Hyperbolicity singularities in Rarefaction Waves

For mixed-type systems of conservation laws, rarefaction waves may contain states at the boundary of the elliptic region, where two characteristic speeds coincide, and the Lax family of the wave changes. Such contiguous rarefaction waves form a single fan with a continuous profile. Different pairs of families may appear in such rarefactions, giving rise to novel Riemann solution structures. We study the structure of such rarefaction waves near regular and exceptional points of the elliptic boundary and describe their effect on Riemann solutions.     

Constitutive branching analysis of cylindrical bodies under in-plane equibiaxial dead-load tractions

Finite homogeneous deformations of hyperelastic cylindrical bodies subjected to in-plane equibiaxial dead-load tractions are analyzed. Four basic equilibrium problems are formulated considering incompressible and compressible isotropic bodies under plane stress and plane deformation condition. Depending on the form of the stored energy function, these plane problems, in addition to the obvious symmetric solutions, may admit asymmetric solutions. In other words, the body may assume an equilibrium configuration characterized by two unequal in-plane principal stretches corresponding to equal external forces. In this paper, a mathematical condition, in terms of the principal invariants, governing the global development of the asymmetric deformation branches is obtained and examined in detail with regard to different choices of the stored energy function. Moreover, explicit expressions for evaluating critical loads and bifurcation points are derived. With reference to neo-Hookean, Mooney-Rivlin and Ogden-Ball materials, a broad numerical analysis is performed and the qualitatively more interesting asymmetric equilibrium branches are shown. Finally, using the energy criterion, a number of considerations are put forward about the stability of the computed solutions.     

Mechanics of adhesive contact at the nanoscale: The effect of surface stress

At small length scales, the adhesion and surface effect are of great significance, both of which play important roles in the contact between two elastic solids. In this study, the classical Johnson–Kendall–Roberts (JKR) adhesive contact theory is generalized to the nanoscale at which the surface effect is considered. The influence of the surface stress on the JKR adhesive contact is investigated by employing the non-classical Boussinesq fundamental solutions. It is found that, compared with the classical theory, the pull-off force increases while the critical contact radius decreases as a result of the surface effect. Numerical results show that a relative error of 10% can be introduced in the pull-off force when the indenter radius is less than 20 nm. A detailed theoretical analysis of this interesting phenomenon is presented based on dimensional analysis, and two scaling laws for the adhesive contact at the nanoscale are constructed. These two new scaling laws reveal that the pull-off force is relevant to the elastic properties of the bulk materials, which is different from the classical adhesive contact theory. The present work is promising for the engineering applications in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and nano-intelligent devices.     

Load-induced oriented damage and anisotropy of rock-like materials

Theoretical model for deformability of brittle rock-like materials in the presence of an oriented damage of their internal structure is formulated and verified experimentally. This model is based on the assumption that non-linearity of the stress–strain curves of these materials is a result of irreversible process of oriented damage growth. It was also assumed that a material response, represented by the strain tensor, is a function of two tensorial variables: the stress tensor and the damage effect tensor that is responsible for the current state of the internal structure of the material. The explicit form of the respective non-linear stress–strain relations that account for the appropriate damage evolution equation was obtained by employing the theory of tensor function representations and by using the results of own experiments on damage growth. Such an oriented damage that grows in the material, described by the second order symmetric damage effect tensor, results in gradual development of the material anisotropy. The validity of the constitutive equations proposed was verified by using the available experimental results for concrete subjected to the plane state of stress. The relevant experimental data for sandstone and concrete subjected to tri-axial state of stress were also used.     

Constitutive models for power-law viscous solids containing spherical voids

In the analysis of non-linear porous solids, it is commonplace to employ a spherical unit cell owing to the simplicity it affords. The macroscopic constitutive response of the material is then predicted based upon either uniform traction or linear displacement/velocity boundary conditions applied to the outer surface of the cell. In this investigation, we carry out a careful computational analysis of the effect of these two types of boundary conditions on the macroscopic response of the (idealized) porous solid and in particular, we explore the sensitivity of the predicted response to the macroscopic stress, void volume fraction and material non-linearity. The numerical results are then used as a basis for establishing an approximate constitutive model that is expressed in a compact, explicit form. The study is carried out in the context of an incompressible, isotropic power-law viscous matrix material, and the computational analysis is focused on axisymmetric deformation of the unit cell. While the macroscopic strain-rate potential is found to exhibit a dependence on the third invariant of the macroscopic stress deviator, this dependence is slight (particularly for the linear displacement/velocity boundary condition) and, toward developing an approximate strain-rate potential applicable to general macroscopic stress states, a simple averaging scheme is employed to suppress the role of this quantity. Guided by the numerical results as well as by various previously proposed constitutive relations, an approximate generalized elliptic form for the macroscopic strain-rate potential is then proposed. The constitutive potential which is ultimately developed involves a fairly simple dependence upon the void volume fraction and the properties of the matrix material, yet it gives rise to predictions that agree well with the detailed unit cell calculations over the full range of properties and macroscopic stress states considered.     

Modeling of anisotropic softening phenomena: Application to soft biological tissues

A thermodynamically consistent dissipative model is proposed to describe softening phenomena in anisotropic materials. The model is based on a generalized polyconvex anisotropic strain energy function represented by a series. Anisotropic softening is considered by evolution of internal variables governing the anisotropic properties of the material. Accordingly, evolution equations are formulated and anisotropic conditions for the onset of softening are defined. In numerical examples, the model is applied to simulate the preconditioning behavior of soft biological tissues subjected to cyclic loading experiments. The results suggest that the general characteristics of preconditioning with different upper load limits are well captured including hysteresis and residual deformations. A model for the Mullins effect is obtained as a special case and shows very good agreement with experimental data on mouse skin.     

Gradient-enhanced softening material models

Classical constitutive models exhibit strong mesh dependency during softening and the numerical responses tend towards perfectly brittle behavior upon mesh refinements. Such sensitivity can be avoided by adopting the gradient-enhanced formulation. The implicit approach incorporates the gradient contributions indirectly via an additional Helmholtz equation and requires only C⁰ continuity. The explicit approach computes the gradient terms directly from the local field variables. Assuming a weak satisfaction of the yield function, C¹ continuity or C⁰ continuity with additional degrees of freedoms in the penalty approach is required. This makes the explicit method less attractive computationally. However, the explicit approach is able to fully regularize some material models where the standard implicit method fails to perform. Drawing analogy to the over-nonlocal integral formulation, the over-implicit-gradient framework is proposed. In addition, an alternative framework for the explicit gradient method requiring only C⁰ continuity is proposed. The regularizing effects of the abovementioned two gradient frameworks show promising applications to strain-softening materials.     

Integration of self-consistent polycrystal plasticity with dislocation density based hardening laws within an implicit finite element framework: Application to low-symmetry metals

We present an implementation of the viscoplastic self-consistent (VPSC) polycrystalline model in an implicit finite element (FE) framework, which accounts for a dislocation-based hardening law for multiple slip and twinning modes at the micro-scale grain level. The model is applied to simulate the macro-scale mechanical response of a highly anisotropic low-symmetry (orthorhombic) crystal structure. In this approach, a finite element integration point represents a polycrystalline material point and the meso-scale mechanical response is obtained by the mean-field VPSC homogenization scheme. We demonstrate the accuracy of the FE-VPSC model by analyzing the mechanical response and microstructure evolution of α-uranium samples under simple compression/tension and four-point bending tests. Predictions of the FE-VPSC simulations compare favorably with experimental measurements of geometrical changes and microstructure evolution. Specifically, the model captures accurately the tension–compression asymmetry of the material associated with twinning, as well as the rigidity of the material response along the hard-to-deform crystallographic orientations.     

A dislocation-based constitutive law for pure Zr including temperature effects

In this work, a single crystal constitutive law for multiple slip and twinning modes in single phase hcp materials is developed. For each slip mode, a dislocation population is evolved explicitly as a function of temperature and strain rate through thermally-activated recovery and debris formation and the associated hardening includes stage IV. A stress-based hardening law for twin activation accounts for temperature effects through its interaction with slip dislocations. For model validation against macroscopic measurement, this single crystal law is implemented into a visco-plastic-self-consistent (VPSC) polycrystal model which accounts for texture evolution and contains a subgrain micromechanical model for twin reorientation and morphology. Slip and twinning dislocations interact with the twin boundaries through a directional Hall–Petch mechanism. The model is adjusted to predict the plastic anisotropy of clock-rolled pure Zr for three different deformation paths and at four temperatures ranging from 76 K to 450 K (at a quasi-static rate of 10⁻³ 1/s). The model captures the transition from slip-dominated to twinning-dominated deformation as temperature decreases, and identifies microstructural mechanisms, such as twin nucleation and twin–slip interactions, where future characterization is needed.     

A plasticity model describing yield-point phenomena of steels and its application to FE simulation of temper rolling

To describe the yield-point phenomena of steels, an extended version of the first author’s model (Yoshida, F., 2000. A constitutive model of cyclic plasticity. International Journal of Plasticity 16, 359–380) is proposed on the premise that the material behavior of sharp yield point and the subsequent abrupt yield drop result from a rapid dislocation multiplication and the stress-dependence of dislocation velocity. A specific feature of this model is that it describes well a high upper yield point, the rate-dependent Lüders strain at the yield plateau and the subsequent workhardening, as well as cyclic plasticity characteristics, such as the Bauschinger effect and rate-dependent ratcheting. Using this model, an FE simulation of temper rolling process is conducted in order to clarify its role for the elimination of the yield point of steel sheets. Particularly, the effect of upper yield point on the deformation characteristics in the process is discussed.