A micromechanical prediction of localization in a granular material

We predict localization in a strained, random aggregate of identical elasto-frictional particles. As triaxial compression proceeds, pairs of particles deform subject to local equilibrium and anisotropy develops because of contact deletion and the dependence of contact stiffness on the average strain. The combination of the deviations of the particle displacements from the average strain and the induced anisotropy results in a relation between increments in average strain and average stress that does not possess the major symmetry. This leads to the possibility of a discontinuity in a component of the incremental strain at a predicted value of the shear strain and a predicted orientation relative to the axis of greatest compression.     

Micromechanical study of elastic moduli of loose granular materials

In micromechanics of the elastic behaviour of granular materials, the macro-scale continuum elastic moduli are expressed in terms of micro-scale parameters, such as coordination number (the average number of contacts per particle) and interparticle contact stiffnesses in normal and tangential directions. It is well-known that mean-field theory gives inaccurate micromechanical predictions of the elastic moduli, especially for loose systems with low coordination number. Improved predictions of the moduli are obtained here for loose two-dimensional, isotropic assemblies. This is achieved by determining approximate displacement and rotation fields from the force and moment equilibrium conditions for small sub-assemblies of various sizes. It is assumed that the outer particles of these sub-assemblies move according to the mean field. From the particle displacement and rotation fields thus obtained, approximate elastic moduli are determined. The resulting predictions are compared with the true moduli, as determined from the discrete element method simulations for low coordination numbers and for various values of the tangential stiffness (at fixed value of the normal stiffness). Using this approach, accurate predictions of the moduli are obtained, especially when larger sub-assemblies are considered. As a step towards an analytical formulation of the present approach, it is investigated whether it is possible to replace the local contact stiffness matrices by a suitable average stiffness matrix. It is found that this generally leads to a deterioration of the accuracy of the predictions. Many micromechanical studies predict that the macroscopic bulk modulus is hardly influenced by the value of the tangential stiffness. It is shown here from the discrete element method simulations of hydrostatic compression that for loose systems, the bulk modulus strongly depends on the stiffness ratio for small stiffness ratios.     

Elastic–plastic behavior of steel sheets under in-plane cyclic tension–compression at large strain

Elastic–plastic behavior of two types of steel sheets for press-forming (an aluminum-killed mild steel and a dual-phase high strength steel of 590 MPa ultimate tensile strength) under in-plane cyclic tension–compression at large strain (up to 25% strain for mild steel and 13% for high strength steel) have been investigated. From the experiments, it was found that the cyclic hardening is strongly influenced by cyclic strain range and mean strain. Transient softening and workhardening stagnation due to the Bauschinger effect, as well as the decrease in Young's moduli with increasing prestrain, were also observed during stress reversals. Some important points in constitutive modeling for such large-strain cyclic elasto-plasticity are discussed by comparing the stress–strain responses calculated by typical constitutive models of mixed isotropic–kinematic hardening with the corresponding experimental observations.     

Description of anisotropy of isotropic materials caused by plastic strain

Many materials are polycrystalline media or hardened mechanical mixtures of complicated structure. For small elastic strains, they behave as isotropic media. But under stresses exceeding the elastic limit, these materials exhibit effects related to strain anisotropy. The problem of quantitatively estimating this phenomenon still remains open. In the present paper, without any assumptions, we reduce the nonlinear Novozhilov equations to a form typical of the constitutive relations for orthotropic media. We obtain expressions for generalized nonlinear elasticity characteristics by choosing a specific expression for the strain potential. We derive working formulas for calculating the elasticity coefficients in the principal directions and of all coefficients of the transverse strains and shear moduli in the principal planes of elastic symmetry. We describe methods for determining them from the results of extension-compression tests. We also analyze several results of tests published on this subject. We show that the effect related to the anomalous behavior of the transverse strain coefficient, which is observed both under compression and under tension, can be explained completely if the fact that the plastic strain is accompanied with strain anisotropy effects is taken into account.     

The influence of particle fluctuations on the average rotation in an idealized granular material

Granular materials are a simple example of a Cosserat continuum in that the average particle rotations may differ from the rotation of the average deformation. In the absence of couple stress, this difference insures that the stress is symmetric. This has been shown in theories that assume that the displacement at particle contacts is given by the average deformation and spin. Here, we indicate how the difference between the average rotation of the particles and the average rotation of the deformation can be determined when fluctuations in particle displacements and rotations satisfy local force and moment equilibria in a random aggregate of identical spheres. The predictions based on this model are in better agreement with numerical simulation than that given by the simple average strain theory.     

Micro-mechanical analysis of deformation characteristics of three-dimensional granular materials

The deformation characteristics of idealized granular materials have been studied from the micro-mechanical viewpoint, using Bagi’s three-dimensional micro-mechanical formulation for the strain tensor [Bagi, K., 1996. Mechanics of Materials 22, 165–177]. This formulation is based on the Delaunay tessellation of space into tetrahedra. The set of edges of the tetrahedra can be divided into physical contacts and virtual contacts between particles. Bagi’s formulation expresses the continuum, macro-scale strain as an average over all edges, of their relative displacements (between two successive states) and the complementary-area vectors. This latter vector is a geometrical quantity determined from the set of edges, i.e. from the structure of the particle packing.Results from Discrete Element Method simulations of isotropic and triaxial loading of a three-dimensional polydisperse packing of spheres have been used to investigate statistics of the branch vectors and complementary-area vectors of edges (subdivided into physical and virtual contacts) and of the relative displacements of edges. The investigated statistics are probability density functions and averages over groups of edges with the same orientation. It is shown that these averages can be represented by second-order Fourier series in edge orientation.Edge orientations are distributed isotropically, contrary to contact orientations. The average lengths of the branch vectors and the normal component of the complementary-area vectors are distributed isotropically (with respect to the edge orientation) and their average values are related to each other and to the volume fraction of the assembly. The other two components of the complementary-area vector are zero on average.The total deformation of the assembly, as given by the average of the relative displacements of the edges of the Delaunay tessellation follows the uniform-strain prediction. However, neither the deformation of the physical contact network nor of the virtual contact network has this property. The average relative displacement of physical edges in the normal direction (determined by the branch vector) is smaller than that according to the uniform-strain assumption, while that of virtual contacts is larger. This is caused by the high interparticle stiffness that hinders compression. The reverse observation holds for the tangential component of the relative displacement vector. The contribution of the deformation of the empty space between physical contacts to the continuum, macro-scale strain tensor is therefore very important for the understanding and the prediction of the macro-scale deformation of granular materials.     

Numerical validation of the shear compression specimen. Part I: Quasi-static large strain testing

The shear compression specimen (SCS), which is used for large strain testing, is thoroughly investigated numerically using three-dimensional elastoplastic finite element simulations. In this first part of the study we address quasi-static loading. A bi-linear material model is assumed. We investigate the effect of geometrical parameters, such as gage height and root radius, on the stress and strain distribution and concentration. The analyses show that the stresses and strains are reasonably uniform on a typical gage mid-section, and their average values reflect accurately the prescribed material model. We derive accurate correlations between the averaged von Mises stress and strain and the applied experimental load and displacement. These relations depend on the specimen geometry and the material properties. Numerical results are compared to experimental data, and an excellent agreement is observed. This study confirms the potential of the SCS for large strain testing of material.     

Finite and transversely isotropic elastic cylinders under compression with end constraint induced by friction

This paper derives an exact solution for the non-uniform stress and displacement fields within a finite, transversely isotropic, and linear elastic cylinder under compression with a kind of radial constraint induced by friction between the end surfaces of the cylinder and the loading platens. The main feature of the present work is the introduction of a general solution form for Lekhnitskii’s stress function such that the governing equation and all end and curved boundary conditions of the cylinder are satisfied exactly. Two different solutions were obtained corresponding to the real or complex characteristic roots of the governing equation, depending on the combination of the elastic material constants. The solution by Watanabe [Watanabe, S., 1996. Elastic analysis of axi-symmetric finite cylinder constrained radial displacement on the loading end. Structural Engineering/Earthquake Engineering JSCE 13, 175s–185s] for isotropic cylinders under compression test can be recovered as a special case. Our numerical results show that both the non-uniform stress distribution and the difference between the apparent and the true Young’s moduli of the cylinder are very sensitive to the anisotropy of Young’s moduli, Poisson’s ratios and shear moduli. A more distinct bulging shape of the cylinder is expected when anisotropy in shear modulus is strong, the cylinder is relatively short, and the end constraint is large. The bulging shape, however, does not depend strongly on anisotropy of either Poisson’s ratio or Young’s modulus.     

Orthotropically textured elastic aggregates of cubic crystals

The linear orthotropic relations between stress and infinitesimal strain require only seven, instead of the usual nine, independent elastic moduli, and one of them can be identified as a bulk modulus coincident with that common to all the grains. Each of the remaining six overall moduli is placed between upper and lower, “Voigt-Reuss-Hill”, and also “Hashin- Shtrikman”, bounds, in terms of the grain moduli and of three measurable parameters that take account of the particular mix of lattice orientations. One or more of them can be determined at once in exceptional cases where the grains all have a particular fixed or somewhat variable lattice orientation: the upper and lower bounds come to the appropriate coincidence then. Generally the vagaries of the configuration have an influence in keeping each pair of bounds apart, but effective estimates of the overall elastic moduli can be offered, except perhaps when the grains have a very pronounced cubic anisotropy. We shall refer in particular to the more symmetrical, tetragonal and transversely isotropic, textures for which correspondingly fewer overall moduli and orientation parameters are required.     

Non-linear viscoelastic response of magnetic fiber suspensions in oscillatory shear

This paper reports the first study on the large amplitude oscillatory shear flow for magnetic fiber suspensions subject to a magnetic field perpendicular to the flow. The suspensions used in our experiments consisted of cobalt microfibers of the average length of 37 μm and diameter of 4.9 μm, dispersed in a silicon oil. Rheological measurements have been carried out at imposed stress using a controlled stress magnetorheometer. The stress dependence of the shear moduli presented a staircase-like decrease with, at least, two viscoelastic quasi-plateaus corresponding to the onset of microscopic and macroscopic scale rearrangement of the suspension structure, respectively. The frequency behavior of the shear moduli followed a power-law trend at low frequencies and the storage modulus showed a high-frequency plateau, typical for Maxwell behavior. Our simple single relaxation time model fitted reasonably well the rheological data. To explain a relatively high viscous response of the fiber suspension, we supposed a coexistence of percolating and pivoting aggregates. Our simulations revealed that the former became unstable beyond some critical stress and broke in their middle part. At high stresses, the free aggregates were progressively destroyed by shear forces that contributed to a drastic decrease of the moduli. We have also measured and predicted the output strain waveforms and stress–strain hysteresis loops. With the growing stress, the shape of the stress–strain loops changed progressively from near-ellipsoidal one to the rounded-end rectangular one due to a progressive transition from a linear viscoelastic to a viscoplastic Bingham-like behavior.     

Elastoplastic stress-strain state of flexible layered shells made of isotropic and transversely isotropic materials with different moduli and subjected to axisymmetric loading

The paper proposes a numerical technique for analysis of the elastoplastic stress-strain state of flexible layered shells of revolution under axisymmetric loading. It is assumed that the shells are made of isotropic and transversely isotropic materials with different moduli in tension and compression. The technique is based on a geometrically nonlinear theory of shells that takes into account the squared angles of rotation and the Kirchhoff-Love hypotheses for a layer stack. The deformation of isotropic materials is described using the theory of deformation along paths of small curvature. The deformation of transversely isotropic materials is described using the theory of elasticity with different moduli in tension and compression. The problem is solved by the method of successive approximations. A numerical example is given __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 43, No. 11, pp. 31–42, November 2007.     

New exact results for the effective electric, elastic, piezoelectric and other properties of composite ellipsoid assemblages

In this paper we present a unified treatment of composite ellipsoid assemblages in the setting of uncoupled phenomena like conductivity and elasticity and coupled phenomena like thermoelectricity and piezomagnetoelectricity. The building block of this microgeometry is a confocal ellipsoidal particle consisting of a (possibly void) core and a coating. All space is filled up with such units which have different sizes but possess the same aspect ratios. The confocal ellipsoids may have the same orientation in space or may be randomly oriented. The resulting microgeometry simulates two-phase composites in which the reinforcing components are short fibers or elongated particles. Our main interest is in obtaining information of an exact nature on the effective moduli of this microgeometry whose effective tensor symmetry structure depends on the packing mode of the coated ellipsoids. This information will sometimes be complete like the full effective thermoelectric tensor of an assemblage which contains aligned ellipsoids in which the coating is isotropic and the core is arbitrarily anisotropic. In the majority of the cases however the maximum achievable exact information will be only partial and will appear in the form of certain exact relations between the effective moduli of the microgeometry. These exact relations are obtained from exact solutions for the fields in the microstructure for a certain set of loading conditions. In all the considered cases an isotropic coating can be combined with a fully arbitrary core. This covers the most important physical case of anisotropic fibers in an isotropic matrix. Allowing anisotropy in the coating requires the fulfillment of certain constraint conditions between its moduli. Even though in this case the presence of such constraint conditions may render the anisotropic coating material hypothetical, the value of the derived solutions remains since they still provide benchmark comparisons for approximate and numerical treatments. The remarkable feature of the general analysis which covers all treated uncoupled and coupled phenomena is that it is developed solely on the basis of potential solutions of the conduction problem in the same microgeometry.     

On the overall elastic moduli of composites with spherical coated fillers

A micromechanical approach is presented to estimate the overall linear elastic moduli of three phase composites consisting of two phase coated spherical particles randomly dispersed in a homogeneous isotropic matrix. The theoretical method is based on Eshelby’s equivalent inclusion method and its recent extension by Shodja and Sarvestani [J. Appl. Mech. 68 (2001) 3] to evaluate the local field variables in case of double (multi) inhomogeneities. Using Tanaka–Mori theorem [J. Elasticity 2 (1972) 199] and a decomposition of Green’s function integral equation, the pair-wise average phase values of stress and strain in two interacting coated particles are estimated. Following Ju and Chen [Acta Mech. 103 (1994) 103; Acta Mech. 103 (1994) 123] the ensemble phase volume average of stress and strain fields can be evaluated within a representative volume element containing a finite number of coated particles. Comparisons with classical bounds are presented to illustrate the accuracy of the proposed method.     

Revisiting displacement functions in three-dimensional elasticity of inhomogeneous media

The paper presents a three-dimensional solution to the equilibrium equations for linear elastic transversely isotropic inhomogeneous media. We assume that the material has constant Poisson’s ratios, and its Young’s and shear moduli have the same functional form of dependence on the co-ordinate normal to the plane of isotropy. We show, apparently for the first time, that stresses and displacements in such an inhomogeneous transversely isotropic elastic solid can be represented in terms of two displacement functions which satisfy the second- and fourth-order partial differential equations. We examine and discuss key aspects of the new representation; they include the relationship between the new displacement functions and Plevako’s solution for isotropic inhomogeneous material with constant Poisson’s ratio as well as the application of the new representation to some important classes of three-dimensional elasticity problems. As an example, the displacement function is derived that can be used to determine stresses and displacements in an inhomogeneous transversely isotropic half-space which is subjected to a concentrated force normal to a free surface and applied at the origin (Boussinesq’s problem).     

冲击荷载作用下混凝土材料的细观本构模型

将混凝土材料看成是水泥砂浆基体和粗骨料颗粒组成的2相复合材料,假设水泥砂浆基体和粗骨料颗粒均为弹性、均匀、各向同性的,粗骨料颗粒为球形。基于Mori-Tanaka理论和Eshelby 等效夹杂理论推出了混凝土材料弹性模量的计算公式。在Horii和Nemat-Nasser提出的脆性材料在双轴向压应力作用下破坏的滑移裂纹模型基础上,运用细观力学方法推导了微裂纹对材料弹性模量的弱化作用以及微裂纹的损伤演化方程。建立了混凝土材料在冲击荷载作用下的一维动态本构模型,模拟曲线与实验曲线符合良好,因而可以用该模型模拟混凝土材料在冲击荷载下的动态特性。     

On the elastic moduli of three-dimensional assemblies of spheres: Characterization and modeling of fluctuations in the particle displacement and rotation

The elastic moduli of four numerical random isotropic packings of Hertzian spheres are studied. The four samples are assembled with different preparation procedures, two of which aim to reproduce experimental compaction by vibration and lubrication. The mechanical properties of the samples are found to change with the preparation history, and to depend much more on coordination number than on density.Secondly, the fluctuations in the particle displacements from the average strain are analyzed, and the way they affect the macroscopic behavior analyzed. It is found that only the average over equally oriented contacts of the relative displacement these fluctuations induce is relevant at the macroscopic scale. This average depends on coordination number, average geometry of the contact network and average contact stiffness. As far as the separate contributions from particle displacements and rotations are concerned, the former is found to counteract the average strain along the contact normal, while the latter do in the tangential plane. Conversely, the tangential components of the center displacements mainly arise to enforce local equilibrium, and have a small and generally stiffening effect at the macro-scale.Finally, the fluctuations and the shear modulus that result from two approaches available in the literature are estimated numerically. These approaches are both based on the equilibrium of a small-sized representative assembly. The improvement of these estimate with respect to the average strain assumption indicates that the fluctuations relevant to the macroscopic behavior occur with short correlation length.     

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对具有不同拉压模量的厚壁球壳,采用双剪统一强度理论推导了其扩张问题的应力及位移的 统一解. 分析了不同模量、不同模型控制参数对厚壁球壳扩张时的扩张压力和应力场的影响. 结果表明：厚壁球壳弹性极限压力、应力场、位移场等均随着模量控制参数、模型参数的变 化而变化,在$\alpha<1$的情况下(即$E^ + < E^ - $),可以明显提高球壳的弹 性极限压力$p_e $; 厚壁球壳塑性极限压力与材料的拉压模量无关,与模型参数$\eta $有关,且随$\eta$的增加,先增大后减小. 因此若采用经典的弹性理论和单一的 模型参数对厚壁球壳进行设计计算,会带来较大的误差.     

The Relaxation of Two-well Energies with Possibly Unequal Moduli

The elastic energy of a multiphase solid is a function of its microstructure. Determining the infimum of the energy of such a solid and characterizing the associated optimal microstructures is an important problem that arises in the modeling of the shape memory effect, microstructure evolution, and optimal design. Mathematically, the problem is to determine the relaxation under fixed phase fraction of a multiwell energy. This paper addresses two such problems in the geometrically linear setting. First, in two dimensions, we compute the relaxation under fixed phase fraction for a two-well elastic energy with arbitrary elastic moduli and transformation strains, and provide a characterization of the optimal microstructures and the associated strain. Second, in three dimensions, we compute the relaxation under fixed phase fraction for a two-well elastic energy when either (1) both elastic moduli are isotropic, or (2) the elastic moduli are well ordered and the smaller elastic modulus is isotropic. In both cases we impose no restrictions on the transformation strains. We provide a characterization of the optimal microstructures and the associated strain. We also compute a lower bound that is optimal except possibly in one regime when either (1) both elastic moduli are cubic, or (2) the elastic moduli are well ordered and the smaller elastic modulus is cubic; for moduli with arbitrary symmetry we obtain a lower bound that is sometimes optimal. In all these cases we impose no restrictions on the transformation strains and whenever the bound is optimal we provide a characterization of the optimal microstructures and the associated strain. In both two and three dimensions the quasiconvex envelope of the energy can be obtained by minimizing over the phase fraction. We also characterize optimal microstructures under applied stress.