Formation of persistent slip band-structures during cyclic loading in finite-strain crystal plasticity

Cyclic loading of single- and polycrystals gives rise to complex structures and patterns on the material's microscale, which highly affect the macroscopic stress-strain response. The formation of microstructures in finite-strain crystal plasticity has been reasoned to stem from the non-quasiconvexity of the underlying energetic potentials. As a consequence of such a lack of convexity, the material reduces its energy by breaking up into fine-scale fluctuations of minimizing sequences, which correspond to the experimentally observed microstructures. Based on an incremental setting and relaxed potentials, we describe the formation and the time-continuous evolution of laminate structures during cyclic loading. (© 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Energetic modelling for carbon fibre reinforced carbon

In this contribution an energetic model for multi-phase materials is developed describing the influence of microstructure on different length scales as well as the evolution of phase changes. Restrictions on the energy functional are discussed. In such a non-convex framework, interfacial contributions serve for relaxing the total energy. Such models can be applied to describe the macroscopic material properties of carbon fibre reinforced carbon where phase transitions between regions of different texture of the carbon matrix are observed on nanoscale as well as columnar microstructures on microscale [2]. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Deformation Driven Homogenization of Fracturing Solids

The paper discusses numerical formulations of the homogenization for solids with discrete crack development. We focus on multi–phase microstructures of heterogeneous materials, where fracture occurs in the form of debonding mechanisms as well as matrix cracking. The definition of overall properties critically depends on the developing discontinuities. To this end, we extend continuous formulations [1] to microstructures with discontinuities [2]. The basic underlying structure is a canonical variational formulation in the fully nonlinear range based on incremental energy minimization. We develop algorithms for numerical homogenization of fracturing solids in a deformation–driven context with non–trivial formulations of boundary conditions for (i) linear deformation and (ii) uniform tractions. The overall response of composite materials with fracturing microstructures are investigated. As a key result, we show the significance of the proposed non–trivial formulation of a traction–type boundary condition in the deformation–driven context. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

On the variational formulation and implementation of Allen-Cahn and Cahn-Hilliard-type phase field theories

Phase field theory is a promising framework for analyzing evolving microstructures in materials. Phenomena like those related to microstructures in Ni-based superalloys, twin structures in martensites or precipitation in Al-alloys can be predicted by phase field theory. While phase transformations such as those characterizing twinning are captured by an Allen-Cahn-type approach, a Cahn-Hilliard-type formulation is used, if the respective interface motion is driven by the concentration of the species. Although the Allen-Cahn and the Cahn-Hilliard formulation are indeed different, they do share some similarities. To be more precise, a Cahn-Hilliard model is obtained by enforcing balance of mass in the Allen-Cahn approach. Within an energy-based formulation this can be implemented by adding additional energy terms to the underlying Allen-Cahn energy. Such a universal energy-based framework is elaborated in this presentation. (© 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Finite element analysis of a class of stress-free martensitic microstructures

This work is concerned with the finite element approximation of a class of stress-free martensitic microstructures modeled by multi-well energy minimization. Finite element energy-minimizing sequences are first constructed to obtain bounds on the minimum energy over all admissible finite element deformations. A series of error estimates are then derived for finite element energy minimizers.

     

Resonant triad model for studying evolution of the energy spectrum among a large number of internal waves

Internal waves are generally accepted to be responsible for a large fraction of mixing in the deep ocean. Internal waves interact nonlinearly with one another, exchanging energy among themselves to create the background internal wave spectrum. The most important mechanism resulting in the transfer of energy from one wave to another is believed to be resonant triad interactions. In this paper we consider a large number of resonantly interacting triads in order to investigate the evolution of the energy spectrum due to solely resonant triad interactions. To this end we solve the evolution equations for a large number of resonant triads to determine the temporal evolution of the energy distribution among the various possible wave numbers and frequencies. Our model involves internal waves with frequencies spanning the range of possible frequencies, i.e., between a maximum of the buoyancy frequency N for horizontal wave vectors (vertical motion) to a minimum of the inertial frequency f for vertical wave vectors (horizontal motion) [two limiting cases]. Because of the inclusion of high-frequency waves we cannot make the hydrostatic approximation. We investigate the evolution of the wave’s amplitudes to predict the evolution of the internal wave energy spectrum.     

A constitutive model for granular materials with microstructures using the concept of energy relaxation

In this paper, we present a constitutive model for granular materials exhibiting microstructures using the concept of energy relaxation. Within the framework of Cosserat continuum theory the free energy of the material is enriched with an interaction energy potential taking into account the counter rotations of the particles. The enhanced energy potential fails to be quasiconvex. Energy relaxation theory is employed to compute the relaxed energy which yields all possible displacement and micro-rotations field fluctuations as minimizers. Based on a two-field variational principle the constitutive response of the material is derived. The developed constitutive model is then implemented in a finite element analysis program using the finite element method. Numerical simulations are presented to observe the localized deformation phenomenon in a granular medium. (© 2013 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A low volume-fraction limit for martensic microstructures in shape-memory alloys

We consider a variational model for the energy of deformations of shape-memory materials. We restrict ourselves to a scalar-valued, two dimensional simplification with two variants of martensite in which one of the variants has a much smaller volume fraction than the other one. We study the transition between a single phase and fine microstructures and compute the Γ-limit for one volume fraction tending to zero. (© 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Finite Order Rank-One Convex Envelopes and Computation of Microstructures with Laminates in Laminates

Finite order rank-one convex envelopes are introduced and it is shown that the i-th order laminated microstructures, or laminates in laminates, can be solved by any of the k-th order rank-one convex envelopes with k i. It is also shown that in finite element approximations of microstructures, replacing the non-quasiconvex potential energy density by its k-th order rank-one convex envelope, one can generally obtain sharper numerical results. Especially, for crystalline microstructures with laminates in laminates of order no greater than k + 1, numerical results with up to the computer precision can be obtained. Numerical examples on the first and second order rank-one convex envelopes for the Ericksen-James two-dimensional model for elastic crystals are given. A numerical example on finite element approximations of a crystalline microstructure by using the first order rank-one convex envelope and the periodic relaxation method is also presented. The methods turn out to be very successful for microstructures with laminates in laminates.     

Strong Convergence in Stabilised Degenerate Convex Problems

Solutions to non–convex variational problems typically exhibit enforced finer and finer oscillations called microstructures such that the infimal energy is not attained. Those oscillations are physically meaningful, but finite element approximations typically experience dramatic difficulty in their reproduction. The relaxation of the non–convex minimisation problem by (semi–)convexification leads to a macroscopic model for the effective energy. The resulting discrete macroscopic problem is degenerate in the sense that it is convex but not strictly convex. This paper discusses a modified discretisation by adding a stabilisation term to the discrete energy. It will be announced that, for a wide class of problems, this stabilisation technique leads to strong H¹–convergence of the macroscipic variables even on unstructured triangulations. This is in contrast to the work [2] for quasi–uniform triangulations and enables the use of adaptive algorithms for the stabilised formulations. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A 2D level set finite element grain coarsening study with heterogeneous grain boundary energies

In a previous article (Fausty et al., 2018) a new level-set finite element formulation for pure grain growth with heterogeneous grain boundary energies (i.e. one energy per grain interface) was developed and validated for simple configurations. In this work, the authors apply this new tool to the simulation of two dimensional grain growth of polycrystals using different disorientation dependent grain boundary energy functions. The results of these full-field calculations are assessed using the time dependent evolution of the following criteria: grain size, grain number, total interface energy, grain boundary disorientation distribution, grain boundary energy distribution and number of neighboring grains distribution. Of particular interest is the relationship between the grain boundary energy function and the evolution of the grain boundary network in the sense of both its morphology and its constitution. Some notable results are that the disorientation distribution evolution is inversely correlated to the grain boundary energy function itself and that the kinetics of grain growth are heavily effected by the heterogeneity of the system.     

Stochastic upscaling of random microstructures

In this work we present an upscaling technique for multi-scale computations based on random microstructures modelled as realisations of lognormally distributed random fields, or described by randomly distributed inclusions in a homogeneous matrix. Their corresponding coarse-scale model parameters are considered as uncertain, and are approximated by random variables, the distributions of which are obtained via polynomial chaos based Bayesian procedures in which the fine-scale energy is used as an observation. (© 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Modeling of Single Crystal Magnetostriction Based on Numerical Energy Relaxation Techniques

In this work, an incremental energy minimization technique is proposed to simulate the magnetomechanically-coupled, nonlinear, anisotropic and hysteretic response of single crystalline magnetic shape memory alloys (MSMA). The model captures the three key physical mechanisms that cause this characteristic behavior, namely the field- or stress-induced martensite variant reorientation (twin boundary motion), magnetic domain wall motion, and local magnetization rotation, through an (incremental) energy minimizing evolution of internal state variables. Representative numerical response predictions are presented, compared to experimental observations, and discussed with respect to the associated microstructure evolution. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Derivation of effective interface conditions for reaction-diffusion equations

We address the derivation of effective interface conditions for reaction-diffusion systems. The considered system is defined in a domain containing a thin layer that shrinks to the interface when its thickness ε tends to zero. The evolution of the system can be written in the form of an energy balance involving an energy and a dissipation functional. Using the Mosco convergence of the dual of the dissipation functional for ε → 0 it is possible to do a limit passage in the energy balance and obtain a limit system that describes the evolution on the interface. (© 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Plane harmonic wave propagation in three-dimensional composite media

An important characteristic of waves propagating through periodic materials is the existence of stop bands. A stop band implies the range of frequencies over which a medium completely reflects all incident waves and there is no transmission. Predicting stop band phenomena in periodic materials is regarded as the first step toward designing composite microstructures capable of propagating energy in a predetermined manner. In this paper a global–local modeling methodology previously proposed by the authors is used to successively predict stop bands in three-dimensional composite media. Numerical results reveal that the first stop band of the considered microstructures occurs where an acoustic shear mode veers with the lowest optical branch of the same symmetry class.     

On some sharp bounds for the homogenized p-poisson equation

We consider homogenization of a scale of p-Poisson equations in R^N. Some new bounds of the effective energy are proved and compared with the non-linear Wiener -and Hashin-Shtrikman bounds. Moreover, we point out concrete nontrivid examples where these bounds even coincide. Some new examples of “optimal” microstructures are presented.     

Multiscale resolution in the computation of crystalline microstructure

Summary. This paper addresses the numerical approximation of microstructures in crystalline phase transitions without surface energy. It is shown that branching of different variants near interfaces of twinned martensite and austenite phases leads to reduced energies in finite element approximations. Such behavior of minimizing deformations is understood for an extended model that involves surface energies. Moreover, the closely related question of the role of different growth conditions of the employed bulk energy is discussed. By explicit construction of discrete deformations in lowest order finite element spaces we prove upper bounds for the energy and thereby clarify the question of the dependence of the convergence rate upon growth conditions and lamination orders. For first order laminates the estimates are optimal. Mathematics Subject Classification (2000):65K10, 65M50, 65N30, 73C50, 73S10     

Stable long-term simulation of dynamically loaded elastomers

A well–known problem in long–term simulations of flexible solid bodies is the restriction to small time steps of standard time integrators in order to obtain a stable simulation. One approach is to achieve exact energy conservation while simulating a nonlinear elastic body (see Reference [1] and the references therein). Additionally, total linear and total angular momentum is conserved for a free motion. This approach leads to a qualitatively improved solution, because the approximated time evolution exactly fulfills the same physical laws as the exact time evolution. Incorporating energy dissipation, the energy conserving time integration is extended to an energy consistent time integration. It turned out that such an energy consistent time integration is also of great advantage when computing finite motions of flexible solid bodies with material dissipation (see References [2,3]). This paper points out that an energy consistent time discretisation is also advantageous for dynamic finite deformation thermoviscoelasticity under dynamic loads. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)