importantly address the issue of non-monotonic changes in creep and relaxation when a loading history involves some degree of unloading.