Configurational–Force–Based Adaptive Methods in Nonlocal Gradient-Type Inelastic Solids

We propose a configurational-force-based framework for h-adaptive finite element discretizations of solids with nonlocal, gradient-type constitutive response. Typical applications are related to gradient-type damage mechanics, strain gradient plasticity and regularized brittle fracture. On the theoretical side, we outline a general incremental variational framework for the multifield problem of gradient-type dissipative solids, where generalized internal variable fields account for the current state of evolving microstructures. The Euler equations of the multifield variational principle define the macroscopic balance of momentum along with balance-type evolution equations for the generalized internal variables in the physical space as well as the balance of configurational forces in the material space. We propose a staggered computational scheme for satisfying those balances in both the physical as well as the material space. The coupled micro- and macro-structural balances of momentum and internal variables provide a solution in the physical space for a given finite element mesh. The balance in the material space is then used to provide an indicator for the quality of the finite element mesh and accounts for a subsequent h-type mesh refinement. Such a configurational-force-based approach provides in a natural and unified format mesh refinement indicators for a broad class of complex nonlocal problems. This framework is applied to damage-type regularized brittle fracture. (© 2009 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Fatigue mechanisms of cord–rubber composites

This article presents a continuum damage mechanics approach to characterize fatigue mechanisms of cord-rubber composites. An airspring bellow which consists of layers of rubber and reinforcing cords is considered for this work. The phenomenological material model for rubber is formulated for the purpose of analyzing the rate dependent behavior under cyclic loading. The rate dependency and hysteretic behavior are characterized by using the concept of internal variables [1]. The implementation of the constitutive formulation for rubber material is done in ABAQUS via UMAT. A fatigue failure mechanisms of cord-reinforced airspring is for example interfacial debonding. Within the framework of finite element cohesive zone modeling, a user element is developed to study the cord-rubber interfacial debonding. Furthermore, the developed methodology can be easily extended to understand the long-term effects of e.g. temperature, frequency, loading rates, amplitudes etc. on the fatigue life of airsprings. (© 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Multi-scale modeling of double network hydrogels

A double network hydrogel (DN gel) is a class of elastomeric gels formed by polyelectrolyte and neutral polymer networks. The DN gel is the toughest material among the conventional hydrogels. It shows inelastic features such as necking instability [1] and the stress softening [2], similar to that one known in elastomers. In this contribution, we purpose a micro-mechanically motivated model to characterize relation between internal damage and inelastic deformations in the DN gel. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Fracture Mechanical Investigation of Elastomeric Material

The increasing use of elastomeric components in advanced engineering applications requires a thorough understanding of the complex material properties and a reliable assessment of the quality and durability of the products. This contribution concentrates on the computational determination of fracture mechanical parameters for rubber material using the material force method. For dissipative, inelastic material, a distinction between two fracture mechanical parameters is presented. The time-dependent behaviour of these fracture mechanical parameters is illustrated by an application to the dwell-effect. (© 2009 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Strategies for the Computation of Configurational Forces in Dissipative Media

Configurational forces can be interpreted as driving forces on material inhomogeneities such as crack tips. In dissipative media the total configurational force on an inhomogeneity consists of an elastic contribution and a contribution due to the dissipative processes in the material. For the computation of discrete configurational forces acting at the nodes of a finite element mesh, the elastic and dissipative contributions must be evaluated at integration point level. While the evaluation of the elastic contribution is straightforward, the evaluation of the dissipative part is faced with certain difficulties. This is because gradients of internal variables are necessary in order to compute the dissipative part of the configurational force. For the sake of efficiency, these internal variables are usually treated as local history data at integration point level in finite element (FE) implementations. Thus, the history data needs to be projected to the nodes of the FE mesh in order to compute the gradients by means of shape function interpolations of nodal data as it is standard practice. However, this is a rather cumbersome method which does not easily integrate into standard finite element frameworks. An alternative approach which facilitates the computation of gradients of local history data is investigated in this work. This approach is based on the definition of subelements within the elements of the FE mesh and allows for a straightforward integration of the configurational force computation into standard finite element software. The suitability and the numerical accuracy of different projection approaches and the subelement technique are discussed and analyzed exemplarily within the context of a crystal plasticity model. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

An extended tube model for thermo-viscoelasticity of rubberlike materials: Parameter identification and examples

The extended tube-model was presented by KALISKE & HEINRICH (RCT 72, 602-632) in 1999 as a novel approach for isothermal hyperelasticity of rubberlike materials. This contribution is dedicated to its further development to finite non-linear thermo-viscoelasticity. A non-linear evolution law and a thermo-mechanical coupled free energy formulation are the kernel of the phenomenological approach where the elastic material response is inspired by statistical-mechanical theory. The representation of viscoelasticity is based on a multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient. The Helmholtz free energy of the material is formulated in terms of isothermal free energy functions multiplicatively coupled with non-linear temperature evolution functions. The non-linear evolution law for the viscous material branch is solved by applying a predictor-corrector algorithm with an exponential mapping scheme. In today's literature, several sophisticated thermo-mechanical material models are available. However, they are built upon a considerable number of material parameters governing the mechanical and thermal material response which need to be identified for practical application. Therefore, particular emphasis is given to an appropriate parameter identification technique for the thermal field. For the latter, a uniaxial extension test is carried out where the recorded data of the temperature field of the rubber specimen under cyclic loading is used for parameter identification. (© 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Life Prediction of FRP Composites by a Direct Method

A direct computational approach for lifetime prediction of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites is presented. The approach is based on a direct method which allows predicting the fatigue life from the stabilised damage state. The classical direct method is generalised to the case of coupled plasticity with damage mechanics of the UD-FRP composite materials [1]. The constitutive model is based on a continuous damage meso-scale approach [2]. By analysing damage variables and thermodynamical forces associated with damage at the stabilised state, fatigue life prediction law is proposed as a power law function of stabilised thermodynamic forces. The obtained numerical results have been validated by experimental test results on standard glass-fibre/epoxy angle-ply and cross-ply laminate plates. The proposed approach could serve as a useful tool for the design of FRP composites. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A micromechanical model for the transformation induced plasticity in polycrystalline steels

Due to the effect of transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) , TRIP-steels are very promising materials, e.g. for the automobile industry. The material behavior is characterized by very complex inner processes, namely phase transformation coupled with plastic deformation and kinematic hardening. We establish a micromechanical model which uses the volume fractions of the single phases, the plastic strain and the hardening parameter in every grain of the polycrystalline material as internal variables. Furthermore, we apply the Principle of the Minimum of the Dissipation Potential to derive the associated evolution equations. The use of a coupled dissipation functional and a combined Voigt/Reuss bound directly results in coupled evolution equations for the internal variables and in one combined yield function. Additionally, we show numerical results which prove our model's ability to give a first prediction of the TRIP-steels' complex material behavior. (© 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Isotropic continuum damage/repair model for alveolar bone remodeling

Several authors have proposed mechanical models to predict long term tooth movement, considering both the tooth and its surrounding bone tissue as isotropic linear elastic materials coupled to either an adaptative elasticity behavior or an update of the elasticity constants with density evolution. However, tooth movements obtained through orthodontic appliances result from a complex biochemical process of bone structure and density adaptation to its mechanical environment, called bone remodeling. This process is far from linear reversible elasticity. It leads to permanent deformations due to biochemical actions. The proposed biomechanical constitutive law, inspired from Doblaré and García (2002) [30], is based on a elasto-viscoplastic material coupled with Continuum isotropic Damage Mechanics (Doblaré and García (2002) [30] considered only the case of a linear elastic material coupled with damage). The considered damage variable is not actual damage of the tissue but a measure of bone density. The damage evolution law therefore implies a density evolution. It is here formulated as to be used explicitly for alveolar bone, whose remodeling cells are considered to be triggered by the pressure state applied to the bone matrix. A 2D model of a tooth submitted to a tipping movement, is presented. Results show a reliable qualitative prediction of bone density variation around a tooth submitted to orthodontic forces.     

Application of the Green Tensor to the Modeling of Solution-Precipitation Creep

Our aim is to present a mechanical model for solution-precipitation creep, a diffusive deformation process occurring in polycrystalline and granular materials. Within the scope of the model, a Lagrangian consisting of the elastic power and dissipation is proposed. The former is kept in a standard form typical for linear material behavior while the latter is assumed as a surface integral depending on the velocity of the material transport and the velocity of the motion of the boundary. The minimization with respect to the total deformations leads to the equilibrium equation which is solved analytically, by using Green's function. The evolution equations are obtained as the result of the minimization with respect to the internal variables and are solved via finite element method. The contribution closes with a numerical example showing the deformation of a polycrystal consisting of hexagonal crystals. (© 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A three-dimensional progressive damage model for fiber reinforced composites with an implicit-explicit integration scheme

This contribution proposes a fully three dimensional “continuum damage model” (CDM) to describe the interlaminar and intralaminar failure mechanisms of transversely isotropic elastic-brittle materials under static loading. The constitutive model is derived from an energy function with independent damage variables for each damage mode. The evolution law is based on energy dissipation within the damage process, taking into account the critical energy release rate to weaken the effect of mesh dependent outcome. The onset of damage can be predicted with Cuntze's failure mode concept [1] as well as with Hashin's failure criteria. In this model linear stress decreasing is assumed. In addition, an implicit-explicit integration scheme, first proposed by Oliver [3] for isotropic damage models, is adapted to increase the stability and robustness of numerical simulations and to decrease the computational cost of material failure analyses. By comparing the results from implicit-explicit integration schemes and standard implicit integration schemes, a high level of agreement is found. (© 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Meso-Macro Modelling of Coated Forming Tools under Thermal Shock Conditions

In hybrid-forming processes workpieces are heated up before forming in order to reduce the forming forces. They are innovative methods for the production of components with graded properties, particularly with regard to tailored material properties and geometrical shape. During service life the forming tools are subjected to cyclic thermal shock loading conditions which can result into damage and failure. For improvement of the tool durability in the hybrid-forming process coated forming tools with multilayered coating systems are considered to be applied in future. This contribution shows the actual state of work for the development of a twoscale FE model for the simulation of the multilayered coated forming tool. Within this model the three-dimensional model of the forming tool builds the macromodel. On the macrolevel the multilayered coating is discretized with one element over the coating thickness. The mesomodel of the coating considers the actual layer design with metallic and ceramic layers. The macro-meso transition is realized with a Taylor-assumption. As the microscale is not considered in our model, the constitutive equations are formulated on the mesoscale. The meso-macro transition is done using volume averaging procedures. Furthermore, a damage model is included for particular layers. The scalar damage variable is used in a thermo-mechanical coupled model for simulation of a reduced heat transfer through a partially damaged layer. (© 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Computation of Material Forces in Thermoplasticity Based on Alternative Smoothing Algorithms

Different approaches to the computation of material forces in inelastic structures are investigated. Dissipative effects in inelastic materials are described by internal variables. The formulation of balance equations in the material space requires the computation of gradients of these internal variables. The computational evaluation of these gradients in the context of finite element simulations needs a global representation of the internal variable fields. On the one side, this request can be carried out by a global formulation that discretizes the internal variable fields in terms of nodal degrees additional to the displacements. A numerically more effective approach applies smoothing algorithms which project the internal variables of a typical local formulation from the integration points onto the nodal points. In detail, the implementation of two smoothing algorithms for the computation of material forces is dicussed. The L2–projection necessiates the solution of a system of equations on the global level. A patch recovery yields a smoothed solution from an element patch surrounding the nodal point of interest. The performance of both algorithms is compared for the material force computation in finite thermoplasticity. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

An Approach for Micromechanical Modelling of Damage Mechanisms

In the framework of numerical simulation of damaged materials, softening behaviour represents an important topic. Thereby, the decrease of stiffness is mainly caused by the evolution of microvoids. In contrast to the established phenomenological damage approaches, the explicit consideration of effects on the micro scale can lead to an improved approximation quality. In this work, we discuss an approach to describe microstructural evolution. Based on a two phase micro model representing the macroscopical material behaviour, the structural evolution on the micro scale will be modelled based on configurational forces. Besides some theoretical basics on configurational forces at two phase systems and the definition of suitable evolution laws, we present an application of this approach on void growth process in rubberlike material. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Computation of energy dissipation in visco-elastic materials at finite deformation

In this contribution, the derivation of the energy dissipation rate in generalized visco-elastic material models with internal stress-type variables and linear evolution equations is outlined. The approximated dissipation rate is computed from a positive quadratic form of the nonlinear non-equilibrium stresses and the inverse of the consistent material tangent tensor. The presented method is used to compute the energy dissipation of visco-elastic rubber material in a large scale application of a steady state rolling tire structure. (© 2013 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A phenomenological constitutive model for magnetostrictive materials and ferroelectric ceramics

The contribution is concerned with a thermodynamic consistent constitutive model for magnetostrictive materials and ferroelectric ceramics. It captures the nonlinear phenomenological behavior which is described by hysteresis effects. Magnetostrictive alloys and ferroelectric ceramics belong to the multifunctional materials. In recent years these materials have become widely–used in actor and sensor applications. They characterize an inherent coupling between deformation and magnetic or electric field. Due to the similarities of the coupled differential equations a uniform approach is applied for both phenomena. The presented three–dimensional material model is thermodynamically motivated. It is based on the definition of a specific free energy function and a switching criterion. Furthermore an additive split of strain and the magnetic or electric field in a reversible and an irreversible part is suggested. The irreversible quantities serve as internal variables, which is analog to plasticity theory. A one–to–one–relation between the two internal variables provides conservation of volume for the irreversible strains. The presented material model can approximate the ferromagnetic or ferroelectric hysteresis curve and the related butterfly hysteresis. Furthermore an extended approach for ferrimagnetic behavior, which occurs in magnetostrictive materials, is presented. Some numerical simulations demonstrate the capability of the presented model. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Exploitation of Configurational Forces in Extended Nonlocal Continua with Microstructure

We investigate aspects of the application of configurational forces in extended nonlocal continua with microstructure. Focussing on multifield approaches to gradient–type inelastic solids, the coupled problem is governed by the macroscopic deformation field, while nonlocal inelastic effects on the microstructure are described by a family of order parameter fields. The dual macro– and micro–field equations are derived within an incremental variational framework. Using an incremental principle, due to the variation with respect to the material position, an additional balance in the material space appears with the dual macro–micro–balances in the physical space. In view of the numerical implementation of this coupled problem by a finite element method, the incremental variational framework is recast into a discrete format in terms of discrete macro– and micro–physical nodal forces and configurational nodal forces. Applying a staggered solution scheme, the configurational branch is used as a postprocessing procedure with all the ingredients known from the solution of the coupled macro–micro–problem. The procedure is implemented for a nonlocal, viscous damage model. The consequences with regard to the configurational nodal forces are assessed by means of a numerical example. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A laminate-based modelling approach for rate-dependent switching in ferroelectric materials

This contribution focuses on the sequential laminate-based modelling approach for the numerical simulation of the complex electromechanical material behaviour of ferroelectric single crystals. The construction of engineered domain configurations by using the method of sequential lamination in order to study the domain evolution and polarisation switching in ferroelectric single crystals has recently been carried out in the works of [1–4]. By fulfilling the kinematic and polarisation compatibility conditions between the domain structures in a crystal, the proposed laminate-based formulation is governed by an energy-enthalpy function and by a dissipation potential. The mixed energy-enthalpy, written in terms of the total strains, electric field and a set of internal variables, here the multi-rank laminate volume fractions, governs the dissipative electromechanical response of the ferroelectric crystal, whereas the rate-dependent dissipation potential formulated in terms of the flux of the internal variables describes the time-dependent evolution of the multi-rank laminate volume fractions, subjected to inequality constraints. The model reproduces experimentally observed hysteresis and butterfly curves, characteristic for single crystal ferroelectric materials, when subjected to homogeneous electromechanical loading conditions. (© 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

高温作用下混凝土热-水-力耦合损伤分析模型

以混合物理论为基础建立了高温作用下混凝土的热-水-力耦合损伤分析模型．将混凝土视为由固体骨架、液态水、水蒸气、干燥气体和溶解气体共5种组分构成的混合物,模型的宏观平衡方程包括各组分的质量守恒方程、整体的能量守恒方程及动量守恒方程,模型所需的状态方程及本构关系全部给出,最后给出基于4个主要参数（固体骨架位移、气压力、毛细压力和温度）的控制方程．模型考虑了混凝土在高温作用下,水分的蒸发与冷凝、胶结材料的水化及脱水、溶解气的溶解与挥发等相变过程;从材料变形破坏过程中能量耗散特征入手,基于Lemaitre应变等价性假说和能量守恒原理得到力学损伤演化方程,并考虑了高温引起的热损伤对材料力学性能及力学损伤演化规律的影响,建立了热-力耦合损伤本构模型．