Revisiting poromechanics in the context of microporous materials

Poromechanics offers a consistent theoretical framework for describing the mechanical response of porous solids, fully or partially saturated with a fluid phase. When dealing with fully saturated microporous materials, which exhibit pores of the nanometre size, aside from the fluid pressure acting on the pore walls additional effects due to adsorption and confinement of the fluid molecules in the smallest pores must be accounted for. From the mechanical point of view, these phenomena result into volumetric deformations of the porous solid: the so-called “swelling” phenomenon. The present work investigates how the poromechanical theory should be refined in order to describe adsorption and confinement induced swelling in microporous solids. Firstly, we report molecular simulation results that show that the pressure and density of the fluid in the smallest pores are responsible for the volumetric deformation of the material. Secondly, poromechanics is revisited in the context of a microporous material with a continuous pore size distribution. Accounting for the thermodynamic equilibrium of the fluid phase in the overall pore space, the new formulation introduces an apparent porosity and an interaction free energy. We use a prototype constitutive relation relating these two quantities to the Gibbs adsorption isotherm, and then calculate the induced deformation of the solid matrix. Agreement with experimental data found in the literature is observed. As an illustrating example, we show the predicted strains in the case of adsorption of methane on activated carbon.     

Micromechanical analysis of the behavior of stiff clay

Cementations formed in geological timescale are observed in various stiff clays.A micromechanical stress strain model is developed for modeling the effect of cementation on the deformation behavior of stiff clay.The proposed approach considers explicitly cementations at intercluster contacts,which is different from conventional model.The concept of inter-cluster bonding is introduced to account for an additional cohesion in shear sliding and a higher yield stress in normal compression.A damage law for inter-cluster bonding is proposed at cluster contacts for the debonding process during mechanical loading.The model is used to simulate numerous stress-path tests on Vallericca stiff clay.The applicability of the present model is evaluated through comparisons between the predicted and the measured results.In order to explain the stress-induced anisotropy arising from externally applied load,the evolution of local stresses and local strains at inter-cluster planes are discussed.     

Prediction of elastic properties of heterogeneous materials with complex microstructures

The phase-field microelasticity (PFM) is adapted into a homogenization process to predict all the effective elastic constants of three-dimensional heterogeneous materials with complex microstructures. Comparison between the PFM approach and the Hashin-Shtrikman variational approach is also given. Using 3D images of two-phase heterogeneous media with regular and irregular microstructures, results indicate that the PFM approach can accurately take into account the effects of both elastic anisotropy and inhomogeneity of materials with arbitrary microstructure geometry, such as complex porous media with suspended inclusions.     

A variational formulation for the incremental homogenization of elasto-plastic composites

This work addresses the micro–macro modeling of composites having elasto-plastic constituents. A new model is proposed to compute the effective stress–strain relation along arbitrary loading paths. The proposed model is based on an incremental variational principle (Ortiz, M., Stainier, L., 1999. The variational formulation of viscoplastic constitutive updates. Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 171, 419–444) according to which the local stress–strain relation derives from a single incremental potential at each time step. The effective incremental potential of the composite is then estimated based on a linear comparison composite (LCC) with an effective behavior computed using available schemes in linear elasticity. Algorithmic elegance of the time-integration of J₂ elasto-plasticity is exploited in order to define the LCC. In particular, the elastic predictor strain is used explicitly. The method yields a homogenized yield criterion and radial return equation for each phase, as well as a homogenized plastic flow rule. The predictive capabilities of the proposed method are assessed against reference full-field finite element results for several particle-reinforced composites.     

Effect of inner gas pressure on the elastoplastic behavior of porous materials: A second-order moment micromechanics model

A new micromechanics model based on the second-order moment of stress is established to investigate the effect of gas pressure on the nonlinear macroscopic constitutive relationship of the porous materials. The analytical method agrees well with numerical simulation based on the finite element method. Through a systematic study, we find that the gas pressure has a prominent effect on the nonlinear deformation behavior of the porous materials. The gas pressure can cause tension–compression asymmetry on the uniaxial stress–strain curve and the nominal Poisson’s ratio. The pore pressure significantly reduces the initial yield strength and failure strength of the porous metals, especially when the relative density of the material is small. The gas phase also strongly compromises the composite strength when the temperature is increased. The model may be useful for the evaluation of mechanical integrity of porous materials under various working conditions and working temperatures.     

On the modeling of hardening in metals during non-proportional loading

The purpose of the current work is the formulation and initial application of a phenomenological model for hardening effects in metals subject to non-proportional loading histories characterized by one or more loading-path changes. This model is closely related to the incremental model of Teodosiu and Hu [Teodosiu, C., Hu, Z., 1995. Evolution of the intragranular microstructure at moderate and large strains: modelling and computational significance. In: Shen, S.F., Dawson, P.R. (Eds.), Simulation of Materials Processing: Theory, Methods and Applications. Balkema, Rotterdam, pp. 173–182; Teodosiu, C., Hu, Z., 1998. Microstructure in the continuum modelling of plastic anisotropy. In: Proceedings of 19th Risø International Symposium on Material’s Science: Modelling of Structure and Mechanics of Materials from Microscale to Product. Risø National Laboratory, Roskilde, Denmark, pp. 149–168]. Like their model, the current model captures in particular hardening stagnation after a load reversal as well as cross-hardening after orthogonal loading-path changes. On the other hand, the two models predict qualitatively different behavior during loading-path changes which take place purely in the inelastic range. Such is the case for example during orthogonal loading-path changes from uniaxial tension to simple shear without release, or during monotonic simple shear, or during deep-drawing. As shown by the experimental results reported on in the current work for the mild steel DC06, significant cross-hardening can occur during continuous orthogonal loading-path changes. Beyond this, the current model accounts in an approximate way for the possible effects of texture development on the material behavior with the help of the plastic spin. After investigating the behavior of the current model for various ideal two-stage loading histories (e.g., tension-shear), the current work ends with a comparison of standard combined hardening and current approaches in the context of the simulation of internal stress development and residual stresses during deep-drawing and the resultant springback after ring-splitting.     

Numerical investigation of the propagation of shock waves in rigid porous materials: flow field behavior and parametric study

A numerical parametric study of the flow field which develops when a planar shock wave impinge on a rigid porous material is presented. This study complements an earlier study (Levy et al. 1996a) where the values of some dominating parameters were estimated and the dependence of the resulting flow field on these values was not checked. Received 22 April 1996 / Accepted 5 January 1997     

Effective equations for two-phase flow in porous media: the effect of trapping on the microscale

In this article, we consider a two-phase flow model in a heterogeneous porous column. The medium consists of many homogeneous layers that are perpendicular to the flow direction and have a periodic structure resulting in a one-dimensional flow. Trapping may occur at the interface between a coarse and a fine layer. Assuming that capillary effects caused by the surface tension are in balance with the viscous effects, we apply the homogenization approach to derive an effective (upscaled) model. Numerical experiments show a good agreement between the effective solution and the averaged solution taking into account the detailed microstructure.     

Effect of the rate of deformation on the crystallization behavior of polymers

Deformation has a significant influence on the crystallization process in a number of polymers. In this paper, the response of a recently developed model for crystallizing polymers is investigated when subject to uni-, bi-axial and constant width extensions for a range of strain rates. Both the loading and unloading behavior are examined for these deformations. The particular model studied here was developed to capture the effect of strain induced crystallization in polymers and has been applied to model crystallization in polyethylene terephthalate at temperatures just above its glass transition temperature. The model has been formulated using the notion of multiple natural configurations within a full thermodynamic framework. The connection between micro-structural changes taking place in the polymer and the form of the model are elucidated. The interplay between the relaxation processes, the rate of deformation and their combined effect on crystallization is illustrated. The results show an earlier onset of crystallization for high strain rates due to stretching of the polymer network. At low strain rates however, crystallization is not observed as the polymer network is able to relax during the deformation. A sharp upturn in the stress is observed after the onset of crystallization due to the formation of a rigid crystalline phase. The unloading curves clearly show a hysteric behavior with the amount of dissipation increasing for increasing values of strain rate. These results compare favorably with experimental observations available in literature.     

Influence of mixture sensitivity and pore size on detonation velocities in porous media

Experiments have been carried out to determine the dependence of the detonation velocity in porous media, on mixture sensitivity and pore size. A detonation is established at the top end of a vertical tube and allowed to propagate to the bottom section housing the porous bed, comprised of alumina spheres of equal diameter (1–32 mm). Several of the common detonable fuels were tested at atmospheric initial pressure. Results indicate the existence of a continuous range of velocities with change in Φ, spanning the lean and the rich propagation limits. For all fuels in a given porous bed, the velocity decreases from a maximum value at the most sensitive mixture near Φ≈1 (minimum induction length), toV/V _CJ≈0.3 at the limits. A decrease in pore size brings about a reduction inV/V _CJ and a narrowing of the detonability range for each fuel. For porous media comprised of spherical particles, it was possible to correlate the velocity data corresponding to a variety of different mixtures and for a broad range of particle sizes, using the following empirical expression:V/V _CJ=[1–0.35 log(d _c /d _p)]±0.1. The critical tube diameterd _c is used as a measure of mixture sensitivity andd _p denotes the pore diameter. An examination of the phenomenon at the composition limits, suggests that wave failure is controlled by a turbulent quenching mechanism.     

Predicting the Permeability of Very Low Porosity Sandstones

The permeability predictions of two geometric pore-scale models, one being predominantly granular and the other consolidated with tube-like pores, are compared with experimental results for Fontainebleau sandstones and the results interpreted. Percolation thresholds are determined from experimental data and applied in the modelling exercise by means of cut-off asymptotes on porosity. It is found that, although both granular and foamlike models yield plausible results, the granular model appears to be superior, at least for the sets of data considered. The Klinkenberg correction is analytically derived and incorporated into the models to relate gas and liquid permeabilities and an analytical expression for the Klinkenberg factor is proposed for each model. The permeability predictions are promising and yield an effective manner to correlate sandstone percolation data.     

Analysis of matching conditions at the boundary surface of a fluid-saturated porous solid and a bulk fluid: the use of Lagrange multipliers

The compatibility conditions matching macroscopic mechanical fields at the contact surface between a fluid-saturated porous solid and an adjacent bulk fluid are considered. The general form of balance equations at that discontinuity surface are analyzed to obtain the compatibility conditions for the tangent and normal components of the velocity and the stress vector fields. Considerations are based on the procedure similar to that used in the phenomenological thermodynamics for derivation of constitutive relations, where the entropy inequality and the concept of Lagrange multipliers are applied. This procedure made possible to derive the compatibility conditions for the viscous fluid flowing tangentially and perpendicularly to the boundary surface of the porous solid and to formulate the generalized form of the so called slip condition for the fluid velocity field, postulated earlier by Beavers and Joseph, J. Fluid. Mech. 30, 197–207 (1967). PACS 47.55.Mh Communicated by Y.D. Shikhmurzaev     

Numerical and experimental investigation of convective drying in unsaturated porous media with bound water

The heat and mass transfer in an unsaturated wet cylindrical porous bed packed with quartz particles was investigated theoretically for relatively low convective drying rates. Local thermodynamic equilibrium was assumed in the mathematical model describing the multi-phase flow in the unsaturated porous media using the energy and mass conservation equations to describe the heat and mass transfer during the drying. The drying model included convection and capillary transport of the free water, diffusion of bound water, and convection and diffusion of the gas. The numerical results indicated that the drying process could be divided into three periods, the temperature rise period, the constant drying rate period and the decreasing drying rate period. The numerical results agreed well with the experimental data verifying that the mathematical model can evaluate the drying performance of porous media for low drying rates. The effects of drying conditions such as the ambient temperature, the relative humidity, and the velocity of the drying air, on the drying process were evaluated by numerical solution.     

Computational recovery of the homoclinic orbit in porous media convection

A simple procedure for computational recovery of the homoclinic orbit in porous media convection is presented.     

The evolution of Hooke's law due to texture development in FCC polycrystals

Initially isotropic aggregates of crystalline grains show a texture-induced anisotropy of both their inelastic and elastic behavior when submitted to large inelastic deformations. The latter, however, is normally neglected, although experiments as well as numerical simulations clearly show a strong alteration of the elastic properties for certain materials. The main purpose of the work is to formulate a phenomenological model for the evolution of the elastic properties of cubic crystal aggregates. The effective elastic properties are determined by orientation averages of the local elasticity tensors. Arithmetic, geometric, and harmonic averages are compared. It can be shown that for cubic crystal aggregates all of these averages depend on the same irreducible fourth-order tensor, which represents the purely anisotropic portion of the effective elasticity tensor. Coupled equations for the flow rule and the evolution of the anisotropic part of the elasticity tensor are formulated. The flow rule is based on an anisotropic norm of the stress deviator defined by means of the elastic anisotropy. In the evolution equation for the anisotropic part of the elasticity tensor the direction of the rate of change depends only on the inelastic rate of deformation. The evolution equation is derived according to the theory of isotropic tensor functions. The transition from an elastically isotropic initial state to a (path-dependent) final anisotropic state is discussed for polycrystalline copper. The predictions of the model are compared with micro–macro simulations based on the Taylor–Lin model and experimental data.     

Effects of an impermeable wall in dissipative dynamics of saturated porous media

A phase transition model for porous media in consolidation is studied. The model is able to describe the phenomenon of fluid-segregation during the consolidation process, i.e., the coexistence of two phases differing on fluid content inside the porous medium under static load. Considering pure Darcy dissipation, the dynamics is described by a Cahn–Hilliard-like system of partial differential equations (PDE). The goal is to study the dynamics of the formation of stationary fluid-rich bubbles. The evolution of the strain and fluid density profiles of the porous medium is analysed in two physical situations: fluid free to flow through the boundaries of the medium and fluid flow prevented at one of the two boundaries. Moreover, an analytic result on the position of the interface between the two phases is provided.     

The role of shear and elongation in the flow of solutions of semi-flexible polymers through porous media

The rheological behavior of hydrophobically modified hydroxyethyl cellulose (HMHEC) and xanthan gum solutions has been characterized in simple shear flow, opposed-jets flow, and flow through porous media. Both polymers exhibit shear thinning in simple shear flow and apparent shear thinning in flow through porous media. Analysis of the results shows there is a direct correspondence between shear viscosities determined in simple shear experiments and apparent viscosities in porous media flow at relatively low shear rates. At high shear rates the extensional component of the flow in porous media appreciably increases the apparent viscosity over the simple shear values. This increase is shown to correlate with results obtained in opposed-jets experiments, and is attributed to formation of transient entanglements.     

On Capillary Slowdown of Viscous Fingering in Immiscible Displacement in Porous Media

Hydrodynamic instability in immiscible porous media flows in the presence of capillarity is investigated here. The analysis and arguments presented here show that the slowdown of instabilities due to capillarity is usually very rapid which makes the flow almost, but not entirely, stable. The profiles of the stable and unstable waves in the far-field are characterized using a novel but very simple approach.     

The effect of anisotropic permeability on free convective boundary layer flow in porous media

The effect of an anisotropic permeability on thermal boundary layer flow in porous media is studied. The convective flow is induced by a vertical, uniformly heated surface embedded in a fluid-saturated medium. A leading-order boundary layer theory is presented. It is shown that the thickness of the resulting boundary layer flow is different from that obtained in an isotropic porous medium. In general, an anisotropic permeability induces a fluid drift in the spanwise direction, the strength of which depends on the precise nature of the anisotropy. Conditions are found which determine whether or not the boundary layer flow is three-dimensional.     

Propagation of nitromethane detonations in porous media

The characteristics of the propagation of a detonation in chemically sensitized nitromethane in a dense porous medium are investigated. By introducing liquid NM+15% (by weight) DETA into densely packed beds of solid spherical glass beads 66μm to 2.4 mm in diameter, a highly heterogeneous explosive mixture is obtained. The critical (i.e., failure) charge diameter of this mixture is systematically measured in unconfined charges over a wide range of bead sizes. Velocity measurements are also made for the various charges. It is found that there exists a critical bead size above which the critical diameter decreases with increasing bead size and below which it decreases with decreasing bead size. This result indicates an abrupt change in the mechanism of propagation at the critical bead size. Velocity measurements further support this by emphasizing the different behavior above and below the critical point.