Finite-scale microstructures and metastability in one-dimensional elasticity

This paper addresses the non-uniqueness pointed out by Ericksen in his classical analysis of the equilibrium of a one-dimensional elastic bar with non-convex energy [1]. Following some previous work in this area, we suitably regularize the problem in order to investigate this degenerancy. Our approach gives an explicit framework for the the study of the rich variety offinite-scale equilibrium microstructures for the bar in a hard loading device, and their stability properties. In this way we clarify the role of interfacial energy in creating finitescale microstructures, by considering the combined effect of the oscillation-inducing and oscillation-inhibiting terms in the energy functional.

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Sommario Il lavoro riguarda la non unicità messa in luce da J.L. Ericksen nella sua analisi dell'equilibrio di barre elastiche con energia non convessa. Seguendo le linee di precedenti lavori, per investigare questa degenerazione si ricorre ad una regolarizzazione del problema e si dà un esplicito quadro di riferimento per lo studio della ricca varietà delle microstrutture di scala finita e della loro stabilità. Si chiarisce in particolare il ruolo dell'energia di interfaccia nella creazione di microstrutture di scala finita considerando l'effetto combinato di termini inibitori e favorevoli all'insorgere di oscillazioni nel funzionale energia.

     

Analysis of material instabilities in inelastic solids by incremental energy minimization and relaxation methods: evolving deformation microstructures in finite plasticity

We propose an approach to the definition and analysis of material instabilities in rate-independent standard dissipative solids at finite strains based on finite-step-sized incremental energy minimization principles. The point of departure is a recently developed constitutive minimization principle for standard dissipative materials that optimizes a generalized incremental work function with respect to the internal variables. In an incremental setting at finite time steps this variational problem defines a quasi-hyperelastic stress potential. The existence of this potential allows to be recast a typical incremental boundary-value problem of quasi-static inelasticity into a principle of minimum incremental energy for standard dissipative solids. Mathematical existence theorems for sufficiently regular minimizers then induce a definition of the material stability of the inelastic material response in terms of the sequentially weakly lower semicontinuity of the incremental variational functional. As a consequence, the incremental material stability of standard dissipative solids may be defined in terms of the quasi-convexity or the rank-one convexity of the incremental stress potential. This global definition includes the classical local Hadamard condition but is more general. Furthermore, the variational setting opens up the possibility to analyze the post-critical development of deformation microstructures in non-stable inelastic materials based on energy relaxation methods. We outline minimization principles of quasi- and rank-one convexifications of incremental non-convex stress potentials for standard dissipative solids. The general concepts are applied to the analysis of evolving deformation microstructures in single-slip plasticity. For this canonical model problem, we outline details of the constitutive variational formulation and develop numerical and semi-analytical solution methods for a first-level rank-one convexification. A set of representative numerical investigations analyze the development of deformation microstructures in the form of rank-one laminates in single slip plasticity for homogeneous macro-deformation modes as well as inhomogeneous macroscopic boundary-value problems. The well-posedness of the relaxed variational formulation is indicated by an independence of typical finite element solutions on the mesh-size.     

Some examples of electron microscopy studies of microstructures and phase transitions in solids

In this contribution the results of some electron microscopy studies on microstructures related with phase transitions in a variety of materials will be presented. The materials include binary and ternary alloys, high T_C superconductors as well as C₆₀ and C₇₀ fullerenes, while the transitions can be diffusional, displacive or both.

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Sommario Si presentano i risultati di alcuni studi fatti attraverso la microscopia elettronica sulle microstrutture relative a transizioni di fase in una varietà di materiali. I casi comprendono leghe binarie e ternarie, superconduttori T_C e materiali C₆₀ e C₇₀; le transizioni esaminate sono diffusionali, displacive o di entrambi i tipi.