Soft elastic shells undergoing large deformations

Soft shells made of elastomers and undergoing large deformations under load are studied. The inverse design problem, non-linear under large deformations, is solved. The results obtained are illustrated on a two-parameter shell of revolution fabricated from a two-constant material. The problems of coupling the biaxial and uniaxial zones of the shell and of designing the composite shell are clarified. Amongst the papers dealing with the theory of soft shells and, generally, under small deformations, /1–7/ merit attention.     

Experimental and numerical investigation of paperboard creasing

Laminated paperboard is widely used in packaging products. It usually consists of multiple layers bonded to each other by starch or adhesion. The indentation of fold lines (creasing) plays a crucial role during the whole converting process. It is important to control delamination and other damage effects to arrive at commercial cartons with high quality. Thus, the aim of this study is to describe the material behavior of a laminated paperboard during the creasing process. The paperboard was considered as a laminate of three different layers, and each was modeled separately with an anisotropic elastic-plastic material model while a cohesive zone approach described the opening behavior in between. The initial yielding was given by the Hill's 48 yield criterion, while the isotropic strain hardening was described by a power law hardening function. To calibrate the material parameters, a sequence of tensile and compression tests was conducted for each layer in different directions to account for the material's anisotropy. Finally, the creasing process was investigated using a two-dimensional plane strain finite element model. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Experimental and numerical investigation of shock wave-loaded plates

In the present paper measured and simulated vibrations of viscoplastic plates under impulsive loadings are compared to each other. The aim is to determine how accurately the measured deformations can be calculated by the chosen constitutive and structural theories. The damage growth in the plate specimens until failure is predicted by finite element simulations and compared to shock tube experiments. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Calculation and experimental investigation of torsion of all-rubber and rubber-cord clutches under large deformations

On the basis of a mathematical model of large deformations of homogeneous and fiber-reinforced bodies of revolution, the deformation of all-rubber and rubber-cord clutches made by using the tire technology is investigated. The results of a theoretical and numerical analysis of torsion of the clutches are compared with experimental data.     

Experimental and numerical investigation of tendons and tendon cells

Tendon injuries are a common problem in medicine. While healthy tendons do not rupture, tendon injuries are mostly accompanied by pathological changes and microruptures. Unfortunately, still less is known about the underlying processes. Thus, in the present study, we introduce artificial damages into native tendon tissue and investigate its mechanical behaviour experimentally. In the second part of this study, we propose a theoretical model for predicting the mechanical behaviour of the damaged tendon and present its validity. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Experimental and numerical investigation of a degradable collagen foil

A collagen foil, which plays an important role for cultivating and investigating tendon cells, is investigated experimentally and numerically: The foil, which should later serve as a scaffold for tendon cells in a custom made bioreactor, is stimulated periodically in an in situ experiment. Additionally, a material model to describe the anisotropic structure and the relaxation behaviour of the collagen foil is used to simulate the material response. By comparing the measurements and simulations, the stress and strain states in the foil can be determined. Hence, the material parameters for the presented experimental set up are identified. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Comparison of hyperelastic 2‐D and 3‐D model foams at large deformations

The influence of the modeling dimension on the determination of effective properties for hyperelastic foams is investigated by means of regular 2‐D and 3‐D model foams. For calculating the effective stress‐strain relationships of both microstructures, a strain energy based homogenization procedure is employed. The results from numerical analyses show that with a 2‐D model foam the basic deformation mechanisms of the 3‐D model can be captured. Nevertheless, due to the distinct quantitative deviations found from the homogenization analyses, 3‐D modeling approaches should be used if quantitative predictions for the effective material properties are required. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Experimental and numerical investigation of PUR foam under dynamic loading

Various factors may subject buildings to shock which continues in their structure and is perceived by the people living in them as noticeable vibrations or noise. In this context, polyurethane (PUR) foams, which have been developed to isolate vibrations, have shown to be very effective in practical use. However, whereas static properties of open-cell structures have already been determined numerically in good agreement to experimental results, cf. [1], there are hardly any investigations on the dynamical properties characterizing acoustic damping. In order to validate experimental measurements of eigenfrequencies for different PUR foam specimen we present here a strategy to reproduce the foam behavior numerically. In doing so, PUR foams are modeled using a three dimensional Voronoi-tessellation technique. The resulting Voronoi cells correspond to open pores and are scaled in such a way that the volume ratio between the pores and material matches the given PUR foam. For finite element analysis the connections between the cells are modeled as beam elements, the beam shape follows Bezièr curves. The generated model is analyzed with a finite element software and the dynamical parameters are determined. The numerical results are compared to our experimental data. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Experimental and numerical investigation of different types of articular cartilage replacement materials

The aim of the presented work is to characterize the mechanical properties of different types of articular cartilage replacement materials. For this propose an elastic-diffusion model is developed to identify the elastic and diffusion properties of the replacement materials. A set of unconfined compression tests were performed with several kinds of implants. By means of finite element simulation integrated with an user-defined material model, the material parameters were identified. (© 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Square and rectangular concrete columns confined by CFRP: Experimental and numerical investigation

The results of an experimental and theoretical investigation into the deformation behavior of CFRP-confined square and rectangular concrete columns under axial loads are presented. Three types of columns are considered: unwrapped; fully wrapped; and fully wrapped, with L-slaped steel angles placed at the corners. A mechanical deformation model for them is proposed, which is based on a nonuniform distribution of the stresses caused by the confining device. The results given by the model are in a good agreement with the experimental results obtained. Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 417–442, May–June, 2008.     

Motion of an incompressible solid with large deformations

We study the motion of a visco-elastic solid with large deformations. We prove the existence of a local-in-time motion and of a non-negative pressure, which is a measure reaction to the incompressibility condition.     

Relaxed energy densities for large deformations of membranes

Tension field theory can be incorporated into the ordinary theoryof finite deformations of membranes by replacing the strainenergy function W with a certain relaxed energy density W_r.If W is a convex function of the strain, W_r is the largest convexand increasing function that does not exceed W, and W_r is aconvex function of the deformation gradient. Minimum energyand minimum complementary energy theorems are proved for thetheory based on W_r.     

The motion of a solid with large deformations

We study the motion of a solid with large deformations. The solid may be loaded on its surface by needles, rods, beams, plates… Therefore it is wise to choose a third-gradient theory for the body. Stretch matrix of the polar decomposition has to be symmetric. This is an internal constraint which introduces a reaction stress in the Piola–Kirchhoff–Boussinesq stress. We prove that there exists a motion that satisfies the complete equations of Mechanics in a convenient variational framework. This motion is local-in-time because it may be interrupted by crushing, resulting in a discontinuity of velocity with respect to time, i.e., an internal collision.     

Formation of crystalline bubble structure in wet metal foams

Small monodispersed bubbles form regular patterns when they agglomerate. Many experimental investigations revealed a preference of f.c.c. packing against h.c.p. packing in these structures, that could not yet be explained. In the present work this feature is reproduced numerically and analyzed. It is shown that drainage from layers above causes the preference. By investigating the transient crystal growth and packing rearrangement a mechanism is found that reduces the stability of h.c.p. packing and explains the phenomenom. (© 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Computation of large shear deformations of a thermoplastic material

A specialized finite difference method with grid refinement and variable time steps is created to approximate the deformation velocity and the temperature in a simple model of the shearing of a thermoplastic material. A specific problem where the solution exhibits “blowup” in the adiabatic case is considered. The numerical method retains this property and is used to study the shape of the “blowup” function. The code is then used to investigate the solution in the closely related case where thermal conduction is included with a small conductivity coefficient. The computations indicate that the solution does not “blowup” in the nonadiabatic case. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Modeling of induced anisotropy at large deformations for polymers

In this work we develop a model to describe the induced plasticity of polymers at large deformations. Polymers such as stretch films exhibit a pronounced strength in the loading direction. The undeformed state of the films is isotropic, whereas after the uni-axial loading the material becomes anisotropic. In order to consider this induced anisotropy during the stretch process, a spectral decomposition of the inelastic right CAUCHY-GREEN tensor is done. Therefore, the yield function can be formulated as a function of the anisotropic tensor, where again the anisotropic tensor is a function of the maximum eigenvalue. A backward EULER scheme is used for updating the evolution equations, and the algorithmic tangent operator is derived. The numerical implementation of the resulting set of constitutive equations is used in a finite element program and for parameter identification. (© 2012 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Modeling of nonlinear viscoelastic contact problems with large deformations

Contact problems are one of the most important engineering problems. These problems become much more tedious when one of the contacting bodies behaves nonlinear viscoelasticity and large deformations. This paper presents an incremental-iterative finite element model for the analysis of two dimensional quasistatic frictionless contact problems. Nonlinear viscoelastic behavior and large deformations are considered. The Schapery’s single-integral creep model with stress-dependent properties is used for nonlinear viscoelasticity. The constitutive equations are transformed into an incremental form resulting in a recursive relationship. Thereby, the need to store the entire strain histories is eliminated, except that from the previous time increment. The updated Lagrangian formulation is used to model the material and geometrical nonlinearities. Also, the Lagrange multiplier method is adopted to enforce the contact constraints. The converged solution is obtained using the Newton–Raphson iterative technique. The developed model has been verified with the previously published works and found a good agreement with them. To demonstrate the efficient capability of the developed computational model, three contact problems with different nature are analyzed.     

Small strain deformations of elastic beams and rods including large deflections

A consistent theory for linear elastic behavior in which the strains are small but the displacements and rotations can be large is applied to the bending and twisting of a rod or beam by end loads and by its own weight. The theory provides solutions for geometries and loadings between those for which the infinitesimal theory applies and those for which structural theories, such as Kirchhoff s theory for rods, can be used. The results confirm the validity of Kirchhoff's rod theory within the range of small-strain, linear elastic behavior.

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Zusammenfassung Eine konsistente Theorie, bei der linearelastisches Verhalten und Verzerrungen klein vorausgesetzt, jedoch große Verschiebungen und Drehungen zugelassen sind, wird auf die Verbiegung und Verdrehung eines Stabes unter Endlasten und Eigengewicht angewendet. Die Theorie ergibt Lösungen für Geometrien und Belastungen im mittleren Bereich zwischen dem Gültigkeitsbereich der infinitesimalen Theorie und jenem der strukturellen Theorien wie die Kirchhoff'sche Stabtheorie im Bereich der kleinen Verzerrungen und des linear-elastischen Verhaltens.

     

Numerical modeling of large strain behavior of polymeric crushable foams

This paper describes a constitutive law modeling isotropic polymeric foam materials. Focus has been placed on modeling the relative density dependency effect on polymeric foams subjected to large deformations using uniaxial and hydrostatic compressive hardening laws. The constitutive model is written in terms of the rotated Kirchhoff stress and of its conjugate logarithmic, or Hencky, strain measure. A numerical scheme for solving the constitutive model is described and implemented using both the finite element and the element-free Galerkin methods, in a Total Lagrangian finite strain framework. The imposition of the unilateral contact with friction and the essential boundary conditions are obtained by applying the Augmented Lagrangian method. Numerical examples are presented in order to attest the performance of the proposed constitutive model.