The rheology of polymer solution elastic strands in extensional flow

We apply micro-oscillatory cross-slot extensional flow to a semi-dilute poly(ethylene oxide) solution. Micro-particle image velocimetry (μPIV) is used to probe the real local flow field. Extreme flow perturbation is observed, where birefringent strands of extended polymer originate from the stagnation point. This coincides with a large increase in the extensional viscosity. The combination of stagnation point flow and μPIV enables us to investigate directly the stress and strain rates in the strand and so determine the true extensional viscosity of the localised strand alone. The Trouton ratio in the strand is found to be ~4000, amongst the highest values of Trouton ratio ever reported. Consideration of the flow in the exit channels surrounding the highly elastic strand suggests a maximum limit for the pressure drop across the device and the apparent extensional viscosity. This has implications for the understanding of high Deborah number extensional thinning reported in other stagnation point flow situations.     

Localized elastic fields in periodic waveguides with defects

The variational method for determining localized waves (trapped modes) is modified for periodic elastic waveguides with partially clamped surfaces. Two sufficient conditions for the existence of localized fields in waveguides with defects (cavities with positive volume and cracks) are established. In the presence of elastic and geometrical symmetries, localized fields were also found in periodic elastic waveguides with surfaces free of external loads.     

Microsecond relaxation processes in shear and extensional flows of weakly elastic polymer solutions

In this paper, we introduce an experimental protocol to reliably determine extensional relaxation times from capillary thinning experiments of weakly elastic dilute polymer solutions. Relaxation times for polystyrene in diethyl phthalate solutions as low as 80?μ s are reported: the lowest relaxation times in uniaxial extensional flows that have been assessed so far. These data are compared to the linear viscoelastic relaxation times that are obtained from fitting the Zimm spectrum to high frequency oscillatory squeeze flow data measured with a piezo-axial vibrator (PAV). This comparison demonstrates that the extensional relaxation time reduced by the Zimm time, λ _ext/λ _z, is not solely a function of the reduced concentration c/c*, as is commonly stated in the literature: an additional dependence on the molecular weight is observed.     

Anisotropic elastic and elastic–plastic bending solutions for edge constrained beams

In beam-like fracture tests the rotation at the crack tip is a significant factor controlling the energy release rate. The local deformations of a beam ahead of the crack tip where the lower edge constrained by a stiffness is described for an anisotropic elastic material. This is a useful model for composite delamination tests and gives the crack length correction factor and root rotation which are used in determining energy release rate. The solution is calibrated using FE results and found to be accurate to within 2%.The solution is extended by analogy to plasticity where the yielding of the constrained edge is modelled. The assumption that the deformations are controlled by the same parameters as the elastic solution is confirmed numerically. It is shown that in most practical cases the bottom edge remains elastic. This constraint is important in calculating the root rotation.     

A refined theory of elastic thick plates for extensional deformation

Based on elasticity theory, various two-dimensional (2D) equations and solutions for extensional deformation have been deduced systematically and directly from the three-dimensional (3D) theory of thick rectangular plates by using the Papkovich–Neuber solution and the Lur’e method without ad hoc assumptions. These equations and solutions can be used to construct a refined theory of thick plates for extensional deformation. It is shown that the displacements and stresses of the plate can be represented by the displacements and transverse normal strain of the midplane. In the case of homogeneous boundary conditions, the exact solutions for the plate are derived, and the exact equations consist of three governing differential equations: the biharmonic equation, the shear equation, and the transcendental equation. With the present theory a solution of these can satisfy all the fundamental equations of 3D elasticity. Moreover, the refined theory of thick plate for bending deformation constructed by Cheng is improved, and some physical or mathematical explanations and proof are provided to support our justification. It is important to note that the refined theory is consistent with the decomposition theorem by Gregory. In the case of nonhomogeneous boundary conditions, the approximate governing differential equations and solutions for the plate are accurate up to the second-order terms with respect to plate thickness. The correctness of the stress assumptions in the classic plane-stress problems is revised. In an example it is shown that the exact or accurate solutions may be obtained by applying the refined theory deduced herein.     

Coupled elastic waves in uniform isotropic media

This article deals with a certain type of wave in an infinite elastic medium. In contrast to ordinary longitudinal and transverse waves, the amplitude of the type of wave in question depends sinusoidally on the coordinates of a plane which is transverse to the direction of propagation of the wave, i.e., the wave is actually a packet of travelling and stationary waves. Longitudinal waves of this type are always coupled with transverse waves, while transverse waves of the given type may be coupled with longitudinal waves or another transverse wave or may exist as a single wave in the form of a packet containing a travelling wave and a stationary wave. The coupled waves have two phase velocities, which depend on the mechanical properties of the medium, the frequency of vibration, and the wave numbers of the stationary waves. Coupled surface waves in an elastic medium are more general in character than Rayleigh waves; they exhibit dispersion, and they can be used to explain certain seismological observations made during earthquakes—the complete absence of vertical displacements in some cases and the frequent occurrence of horizontal displacements parallel to the wave front. Allowing for the coupling of elastic waves in a layer leads to a more general characteristic equation than the equation obtained in the Rayleigh-Lamb problem. S. P. Timoshenko Institute of Mechanics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 35, No. 9, pp. 19–28, September, 1999.     

On bending of strain gradient elastic micro-plates

Bending of strain gradient elastic thin plates is studied, adopting Kirchhoff’s theory of plates. Simple linear strain gradient elastic theory with surface energy is employed. The governing plate equation with its boundary conditions are derived through a variational method. It turns out that new terms are introduced, indicating the importance of the cross-section area in bending of thin plates. Those terms are missing from the existing strain gradient plate theories; however, they strongly increase the stiffness of the thin plate.     

Uniqueness in the nonlinear dynamic bending of elastic plates

A uniqueness theorem for the solution of a nonlinear initial-boundary value problem for a time dependent form of von Karman's equations is proven. These equations are two coupled nonlinear fourth order partial differential equations which describe the bending of an elastic plate. The result is proved by the method of energy integrals.     

Dispersion effects of extensional waves in pre-stressed imperfectly bonded incompressible elastic layered composites

The effect of an imperfect interface, on time-harmonic extensional wave propagation in a pre-stressed symmetric layered composite is considered. The bimaterial composite consists of incompressible isotropic elastic materials. The shear spring type resistance model employed to simulate the imperfect interface can accommodate the extreme cases of perfect bonding and a fully slipping interface. The dispersion relation obtained by formulating the incremental boundary-value problem and the use of the propagator matrix technique, is analyzed at the low and high wavenumber limits. For the perfectly bonded and imperfect interface cases in the low wavenumber region, only the fundamental mode has a finite phase speed, while other higher modes have an infinite phase speed when the dimensionless wavenumber approaches zero. However, for the fully slipping interface in the low wavenumber region, both the fundamental mode and the next lowest mode have finite phase speeds. In the high wavenumber region, when the dimensionless wavenumber tends to infinity, the phase speeds of the fundamental mode and the higher modes depend on the phase speeds of the surface and interfacial waves and on the limiting phase speed of the composite. An expression to determine the cut-off frequencies is obtained from the dispersion relation. Numerical examples of dispersion curves are presented, where when the material has to be prescribed either Mooney–Rivlin material or Varga material is assumed. The effect of the imperfect interface is clearly evident in the numerical results.     

Finite element analysis of frequency spectra for elastic waveguides

The finite element theory is presented for the analysis of the dispersive characteristics of elastic waveguides of arbitrary cross-section. The necessary mass and stiffness properties of circular core, circular sleeve, rectangular, and triangular elements are developed. The practical application of these new elements is demonstrated in the calculation of frequency spectra for circular, square, and triangular waveguides and for a fiber reinforced composite. The dispersive characteristics of the composite material are determined from a formulation which models the fiber as a cylinder and the surrounding matrix material as a rectangular section. The numerical results obtained by the finite element analysis are also compared with the available results from other methods.     

Energy-minimizing deformations of elastic sheets with bending stiffness

Necessary conditions for energy-minimizing deformations are derived for a theory of sheets in which the strain energy function depends on the second derivatives of the deformation as well as its first derivatives. All of these conditions are extensions of well-known necessary conditions in classical calculus of variations. The interpretation of some of these conditions as material stability conditions is explained.     

Iterative methods for scattering problems in isotropic or anisotropic elastic waveguides

We consider the time-harmonic problem of the diffraction of an incident propagative mode by a localized defect, in an infinite elastic waveguide. We propose several iterative algorithms to compute an approximate solution of the problem, using a classical finite element discretization in a small area around the perturbation, and a modal expansion in the unbounded straight parts of the guide. Each algorithm can be related to a so-called domain decomposition method, with an overlap between the domains. Specific transmission conditions are used, so that at each step of the algorithm only the sparse finite element matrix has to be inverted, the modal expansion being obtained by a simple projection, using a bi-orthogonality relation. The benefit of using an overlap between the finite element domain and the modal domain is emphasized. An original choice of transmission conditions is proposed which enhances the effect of the overlap and allows us to handle arbitrary anisotropic materials. As a by-product, we derive transparent boundary conditions for an arbitrary anisotropic waveguide. The transparency of these new boundary conditions is checked for two- and three-dimensional anisotropic waveguides. Finally, in the isotropic case, numerical validation for two- and three-dimensional waveguides illustrates the efficiency of the new approach, compared to other existing methods, in terms of number of iterations and CPU time.     

A note on the extensional viscosity of elastic liquids under strong flows

In this article a parametric study based on a balance between viscous drag and restoring Brownian forces is used in order to construct a nonlinear dumbbell model with a finite spring and a drag correction for a dilute polymer solution. The constitutive equations used are reasonable approximation for describing flows of very dilute polymer solutions such as those used in turbulent drag reduction. We investigate the response of an elastic liquid under extensional flows in order to explore the roles of a stress anisotropy and of elasticity in strong flows. It is found that for low Reynolds numbers, the extensional viscosity of a dilute polymer solution is governed by two parameters: a Deborah number representing the importance of the elasticity on the flow and the macromolecule extensibility that accounts for the viscous anisotropic effects caused by the macromolecule orientation. Two different asymptotic regimes are described.The first corresponds to an elastic limit in which the extensional viscosity is a function of the Deborah number and the particle volume fraction. The second is an anisotropic regime with the extensional viscosity independent of Deborah number but strongly dependent on macromolecule aspect ratio. The analysis may explain from a phenomenological point of view why few ppms of macromolecules of high molecule weight or a small volume fraction of long fibres produce important attenuation of the pressure drop in turbulent flows. On the basis of our analysis it is seen that the anisotropic limit of the extensional viscosity caused by extended polymers under strong flows should play a key role in the attenuation of flow instability and in the mechanism of drag reduction by polymer additives.     

Logarithmic singularity of an elastic composite wedge subjected to out-of-the-plane extensional strain

When an elastic composite wedge is not under a plane strain deformation, an out-of-the-plane extensional strain exists. The singularity analysis for the stresses at the apex of the composite wedge reduces to a system of non-homogeneous linear equations. When the composite wedge consists of two anisotropic elastic materials, it is shown that the stresses have the (ln r) term for all combinations of wedge angles with few exceptions. The same is true when the materials are isotropic except that the (ln r) term may appear in the form of r(ln r) in the displacements only. For these isotropic composite wedges therefore the stresses are bounded, though not continuous, at the apex. However, there are isotropic composite wedges for which the stress singularity is logarithmic. Conditions are given for isotropic composite wedges for which the stresses are (a) uniform, (b) non-uniform but bounded and (c) logarithmic. Unlike the r^−λ singularity, the existence of the (ln r) term does not depend on the complete boundary conditions.     

Finite element computation of trapped and leaky elastic waves in open stratified waveguides

Elastic guided waves are of interest for inspecting structures due to their ability to propagate over long distances. In numerous applications, the guiding structure is surrounded by a solid matrix that can be considered as unbounded in the transverse directions. The physics of waves in such an open waveguide significantly differs from a closed waveguide, i.e. for a bounded cross-section. Except for trapped modes, part of the energy is radiated in the surrounding medium, yielding attenuated modes along the axis called leaky modes. These leaky modes have often been considered in non destructive testing applications, which require waves of low attenuation in order to maximize the inspection distance. The main difficulty with numerical modeling of open waveguides lies in the unbounded nature of the geometry in the transverse direction. This difficulty is particularly severe due to the unusual behavior of leaky modes: while attenuating along the axis, such modes exponentially grow along the transverse direction. A simple numerical procedure consists in using absorbing layers of artificially growing viscoelasticity, but large layers may be required. The goal of this paper is to explore another approach for the computation of trapped and leaky modes in open waveguides. The approach combines the so-called semi-analytical finite element method and a perfectly matched layer technique. Such an approach has already been successfully applied in scalar acoustics and electromagnetism. It is extended here to open elastic waveguides, which raises specific difficulties. In this paper, two-dimensional stratified waveguides are considered. As it reveals a rich structure, the numerical eigenvalue spectrum is analyzed in a first step. This allows to clarify the spectral objects calculated with the method, including radiation modes, and their dependency on the perfectly matched layer parameters. In a second step, numerical dispersion curves of trapped and leaky modes are compared to analytical results.     

On the theory of transverse bending of elastic plates

Departing from a self-contained two-dimensional formulation of the linear-theory problem of transverse bending of plates, three distinct topics are considered.The first of these concerns the integration problem for the case of orthotropy, specifically in regard to the factorization of a certain sixth-order master-equation.The second topic concerns the boundary layer aspects of contracted or reduced boundary conditions for the interior solution contribution for the case of isotropic plates. The analysis of this is based on a new form of the well-known general solution in terms of a deflection and a stress function variable, with this new form making it possible to distinguish between first- and second-order transverse shear deformation effects; the former being associated with the edge zone and the latter with the interior domain of the plate, with the shear correction terms for the interior being generalizations of the Timoshenko shear correction terms for beams.The third topic is a new system of contracted boundary conditions, both for the stress and for the displacement boundary value problem, in such a way that first-order transverse shear deformation effects are explicitly incorporated in the interior-domain solution contribution.