A Note on the Thermomechanics of Curvature Flows in IR3 and on Surfaces in IR3

Equations for the evolution of curves in IR³ and on surfaces in IR³ are derived from a configurational force balance, a mechanical version of the second law, and suitable constitutive assumptions. Both the isotropic and anisotropic cases are considered.Sommario.In questo lavoro si derivano le equazioni di evoluzione per curve in IR³ e su superfici di IR³, utilizzando un bilancio di forze configurazionali, una versione meccanica del secondo principio e opportune ipotesi costitutive. Sono trattati sia il caso isotropo che anisotropo.     

Multiscale analysis of the transverse properties of Ti-based matrix composites reinforced by SiC fibres: from the grain scale to the macroscopic scale

It is well known that the presence of continuous fibres in SiC/Ti composites leads to a high mechanical anisotropy of the composite between the longitudinal and the two transverse directions. But it is also possible that the crystallographic texture of the matrix may lead to a non-negligible anisotropy of the mechanical properties of the composite. The crystallographic orientation of the matrix grains was determined using the Electron BackScattering Diffraction technique. A local texture of the matrix of the composite is thus evidenced. Finite Element calculations are used to determine the stress field in the matrix resulting from an applied transverse loading. The representative mechanical quantities thus determined are discussed in relation with the fundamental mechanisms of plastic deformation of the matrix. Finally, the crystallographic texture of the matrix of the composite is taken into account in the numerical modellings using a three-scale model that combines crystal plasticity, a polycrystalline aggregate model and a periodic homogenization through a Finite Element unit cell for the composite analysis.     

CDPM2: A damage-plasticity approach to modelling the failure of concrete

A constitutive model based on the combination of damage mechanics and plasticity is developed to analyse the failure of concrete structures. The aim is to obtain a model, which describes the important characteristics of the failure process of concrete subjected to multiaxial loading. This is achieved by combining an effective stress based plasticity model with a damage model based on plastic and elastic strain measures. The model response in tension, uni-, bi- and triaxial compression is compared to experimental results. The model describes well the increase in strength and displacement capacity for increasing confinement levels. Furthermore, the model is applied to the structural analyses of tensile and compressive failure.     

On the relevance of Continuum Damage Mechanics as applied to the Mullins effect in elastomers

The present paper reports and rationalizes the use of Continuum Damage Mechanics (CDM) to describe the Mullins effect in elastomers. Thermodynamics of rubber-like hyperelastic materials with isotropic damage is considered. Since it is demonstrated that stress-softening is not strictly speaking a damage phenomenon, the limitations of the CDM approach are highlighted. Moreover, connections with two-network-based constitutive models proposed by other authors are exhibited through the choice of both the damage criterion and the measure of deformation. Experimental data are used to establish the evolution equation of the stress-softening variable, and the choice of the maximum deformation endured previously by the material as the damage criterion is revealed as questionable. Nevertheless, the present model agrees qualitatively well with experiments except to reproduce the strain-hardening phenomenon that takes place as reloading paths rejoin the primary loading path. Finally, the numerical implementation highlights the influence of loading paths on material response and thereby demonstrates the importance of considering the Mullins effect in industrial design.     

A theory and a simulation capability for the growth of a solid electrolyte interphase layer at an anode particle in a Li-ion battery

A major mechanism for electrochemical aging of Li-ion batteries is the growth of a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer on the surface of anode particles, which leads to capacity fade and also results in a rise in cell resistance. We have formulated a continuum theory for the growth of an SEI layer—a theory which accounts for the generation of the attendant growth stresses. The theory has been numerically implemented in a finite-element program. This simulation capability for SEI growth is coupled with our previously published chemo-mechanical simulation capability for intercalation of Li-ions in electrode particles. Using this new combined capability we have simulated the formation and growth of an SEI layer during cyclic lithiation and delithiation of an anode particle, and predicted the evolution of the growth stresses in the SEI layer. The evolution of the stress state within the SEI layer and at the SEI/anode-particle interface for spherical- and spheroidal-shaped graphite particles is studied. This knowledge of the local interfacial stresses provides a good estimate for the propensity of potential delamination of an SEI layer from an anode particle.     

Photoelastic simulation of the stress wave field around a tunnel in an anisotropic rock mass subject to shock load

The stress wave field around a tunnel in an anisotropic medium subject to shock load is analyzed using the dynamic photoelastic method. The influence of various factors on the distribution and magnitude of boundary stresses around the tunnel are studied by simulating the deformation process. The time dependence of the dynamic stress concentration factor on the tunnel walls is established __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 42, No. 8, pp. 122–125, August 2006.     

Development of a distributed dislocation dipole technique for the analysis of multiple straight,kinked and branched cracks in an elastic half-plane

A distributed dislocation dipole technique for the analysis of multiple straight, kinked and branched cracks in an elastic half plane has been developed. The dipole density distribution is represented with a weighted Jacobi polynomial expansion where the weight function captures the asymptotic behaviour at each end of the crack. To allow for opening and sliding at crack kinking and branching the dipole density representation contains conditional extra terms which fulfills the asymptotic behaviour at each endpoint. Several test cases involving straight, kinked and branched cracks have been analysed, and the results suggest that the accuracy of the method is within 1% provided that Jacobi polynomial expansions up to at least the sixth order are used. Adopting even higher order Jacobi polynomials yields improved accuracy. The method is compared to a simplified procedure suggested in the literature where stress singularities associated with corners at kinking or branching are neglected in the representation for the dipole density distribution. The comparison suggests that both procedures work, but that the current procedure is superior, in as much as the same accuracy is reached using substantially lower order polynomial expansions.     

On the overall behavior, microstructure evolution, and macroscopic stability in reinforced rubbers at large deformations: II—Application to cylindrical fibers

In Part I of this paper, we presented a general homogenization framework for determining the overall behavior, the evolution of the underlying microstructure, and the possible onset of macroscopic instabilities in fiber-reinforced elastomers subjected to finite deformations. In this work, we make use of this framework to generate specific results for general plane-strain loading of elastomers reinforced with aligned, cylindrical fibers. For the special case of rigid fibers and incompressible behavior for the matrix phase, closed-form, analytical results are obtained. The results suggest that the evolution of the microstructure has a dramatic effect on the effective response of the composite. Furthermore, in spite of the fact that both the matrix and the fibers are assumed to be strongly elliptic, the homogenized behavior is found to lose strong ellipticity at sufficiently large deformations, corresponding to the possible development of macroscopic instabilities [Geymonat, G., Müller, S., Triantafyllidis, N., 1993. Homogenization of nonlinearly elastic materials, macroscopic bifurcation and macroscopic loss of rank-one convexity. Arch. Rat. Mech. Anal. 122, 231-290]. The connection between the evolution of the microstructure and these macroscopic instabilities is put into evidence. In particular, when the reinforced elastomers are loaded in compression along the long, in-plane axis of the fibers, a certain type of “flopping” instability is detected, corresponding to the composite becoming infinitesimally soft to rotation of the fibers.     

A methodology for an accurate evaluation of the linearization procedures in nonlinear mean field homogenization

A systematic methodology for the evaluation of the linearization procedures sustaining mean field homogenization theories for nonlinear composite materials is proposed and applied as an illustration to various recently proposed ‘affine’ and ‘second-order’ formulations for nonlinear elasticity. It relies on the analysis of composites for which both the exact nonlinear homogenization problem and the homogenization problem associated with the ‘linear comparison material’ defined by the linearization procedure can be solved numerically with the same accuracy and for the same microstructure. The comparison of the results then provides a rigorous evaluation of the effects of the sole linearization method. To cite this article: A. Rekik et al., C. R. Mecanique 333 (2005).     

On the overall behavior, microstructure evolution, and macroscopic stability in reinforced rubbers at large deformations: I—Theory

This work presents an analytical framework for determining the overall constitutive response of elastomers that are reinforced by rigid or compliant fibers, and are subjected to finite deformations. The framework accounts for the evolution of the underlying microstructure, including particle rotation, which results from the finite changes in geometry that are induced by the applied loading. In turn, the evolution of the microstructure can have a significant geometric softening (or hardening) effect on the overall response, leading to the possible development of macroscopic instabilities through loss of strong ellipticity of the homogenized incremental moduli. The theory is based on a recently developed “second-order” homogenization method, which makes use of information on both the first and second moments of the fields in a suitably chosen “linear comparison composite,” and generates fairly explicit estimates—linearizing properly—for the large-deformation effective response of the reinforced elastomers. More specific applications of the results developed in this paper will be presented in Part II.     

Analytic calculation of the stresses in an ensiled granular mediumCalcul analytique des contraintes dans un matériau granulaire ensilé

We present in this Note a new analytic approach, of continuous medium type, which improves the Janssen theory and enables us to calculate the stresses in an ensiled granular medium. This approach is based on the two dimensional equilibrium equations, coupled with the Mohr–Coulomb criterion and a slip condition at the walls of the silo. An analytic resolution is developed to compute the stresses for cohesive and non cohesive materials in the whole silo. To cite this article: O. Millet et al., C. R. Mecanique 334 (2006).     

Informed consent and subject motivation to participate in a large, population-based genomics study: the Marshfield Clinic Personalized Medicine Research Project

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to measure subject perspective and reaction to participation in the Personalized Medicine Research Project (PMRP) and to identify factors predicting understanding of the study elements. METHOD: Self-administered questionnaires were mailed to 1,593 subjects (10% sample). The questionnaire had three sections: section A consisted of 21 factual questions; section B consisted of 14 questions to assess the level of understanding about the PMRP concepts, and section C asked about the purpose of the PMRP. RESULTS: The mean age of the 924 survey respondents was 52 years (SD = 16.9), with a range of 18-95 years. The majority of participants were female (n = 561, 61%). The percent of total correct responses for section A was significantly higher for females compared with males (males: 58.4% and females: 60.4%, t test = -2.18, p = 0.03) and age was significantly inversely related to percent of correct responses (beta coefficient = -0.122, p < 0.001). More than one third of the participants indicated that the USD 20 greatly influenced their decision to participate in the project. In a multiple logistic regression model, people living outside of Marshfield were significantly more likely to indicate that the USD 20 greatly influenced their decision to participate (odds ratio = 1.40, 95% confidence limit = 1.06, 1.86) and age was inversely related to the monetary influence on decision to participate (odds ratio = 0.98, 95% confidence limit = 0.97, 0.98). CONCLUSION: Future community consultation efforts should highlight areas of lower understanding. In addition, research coordinators may need to take more time informing males and older individuals about project details so that they are making truly informed decisions about study participation.     

Transition of mode II cracks from sub-Rayleigh to intersonic speeds in the presence of favorable heterogeneity

Understanding sub-Rayleigh-to-intersonic transition of mode II cracks is a fundamental problem in fracture mechanics with important practical implications for earthquake dynamics and seismic radiation. In the Burridge-Andrews mechanism, an intersonic daughter crack nucleates, for sufficiently high prestress, at the shear stress peak traveling with the shear wave speed in front of the main crack. We find that sub-Rayleigh-to-intersonic transition and sustained intersonic propagation occurs in a number of other models that subject developing cracks to intersonic loading fields. We consider a spontaneously expanding sub-Rayleigh crack (or main crack) which advances, along a planar interface with linear slip-weakening friction, towards a place of favorable heterogeneity, such as a preexisting subcritical crack or a small patch of higher prestress (similar behavior is expected for a small patch of lower static strength). For a range of model parameters, a secondary dynamic crack nucleates at the heterogeneity and acquires intersonic speeds due to the intersonic stress field propagating in front of the main crack. Transition to intersonic speeds occurs directly at the tip of the secondary crack, with the tip accelerating rapidly to values numerically equal to the Rayleigh wave speed and then abruptly jumping to an intersonic speed. Models with favorable heterogeneity achieve intersonic transition and propagation for much lower prestress levels than the ones implied by the Burridge-Andrews mechanism and have transition distances that depend on the position of heterogeneity. We investigate the dependence of intersonic transition and subsequent crack propagation on model parameters and discuss implications for earthquake dynamics.     

Evolution of fabric tensors in damage mechanics of solids with micro-cracks: Part II – Evolution of length and orientation of micro-cracks with an application to uniaxial tension

In Part II of this work, the equations of thermodynamics are employed in order to derive the exact evolution equations of the fabric tensors defined in Part I (companion paper). In this regard, a thermodynamic force that is associated with the fabric tensor is defined and utilized in the derivation of the evolution equations. A special case of uniaxial tension is solved in order to illustrate the theory.We also derive specific uncoupled equations for the evolution of the length and orientation of micro-cracks. In this regard, some interesting results are obtained. It is concluded that the micro-crack length and orientation cannot evolve simultaneously for the same set of micro-cracks. However, two different sets of micro-cracks may be considered in the same RVE where in one set the micro-crack length evolves, while in the second set the micro-crack orientation evolves.     

On the self-similar solution to the Euler equations for an incompressible fluid in three dimensions

The equations for a self-similar solution to an inviscid incompressible fluid are mapped into an integral equation that hopefully can be solved by iteration. It is argued that the exponents of the similarity are ruled by Kelvin's theorem of conservation of circulation. The end result is an iteration with a nonlinear term entering a kernel given by a 3D integral for a swirling flow, likely within reach of present-day computational power. Because of the slow decay of the similarity solution at large distances, its kinetic energy diverges, and some mathematical results excluding non-trivial solutions of the Euler equations in the self-similar case do not apply.