A microstructure continuum approach to electromagneto-elastic conductors

A micromorphic continuum model of a deformable electromagnetic conductor is established introducing microdensities of bound and free charges. The conductive part of electric current consists of contributions due to free charges and microdeformation. Beside the conservation of charge, we derive suitable evolution equations for electric multipoles which are exploited to obtain the macroscopic form of Maxwell’s equations. A constitutive model for electromagneto-elastic conductors is considered which allows for a natural characterization of perfect conductors independently on the form of the constitutive equation for the conduction current. A generalized Ohm’s law is also derived for not ideal conductors which accounts for relaxation effects. The consequences of the linearized Ohm’s law on the classic magnetic transport equation are shown.     

A Lagrangian-based continuum homogenization approach applicable to molecular dynamics simulations

The continuum notions of effective mechanical quantities as well as the conditions that give meaningful deformation processes for homogenization problems with large deformations are reviewed. A continuum homogenization model is presented and recast as a Lagrangian-based approach for heterogeneous media that allows for an extension to discrete systems simulated via molecular dynamics (MD). A novel constitutive relation for the effective stress is derived so that the proposed Lagrangian-based approach can be used for the determination of the “stress–deformation” behavior of particle systems. The paper is concluded with a careful comparison between the proposed method and the Parrinello–Rahman approach to the determination of the “stress–deformation” behavior for MD systems. When compared with the Parrinello–Rahman method, the proposed approach clearly delineates under what conditions the Parrinello–Rahman scheme is valid.     

A tessellated continuum approach to thermal analysis: discontinuity networks

Tessellated continuum mechanics is an approach for the representation of thermo-mechanical behaviour of porous media on tessellated continua. It involves the application of iteration function schemes using affine contraction and expansion maps, respectively, for the creation of porous fractal materials and associated tessellated continua. Highly complex geometries can be produced using a modest number of contraction mappings. The associated tessellations form the mesh in a numerical procedure. This paper tests the hypothesis that thermal analysis of porous structures can be achieved using a discontinuous Galerkin finite element method on a tessellation. Discontinuous behaviour is identified at a discontinuity network in a tessellation; its use is shown to provide a good representation of the physics relating to cellular heat exchanger designs. Results for different cellular designs (with corresponding tessellations) are contrasted against those obtained from direct analysis and very high accuracy is observed.     

A nonlinear generalized continuum approach for electro-elasticity including scale effects

Materials characterized by an electro-mechanically coupled behaviour fall into the category of so-called smart materials. In particular, electro-active polymers (EAP) recently attracted much interest, because, upon electrical loading, EAP exhibit a large amount of deformation while sustaining large forces. This property can be utilized for actuators in electro-mechanical systems, artificial muscles and so forth. When it comes to smaller structures, it is a well-known fact that the mechanical response deviates from the prediction of classical mechanics theory. These scale effects are due to the fact that the size of the microscopic material constituents of such structures cannot be considered to be negligible small anymore compared to the structure's overall dimensions. In this context so-called generalized continuum formulations have been proven to account for the micro-structural influence to the macroscopic material response. Here, we want to adopt a strain gradient approach based on a generalized continuum framework [Sansour, C., 1998. A unified concept of elastic-viscoplastic Cosserat and micromorphic continua. J. Phys. IV Proc. 8, 341-348; Sansour, C., Skatulla, S., 2007. A higher gradient formulation and meshfree-based computation for elastic rock. Geomech. Geoeng. 2, 3-15] and extend it to also encompass the electro-mechanically coupled behaviour of EAP. The approach introduces new strain and stress measures which lead to the formulation of a corresponding generalized variational principle. The theory is completed by Dirichlet boundary conditions for the displacement field and its derivatives normal to the boundary as well as the electric potential. The basic idea behind this generalized continuum theory is the consideration of a micro- and a macro-space which together span the generalized space. As all quantities are defined in this generalized space, also the constitutive law, which is in this work conventional electro-mechanically coupled nonlinear hyperelasticity, is embedded in the generalized continuum. In this way material information of the micro-space, which are here only the geometrical specifications of the micro-continuum, can naturally enter the constitutive law. Several applications with moving least square-based approximations (MLS) demonstrate the potential of the proposed method. This particular meshfree method is chosen, as it has been proven to be highly flexible with regard to continuity and consistency required by this generalized approach.     

A phenomenological and extended continuum approach for modelling non-equilibrium flows

This paper presents a new technique that combines Grad’s 13-moment equations (G13) with a phenomenological approach to rarefied gas flows. This combination and the proposed solution technique capture some important non-equilibrium phenomena that appear in the early continuum-transition flow regime. In contrast to the fully coupled 13-moment equation set, a significant advantage of the present solution technique is that it does not require extra boundary conditions explicitly; Grad’s equations for viscous stress and heat flux are used as constitutive relations for the conservation equations instead of being solved as equations of transport. The relative computational cost of this novel technique is low in comparison to other methods, such as fully coupled solutions involving many moments or discrete methods. In this study, the proposed numerical procedure is tested on a planar Couette flow case, and the results are compared to predictions obtained from the direct simulation Monte Carlo method. This test case highlights the presence of normal viscous stresses and tangential heat fluxes that arise from non-equilibrium phenomena, which cannot be captured by the Navier–Stokes–Fourier constitutive equations or phenomenological modifications.      

A texture based continuum approach for predicting the plastic behaviour of rolled sheet

A simple analytical model is proposed for predicting the plastic behaviour of orthotropic materials, considered as aggregates of cubic crystals. The behaviour of a single texture component is first described by a quadratic yield equation reduced to the case of cubic symmetry. A combination procedure of the components, using two different assumptions, is then presented. It turns out that the overall plasticity criterion is itself a Hill type quadratic equation, the associated orthotropy parameters of which are analytically derived. Comparison with experiment is carried out with results of the literature as well as direct measurements. Finally, the special case of axially symmetric materials is analyzed.     

A continuum approach to the analysis of the stress field in a fiber reinforced composite with a transverse crack

The stress field in a periodically layered composite with an embedded crack oriented in the normal direction to the layering and subjected to a tensile far-field loading is obtained based on the continuum equations of elasticity. This geometry models the 2D problem of fiber reinforced materials with a transverse crack. The analysis is based on the combination of the representative cell method and the higher-order theory. The representative cell method is employed for the construction of Green’s functions for the displacements jumps along the crack line. The problem of the infinite domain is reduced, in conjunction with the discrete Fourier transform, to a finite domain (representative cell) on which the Born–von Karman type boundary conditions are applied. In the framework of the higher-order theory, the transformed elastic field is determined by a second-order expansion of the displacement vector in terms of local coordinates, in conjunction with the equilibrium equations and these boundary conditions. The accuracy of the proposed approach is verified by a comparison with the analytical solution for a crack embedded in a homogeneous plane.Results show the effects of crack lengths, fiber volume fractions, ratios of fiber to matrix Young’s moduli and matrix Poisson’s ratio on the resulting elastic field at various locations of interest. Comparisons with the predictions obtained from the shear lag theory are presented.     

A continuum based modelling approach for adhesively bonded piezo-transducers for EMI technique

In the electro-mechanical impedance (EMI) technique, which is based on induced strain actuation through piezoelectric ceramic (PZT) patch, the knowledge of shear stress distribution in the adhesive bond layer between the patch and the host structure is very pertinent for reliable health monitoring of structures. The analytical derivation of continuum based shear lag model covered in this paper aims to provide an improved and more accurate model for shear force interaction between the host structure and the PZT patch (assumed square for simplicity) through the adhesive bond layer, taking care of all the piezo, structural and adhesive effects rigorously and simultaneously. Further, it eliminates the hassle of determining the equivalent impedance of the structure and the actuator separately, as required in the previous models, which was approximate in nature. The results are compared with the previous models to highlight the higher accuracy of the new approach. Based on the new model, a continuum based interaction term has been derived for quantification of the shear lag and inertia effects.     

How to compute plastic zones of heterogeneous materials: A simple approach using classical continuum and fracture mechanics

This is a short technical paper on how to use classical continuum and fracture mechanics to calculate the plastic zones caused by cracks on heterogeneous or composite materials. As an example, a sample consisting of an α-phase and β-phase is used. A crack is introduced to the sample, and stress is then applied. The plastic zone in front of the crack resulting from the applied stress is then calculated using commercial software. The concept uses two-level modeling: a global model using homogenized stiffness from a unit cell of heterogeneous material and a local model for the α-phase and β-phase. While this paper is written for general purposes, a concrete example using ferrite and martensite is also presented along with the experimental data. General agreement between the model and the experiment is observed. This method eliminates the need for a cumbersome analytical approach.     

A continuum traffic flow model with the consideration of coupling effect for two-lane freeways

A new higher-order continuum model is proposed by considering the coupling and lane changing effects of the vehicles on two adjacent lanes. A stability analysis of the proposed model provides the conditions that ensure its linear stability. Issues related to lane changing, shock waves and rarefaction waves, local clustering and phase transition are also investigated with numerical experiments. The simulation results show that the proposed model is capable of providing explanations to some particular traffic phenomena commonly observable in real traffic flows.     

Strong discontinuities and continuum plasticity models: the strong discontinuity approach

The paper presents the Strong Discontinuity Approach for the analysis and simulation of strong discontinuities in solids using continuum plasticity models. Kinematics of weak and strong discontinuities are discussed, and a regularized kinematic state of discontinuity is proposed as a mean to model the formation of a strong discontinuity as the collapsed state of a weak discontinuity (with a characteristic bandwidth) induced by a bifurcation of the stress–strain field, which propagates in the solid domain. The analysis of the conditions to induce the bifurcation provides a critical value for the bandwidth at the onset of the weak discontinuity and the direction of propagation. Then a variable bandwidth model is proposed to characterize the transition between the weak and strong discontinuity regimes. Several aspects related to the continuum and, their associated, discrete constitutive equations, the expended power in the formation of the discontinuity and relevant computational details related to the finite element simulations are also discussed. Finally, some representative numerical simulations are shown to illustrate the proposed approach.     

A new micromechanical approach of micropolar continuum modeling for 2-D periodic cellular material

In this paper, we present a new united approach to formulate the equivalent micropolar constitutive relation of two-dimensional (2-D) periodic cellular material to capture its non-local properties and to explain the size effects in its structural analysis. The new united approach takes both the displacement compatibility and the equilibrium of forces and moments into consideration, where Taylor series expansion of the displacement and rotation fields and the extended aver-aging procedure with an explicit enforcement of equilibrium are adopted in the micromechanical analysis of a unit cell. In numerical examples, the effective micropolar constants obtained in this paper and others derived in the literature are used for the equivalent micropolar continuum simulation of cellular solids. The solutions from the equivalent analysis are compared with the discrete simulation solutions of the cellu-lar solids. It is found that the micropolar constants developed in this paper give satisfying results of equivalent analysis for the periodic cellular material.     

Constructing an analytical solution for lamb waves using the cosserat continuum approach

The problem of propagation of a Lamb elastic wave in a thin plate is considered using the Cosserat continuum model. The deformed state is characterized by independent displacement and rotation vectors. Solutions of the equations of motion are sought in the form of wave packets specified by a Fourier spectrum of an arbitrary shape for three components of the displacement vector and three components of the rotation vector which depend on time, depth, and the longitudinal coordinate. The initial system of equations is split into two systems, one of which describes a Lamb wave and the second corresponds to a transverse wave whose amplitude depends on depth. Analytical solutions in displacements are obtained for the waves of both types. Unlike the solution for Lamb waves, the solution obtained for the transverse wave has no analogs in classical elasticity theory. The solution for the transverse wave is compared with the solution for the Lamb wave. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 143–150, January–February, 2007. An erratum to this article is available at .