Fracture prediction for piezoelectric ceramics based on the electric field saturation concept

The electrical field saturation model is applied to the fracture prediction of piezoelectric materials containing electrically impermeable cracks. This model is analogously similar to the electric displacement saturation model that available in the literature. An electrical field saturation strip near the crack front is introduced in the analytical model. The stress intensity factor K and the energy release rate G are obtained in closed-form. It is found that fracture predictions based on K and G criteria are identical. Fracture predictions based on the electric field saturation model and the electric displacement model are also found to be the same.     

Probabilistic Approaches for Optimal Beam DesignBased on Fracture Mechanics

The questions raised in this paper are related to an important class of problems concerning the shape optimization of brittle or quasibrittle elastic bodies with cracks. The optimization problems taken into consideration consist in finding the boundary of a body in such a way that the cost functional (volume of the body) reaches a minimum, while satisfying prescribed bounds on stress intensity factors. These problems are characterized by incomplete information concerning crack size, location and orientation. In this context the paper presents some possible formulations of optimal structural design problems based on probabilistic approaches. Using these approaches optimal designs for beams with surface and internal cracks have been found.Sommario.Il presente lavoro riguarda un'importante classe di problemi di ottimizzazione di forma di corpi elastici fragili o quasi fragili con fratture. I problemi di ottimizzazione considerati consistono nel trovare la forma di un corpo in modo tale che il suo volume sia minimo nel rispetto di alcune condizioni riguardanti il fattore di intensità di sforzo. Questi problemi sono caratterizzati da informazioni incomplete riguardanti le dimensioni della frattura, la sua posizione ed il suo orientamento. In questo contesto il presente lavoro presenta alcune possibili formulazioni del problema di ottimizzazione strutturale basato sull'approccio probabilistico. Usando tali approcci vengono ricavate le forme di travi ottime con fratture interne e di superficie.     

Lamb waves in micropolar thermoelastic solid plates immersed in liquid with varying temperature

In the present paper the theory of micropolar generalized thermoelastic continua has been employed to study the propagation of plane waves in micropolar thermoelastic plates bordered with inviscid liquid layers (or half-spaces) with varying temperature on both sides. The secular equations in closed form and isolated mathematical conditions are derived and discussed. Thin plate and short wave length results have also been deduced under different cases and situations and discussed as special cases of this work. The results in case of conventional coupled and uncoupled theories of thermoelasticity can be obtained both in case of micropolar elastic and elastokinetics from the present analysis by appropriate choice of relevant parameters. The various secular equations and relevant relations have been solved numerically by using functional iteration method in order to illustrate the analytical developments. Effect of characteristic length and coupling factors have also been studied on phase velocity. The computer simulated results in case of phase velocity, attenuation coefficient and specific loss of symmetric and skew symmetric are presented graphically.     

Kinematics and elasticity framework for materials with two fiber families

A kinematics framework is developed for materials with two fiber families that are not necessarily orthogonal or mechanically equivalent. These two latter conditions represent important subclasses that are analyzed. To succinctly define the strain, six scalar strain attributes are developed that have direct physical interpretation. In the hyperelastic limit, this approach allows the Cauchy stress t to be expressed as the sum of six response terms, almost all of which are mutually orthogonal (i.e. 14 of the 15 inner products vanish). For small deformations, the response terms are entirely orthogonal (i.e. all 15 inner products vanish). Experimental advantage is demonstrated for finite strain hyperelastic materials by showing that common tests, for the first time, can directly determine terms in the strain energy function of two fiber composites.Received: 18 September 2002, Accepted: 5 May 2003, Published online: 29 July 2003     

Fracture of piezoelectromagnetic materials

The crack problem in a medium possessing coupled piezoelectric, piezomagnetic and magnetoelectric effects is considered. A conservative integral is derived based on the governing equations for magnetoelectroelastic media. Closed-form solution is obtained for an anti-plane crack in an infinite medium. The conservative integral is used to obtain the path-independent integral near the crack tip. Expressions for stresses, electric displacements and magnetic inductions in the vicinity of a crack tip are derived. It is found that the path-independent integral around the crack tip equals the energy release rate. In the absence of applied mechanical loads, the energy release rate is always negative.     

Electrodynamics and Thermomechanics of Material Bodies

We consider a material body emersed in space and, relative to an aether frame, the balance laws which govern its interaction with an electromagnetic, thermal and mechanical environment. A detailed formulation of a non-relativistic theory for studying thermomechanical–electromagnetic processes in deformable media is presented and certain invariance issues are discussed. The idea of an isolated process in a given aether frame is introduced and we identify a related non-increasing Lyapunov function for such processes. This function suggests the structure of a class of minimization problems within the statical theory and we discuss a typical problem within the area of elastic dielectrics.      

一种复合材料实体的快速剖分算法

剖分是进行有限元计算的前期工作，它主要是通过网格化，将实体划分成具有相同类型的单元。本文采用由外向内的部分思路，利用10节点四面体等参数单元，实现了对三维不对称实体的网格剖分。计算结果表明，使用本文的剖分算法进行后期的有限元计算是十分理想的。     

Flow of a mixture of a viscous fluid and a granular solid in an orthogonal rheometer

In this paper, we study the flow of a linearly viscous fluid and a granular solid, consisting of many particles, situated between two parallel plates rotating about different axes. Flow in orthogonal rheometers has been studied for many viscoelastic fluids so that their rheological properties can be measured. The mixture is modeled using the theory of interacting continua, and constitutive relations for the fluid phase, the granular phase, and the interaction forces are provided. For a very special case, an analytical solution to the equations of motion is also provided.     

Asymptotic Analysis of an Elasticity Equation for a Finger-Like Hydraulic Fracture

We derive a novel integral equation relating the fluid pressure in a finger-like hydraulic fracture to the fracture width. By means of an asymptotic analysis in the small height to length ratio limit we are able to establish the action of the integral operator for receiving points that lie within three distinct regions: (1) an outer expansion region in which the dimensionless pressure is shown to be equal to the dimensionless width plus a small correction term that involves the second derivative of the width, which accounts for the nonlocal effects of the integral operator. The leading order term in this expansion is the classic local elasticity equation in the PKN model that is widely used in the oil and gas industry; (2) an inner expansion region close to the fracture tip within which the action of the elastic integral operator is shown to be the same as that of a finite Hilbert transform associated with a state of plane strain. This result will enable pressure singularities and stress intensity factors to be incorporated into analytic models of these finger-like fractures in order to model the effect of material toughness; (3) an intermediate region within which the action of the Fredholm integral operator of the first kind is reduced to a second kind operator in which the integral term appears as a small perturbation which is associated with a convergent Neumann series. These results are important for deriving analytic models of finger-like hydraulic fractures that are consistent with linear elastic fracture mechanics. Submitted to Journal of Elasticity on February 5, 2007. Re-submitted with revisions on May 30, 2007.     

On the flow of a fluid–particle mixture between two rotating cylinders, using the theory of interacting continua

Mixture theory is used to develop a model for a flowing mixture of solid particulates and a fluid. Equations describing the flow of a two-component mixture consisting of a Newtonian fluid and a granular solid are derived. These relatively general equations are then reduced to a system of coupled ordinary differential equations describing Couette flow between concentric rotating cylinders. The resulting boundary value problem is solved numerically and representative results are presented.     

Optimization of Axisymmetric Membrane Shells Against Brittle Fracture

The questions investigated in this paper are related to an important class of problems of optimal design of structures against brittle fracture. The primary problem of axisymmetric shell optimization under fracture mechanics constraint is formulated as the weight (volume of the shell material) minimization under stress intensity constraints. Considered problems are characterized by incomplete information concerning crack size, crack location and its orientation. Taking into account the factor of incomplete information the paper presents the formulation of optimal shell design problem based on minimax (guaranteed) approach and provides some results of analytical investigation for thin-walled shells with through cracks.     

A Circular Indenter on a Piezoelectric Layer

This paper investigates a piezoelectric layer with a rigid indenter on its surface. Exact solution is given for a piezoelectric medium whose thickness is considerably larger than the diameter of the indenter. Different electrical boundary conditions that employ conducting or insulating indenters are presented. Effect of the permittivity of air (which surrounds the piezoelectric medium) is considered and is found to be negligible. Expressions for the singular mechanical and electric fields near the indenter front are established. Those expressions are useful for investigating the possible failure behavior of piezoelectric material near the indenter front. In addition, a numerical solution technique for an indentured piezoelectric layer of finite thickness is also given.     

Continuum Mechanics Modeling and Simulation of Carbon Nanotubes

The understanding of the mechanics of atomistic systems greatly benefits from continuum mechanics. One appealing approach aims at deductively constructing continuum theories starting from models of the interatomic interactions. This viewpoint has become extremely popular with the quasicontinuum method. The application of these ideas to carbon nanotubes presents a peculiarity with respect to usual crystalline materials: their structure relies on a two-dimensional curved lattice. This renders the cornerstone of crystal elasticity, the Cauchy–Born rule, insufficient to describe the effect of curvature. We discuss the application of a theory which corrects this deficiency to the mechanics of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). We review recent developments of this theory, which include the study of the convergence characteristics of the proposed continuum models to the parent atomistic models, as well as large scale simulations based on this theory. The latter have unveiled the complex nonlinear elastic response of thick multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), with an anomalous elastic regime following an almost absent harmonic range.     

Fracture instability of reinforced panel with cracks emanating from hole

Initiation of failure by yielding and/or fracture depends on the magnitude of the distortion and dilatation of material elements. According to the strain energy density theory (SED), failure is assumed to initiate at the site of the local maximum of maxima [(dW/dV)^max_max]_L by yielding and the maximum of minima [(dW/dV)^max_min]_L by fracture. The fracture is assumed to start from point L where [(dW/dV)^max_min]_L appears and tends toward G where the global maximum of dW/dV minima appears, denoted by [(dW/dV)^max_min]_G. The distance l between L and G along the anticipated crack trajectory is an indication of failure instability of the system by fracture. If l is sufficiently large and [(dW/dV)^max_min]_L exceeds the threshold, fracture initiation could lead to global failure. The local and global failure instability of a composite structural component is studied by application of the strain energy density theory. The depicted configuration is that of a panel with a circular hole reinforced by two side strips made of different material. The case of two symmetric cracks emanating from the hole and normal to the applied uniaxial tensile stress is also analyzed. Results are displayed graphically to illustrate the geometry and dissimilar material properties influence the fracture instability behavior of the two examples.     

Couette flow of granular materials

The flow of granular materials between rotating cylinders is studied using a continuum model proposed by Rajagopal and Massoudi (A method for measuring material moduli for granular materials: flow in an orthogonal rheometer, DOE/PETC/TR90/3, 1990). For a steady, fully developed condition, the governing equations are reduced to a system of coupled non-linear ordinary differential equations. The resulting boundary value problem is non-dimensionalized and is then solved numerically. The effect of material parameters, i.e., dimensionless numbers on the volume fraction and the velocity fields are studied.     

From Non-Linear Elasticity to Linearized Theory: Examples Defying Intuition

Material frame indifference implies that the solution in non-linear elasticity theory for a connected body rigidly rotated at its border is a rigid, stress-free, deformation. If the same problem is considered within linear elasticity theory, considered as an approximation to the true elastic situation, one should expect that if the angle of rotation is small, the body still undergoes a rigid deformation while the corresponding stress, though not zero, remains consistently small. Here, we show that this is true, in general, only for homogeneous bodies. Counterexamples of inhomogeneous bodies are presented for which, whatever small the angle of rotation is, the linear elastic solution is by no means a rigid rotation (in a particular case it is an “explosion”) while the stress may even become infinite. If the same examples are re-interpreted as problems in an elasticity theory based upon genuinely linear constitutive relations which retain their validity also for finite deformations, it is shown that they would deliver constraint reaction forces that are not in equilibrium in the actual, deformed, state. This furnishes another characterization of the impossibility of an exact linear constitutive theory for elastic solids with zero residual stress.      

A generalization of Reiner's mathematical model for wet sand

In this paper we modify the constitutive relation derived by Reiner (1945), to describe dilatancy in wet sand, by suggesting that the shear viscosity would depend on the shear rate and the volume fraction. We then look at the flow of a saturated densely packed bed of particles (with liquid in the pores) between two horizontal flat plates. We obtain exact solutions for a very special case.     

The damage tolerance of elastic-brittle, two-dimensional isotropic lattices

The fracture toughness of elastic-brittle 2D lattices is determined by the finite element method for three isotropic periodic topologies: the regular hexagonal honeycomb, the Kagome lattice and the regular triangular honeycomb. The dependence of mode I and mode II fracture toughness upon relative density is determined for each lattice, and the fracture envelope is obtained in combined mode I-mode II stress intensity factor space. Analytical estimates are also made for the dependence of mode I and mode II toughness upon relative density. The high nodal connectivity of the triangular grid ensures that it deforms predominantly by stretching of the constituent bars, while the hexagonal honeycomb deforms by bar bending. The Kagome microstructure deforms by bar stretching remote from the crack tip, and by a combination of bar bending and bar stretching within a characteristic elastic deformation zone near the crack tip. This elastic zone reduces the stress concentration at the crack tip in the Kagome lattice and leads to an elevated macroscopic toughness.Predictions are given for the tensile and shear strengths of a centre-cracked panel with microstructure given explicitly by each of the three topologies. The hexagonal and triangular honeycombs are flaw-sensitive, with a strength adequately predicted by linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) for cracks spanning more than a few cells. In contrast, the Kagome microstructure is damage tolerant, and for cracks shorter than a transition length its tensile strength and shear strength are independent of crack length but are somewhat below the unnotched strength. At crack lengths exceeding the transition value, the strength decreases with increasing crack length in accordance with the LEFM estimate. This transition crack length scales with the parameter of bar length divided by relative density of the Kagome grid, and can be an order of magnitude greater than the cell size at low relative densities. Finally, the presence of a boundary layer is noted at the free edge of a crack-free Kagome grid loaded in tension and in shear. Deformation within this boundary layer is by a combination of bar bending and stretching whereas remote from the free edge the Kagome grid deforms by bar stretching (with a negligible contribution from bar bending). The edge boundary layer degrades both the macroscopic stiffness and strength of the Kagome plate. No such boundary layer is evident for the hexagonal and triangular honeycombs.     

A mode III crack in functionally graded piezoelectric materials

This paper considers the mode III crack problem in functionally graded piezoelectric materials. The mechanical and the electrical properties of the medium are considered for a class of functional forms for which the equilibrium equations have an analytical solution. The problem is solved by means of singular integral equation technique. Both a single crack and a series of collinear cracks are investigated. The results are plotted to show the effect of the material inhomogeneity on the stress and the electric displacement intensity factors.