Micromechanics, macromechanics and constitutive modeling of the elasto-viscoplastic deformation of rubber-toughened glassy polymers

Under certain conditions, such as sufficiently low temperatures, high loading rates and/or highly triaxial stress states, glassy polymers display an unfavorable characteristic—brittleness. A technique used for reducing the brittleness (increasing the fracture toughness) of these materials is rubber toughening. While there is significant qualitative understanding of the mechanical behavior of rubber-toughened polymers, quantitative modeling tools for the large-strain deformation of rubber-toughened glassy polymers are largely lacking.In this paper, we develop a suite of numerical tools to investigate the mechanical behavior of rubber-toughened glassy polymers, with emphasis on rubber-toughened polycarbonate. The rubber particles are modeled as voids in view of their deformation-induced cavitation early during deformation. A three-dimensional micromechanical model of the heterogeneous microstructure is developed to study the effects of initial rubber particle (void) volume fraction on the underlying elasto-viscoplastic deformation mechanisms in the material, and how these mechanisms influence the macroscopic response of the material. A continuum-level constitutive model is developed for the large-strain elasto-viscoplastic deformation of porous glassy polymers, and it is calibrated against micromechanical modeling results for porous polycarbonate. The constitutive model can be used to study various boundary value problems involving rubber-toughened (porous) glassy polymers. As an example, the case of an axisymmetric notched bar is simulated for the case of polycarbonate with varying levels of initial porosity. The quality of the constitutive model calibration is assessed using a multi-scale modeling approach.     

Coupled thermo-mechanical modelling of bulk-metallic glasses: Theory, finite-element simulations and experimental verification

A three-dimensional, finite-deformation-based constitutive model to describe the behavior of metallic glasses in the supercooled liquid region has been developed. By formulating the theory using the principles of thermodynamics and the concept of micro-force balance [Gurtin, M., 2000. On the plasticity of single crystals: free energy, microforces, plastic-strain gradients. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 48, 989-1036], a kinetic equation for the free volume concentration is derived by augmenting the Helmholtz free energy used for a conventional metallic alloy with a flow-defect free energy which depends on the free volume concentration and its spatial gradient. The developed constitutive model has also been implemented in the commercially available finite-element program ABAQUS/Explicit (2005) by writing a user-material subroutine. The constitutive parameters/functions in the model were calibrated by fitting the constitutive model to the experimental simple compression stress-strain curves conducted under a variety of strain-rates at a temperature in the supercooled liquid region [Lu, J., Ravichandran, G., Johnson, W., 2003. Deformation behavior of the Zr-Ti-Cu-Ni-Be bulk metallic glass over a wide range of strain-rates and temperatures. Acta Mater. 51, 3429-3443].With the model calibrated, the constitutive model was able to reproduce the simple compression stress-strain curves for jump-in-strain-rate experiments to good accuracy. Furthermore stress-strain responses for simple compression experiments conducted at different ambient temperatures within the supercooled liquid region were also accurately reproduced by the constitutive model. Finally, shear localization studies also show that the constitutive model can reasonably well predict the orientation of shear bands for compression experiments conducted at temperatures within the supercooled liquid region [Wang, G., Shen, J., Sun, J., Lu, Z., Stachurski, Z., Zhou, B., 2005. Compressive fracture characteristics of a Zr-based bulk metallic glass at high test temperatures. Mater. Sci. Eng. A 398, 82-87].     

Gradient single-crystal plasticity with free energy dependent on dislocation densities

This study develops a small-deformation theory of strain-gradient plasticity for single crystals. The theory is based on: (i) a kinematical notion of a continuous distribution of edge and screw dislocations; (ii) a system of microscopic stresses consistent with a system of microscopic force balances, one balance for each slip system; (iii) a mechanical version of the second law that includes, via the microscopic stresses, work performed during viscoplastic flow; and (iv) a constitutive theory that allows:

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the free energy to depend on densities of edge and screw dislocations and hence on gradients of (plastic) slip;

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the microscopic stresses to depend on slip-rate gradients.

The microscopic force balances when augmented by constitutive relations for the microscopic stresses results in a system of nonlocal flow rules in the form of second-order partial differential equations for the slips. When the free energy depends on the dislocation densities the microscopic stresses are partially energetic, and this, in turn, leads to backstresses in the flow rules; on the other hand, a dependence of these stresses on slip-rate gradients leads to a strengthening. The flow rules, being nonlocal, require microscopic boundary conditions; as an aid to numerical solutions a weak (virtual power) formulation of the flow rule is derived.     

Model identification and FE simulations: Effect of different yield loci and hardening laws in sheet forming

The bi-axial experimental equipment [Flores, P., Rondia, E., Habraken, A.M., 2005a. Development of an experimental equipment for the identification of constitutive laws (Special Issue). International Journal of Forming Processes] developed by Flores enables to perform Bauschinger shear tests and successive or simultaneous simple shear tests and plane strain tests. Flores investigates the material behavior with the help of classical tensile tests and the ones performed in his bi-axial machine in order to identify the yield locus and the hardening model. With tests performed on one steel grade, the methods applied to identify classical yield surfaces such as [Hill, R., 1948. A theory of the yielding and plastic flow of anisotropic materials. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London A 193, 281–297; Hosford, W.F., 1979. On yield loci of anisotropic cubic metals. In: Proceedings of the 7th North American Metalworking Conf. (NMRC), SME, Dearborn, MI, pp. 191–197] ones as well as isotropic Swift type hardening, kinematic Armstrong–Frederick or Teodosiu and Hu hardening models are explained. Comparison with the Taylor–Bishop–Hill yield locus is also provided. The effect of both yield locus and hardening model choices is presented for two applications: plane strain tensile test and Single Point Incremental Forming (SPIF).     

Wavelet spectrum analysis on energy transfer of multi-scale structures in wall turbulence

The streamwise velocity components at different vertical heights in wall turbulence were measured. Wavelet transform was used to study the turbulent energy spectra, indicating that the global spectrum results from the weighted average of Fourier spectrum based on wavelet scales. W＇avelet transform with more vanishing moments can express the declining of turbulent spectrum. The local wavelet spectrum shows that the physical phenomena such as deformation position in the boundary layer, and the or breakup of eddies are related to the vertical energy-containing eddies exist in a multi-scale form. Moreover, the size of these eddies increases with the measured points moving out of the wall. In the buffer region, the small scale energy-containing eddies with higher frequency are excited. In the outer region, the maximal energy is concentrated in the low-frequency large-scale eddies, and the frequency domain of energy-containing eddies becomes narrower.     

Effect of static bed height in the upper fluidized bed on flow behavior in the lower riser section of a coupled reactor

To study olefin reduction by using an auxiliary reactor for FCC naphtha upgrading, a large-scale cold model of a riser-bed coupled to an upper fluidized bed was established. The effect of static bed height in the upper fluidized bed on particle flow behavior in the lower riser was investigated experimentally. A restriction index of solids holdup was used to evaluate quantitatively the restrictive effect of the upper fluidized bed. Experimental results show that, under the restrictive effect of the upper fluidized bed, the riser could be divided into three regions in the longitudinal direction: accelerating, fully developed and restriction. The axial distribution of solids holdup in the riser is characterized by large solids holdup in the top and bottom sections and small solids holdup in the middle section. Overall solids holdup increased with increasing static bed height in the upper fluidized bed, while particle velocity decreased. Such restrictive effect of the upper fluidized bed could extend from the middle and top sections to the whole riser volume when riser outlet resistance is increased, which increases with increasing static bed height in the upper fluidized bed. The upper bed exerts the strongest restriction on the area close to the riser outlet.     

Tension–compression asymmetry of phosphor bronze for electronic parts and its effect on bending behavior

In-plane tension and compression experiments on copper alloy sheets (phosphor bronze) and 6000 series aluminum alloy sheets (AA6016-T4) were conducted using a specially designed testing apparatus. The apparatus is equipped with comb-type dies so that stress–strain curves of a sheet specimen subjected to tension followed by compression, and vice versa, can be measured without buckling of the specimen, as well as those for monotonic tension and compression. A difference was observed in the flow stresses between tension and compression for the as-received copper alloy, but not for the aluminum alloy. Moreover, stress reversal tests, such as tension followed by compression and compression followed by tension, were carried out in order to measure the Bauschinger effect. In the second part of the experiment, bending moment–curvature diagrams were measured for the as-received and pre-stretched specimens. The bending moment–curvature diagrams were compared with those calculated using the stress–strain curves obtained from the tension–compression tests, and were in good agreement with those calculated with the tension–compression asymmetry and the Bauschinger effect correctly reproduced.     

动能侵彻弹体的质量侵蚀模型分析

通过对高速侵彻弹体的质量侵蚀实验现象进行分析,建立了质量侵蚀的工程理论模型,可对动能侵彻弹体头部侵蚀后的头形和质量侵蚀进行预期. 讨论弹体质量侵蚀的主要影响因素,认为弹体动能(或质量和速度)以及混凝土骨料硬度对弹体的质量侵蚀有显著影响,给出了更一般化的弹体质量侵蚀与撞击函数$I$的关系. 通过图形分析明确弹体的质量侵蚀主要发生于头部,并且侵蚀后的弹头仍接近尖卵形,可以通过头形变化预期弹体的质量损失.      

DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF AXIALLY-SYMMETRICAL ANNULAR CORRUGATED SHELL PIEZOELECTRIC TRANSDUCERS

The coupled extensional and flexural vibrations of an annular corrugated shell piezoelectric transducer consisting of multiple circularly-annular surfaces smoothly connected along the interfaces were investigated in the paper. Only a time-harmonic voltage is applied across two electrodes of the piezoelectric shell as the external loading. A theoretical solution was obtained using the classical shell theory. Based on the solution, basic vibration characteristics of resonant frequencies, mode shapes were calculated and examined.