Computational evaluation of strain-rate-dependent deformation behavior of rubber and carbon-black-filled rubber under monotonic and cyclic straining

The molecular chain network model for elastic deformation behavior and the reptation theory for viscoelastic deformation behavior are used to derive a constitutive equation for rubber. The new eight-chain-like model contains eight standard models consisting of Langevin springs and dashpot to account for the interaction of chains with their surroundings. Monotonic and cyclic deformation behavior of rubber with relaxation under different strain rates have been examined. The results reveal the roles of the individual springs and dashpot, and the strain rate dependence of materials in the monotonic and cyclic deformation behaviors, particularly softening and hysteresis loss, that is, the Mullins effect, occurring in stress-stretch curves under cyclic deformation processes. The validity of the results is checked through comparison with experimental results. The deformation behaviors of a plane strain rubber unit cell containing carbon-black (CB) under monotonic and cyclic straining are investigated by computational simulation using the proposed constitutive equation and homogenization method. The results reveal the substantial enhancement of the resistance of CB-filled rubber to macroscopic deformation, which is caused by the marked orientation hardening due to the highly localized deformation of rubber. The role of strain rate sensitivity on such characteristic deformation behaviors as increases in the resistance to deformation, hysteresis loss, and the effects of the distribution morphology and the volume fraction of CB on the deformation behavior is clarified. The increases in the volume fraction and in the aggregation of the distribution of CB substantially raise the resistance to deformation and hysteresis loss.     

7050铝合金均匀化热处理后的组织转变

利用金相组织观察、差示扫描量热法、扫描电镜、X射线衍射等手段对7050铝合金铸态组织、不同条件下的均匀化效果和均匀化前后的组织转变进行了分析。结果表明,7050合金半连续铸锭中存在大量具有η-MgZn2型晶体结构的非平衡第二相Mg(AlZnCu)2,其熔化温度为477℃,在均匀化处理过程中,该非平衡凝固共晶相在477℃向合金基体溶解并转变成Al2CuMg(S相),S相在该合金中的熔化温度为490℃;在460℃均匀化处理时,结晶相η全部消失,晶间和晶内均出现球状S相。在随后的冷却过程中η相和S相先后在晶内析出,但在260℃时S相再一次消失。     

Microstructure evolution during homogenization of Al–Mn–Fe–Si alloys: Modeling and experimental results

Microstructure evolution during the homogenization heat treatment of Al–Mn–Fe–Si, or AA3xxx, alloys has been investigated using a combination of modeling and experimental studies. The model is fully coupled to CALculation PHAse Diagram (CALPHAD) software and has explicitly taken into account the two different length scales for diffusion encountered in modeling the homogenization process. The model is able to predict the evolution of all the important microstructural features during homogenization, including the inhomogeneous spatial distribution of dispersoids and alloying elements in solution, the dispersoid number density and the size distribution, and the type and fraction of intergranular constituent particles. Experiments were conducted using four direct chill (DC) cast AA3xxx alloys subjected to various homogenization treatments. The resulting microstructures were then characterized using a range of characterization techniques, including optical and electron microscopy, electron micro probe analysis, field emission gun scanning electron microscopy, and electrical resistivity measurements. The model predictions have been compared with the experimental measurements to validate the model. Further, it has been demonstrated that the validated model is able to predict the effects of alloying elements (e.g. Si and Mn) on microstructure evolution. It is concluded that the model provides a time and cost effective tool in optimizing and designing industrial AA3xxx alloy chemistries and homogenization heat treatments.     

Two-step homogenization simulation for multidomain and multigrain structures in piezoelectric materials

In this paper, a two-step scale-up procedure based on asymptotic homogenization theory is proposed for hierarchical structures consisting of multigrains and multidomains in piezoelectric materials. Intragranular domains are modeled as a microstructure during the first-step homogenization. Then, in the second-step homogenization, an aggregate of randomly oriented grains is modeled by applying the first-step homogenized material properties of multidomains to every grain. A dual-domain structure consisting of positive and negative directional domains with a 180° orientation gap is computed for case study analysis. The three-dimensional electron backscatter diffraction-measured microstructure is employed for the multigrain structure. The effect of the domain configuration on the macroscopic homogenized material properties of polycrystalline piezoelectric materials is investigated through the two-step homogenization process. In particular, the material property changes caused by the piezoelectric effect, which cannot be estimated by the mixture law, are discussed for multigrain and multidomain structures.     

Micromechanical modeling of imperfect textile composites

After fabrication the carbon-carbon (C/C) plain weave textile composites often show a certain degree of geometrical or material disorder including yarn waviness and misalignment or nesting of individual fiber tows together with intrinsic material porosity observed at all relevant scales. A brief survey of recently developed approaches for estimating overall elastic stiffnesses or thermal conductivities of such composite systems is presented in this paper. Depending on the source and type of available geometrical data the homogenization scheme usually relies either on finite element (FEM) simulations performed for a suitable Periodic Unit Cell (PUC) or employs one of the popular averaging techniques such as the Mori-Tanaka (MT) method. While existing applications of both methodologies are encouraging, there still exists a number of steps to be completed in the course of the future research.     

Computational micro- and macroscopic models of contact and friction: formulation, approach and applications

This paper is dedicated to new asperity-based constitutive models of contact interfaces. These models have been obtained through a combination of finite element analysis of surface asperities and statistical homogenization techniques, to predict macroscopic, phenomenological behavior of the interface. This new approach has generalized the existing asperity-based models of contact and friction by considering realistic, complex shapes and mechanical properties of surface asperities, as opposed to previous simplified analytical solutions. This has been achieved by application, at the stage of asperity modeling, of the finite element method, which takes into account arbitrary shapes of asperities, non-linear material properties, molecular-range adhesion forces, and sliding resistance on the contact surface. The h–p adaptive mesh refinement techniques, adaptive timestepping and other adaptive methods are used to assure high accuracy of the solution. The result of this development is a new family of constitutive interface models, consistent with surface micromechanics and applicable to studies of static and dynamic friction phenomena. They are also extendible to calculation of thermal or electrical resistances, wear modeling, and other applications. This paper presents the theoretical formulation, numerical methodology and sample models of contact, adhesion and friction obtained through these homogenization techniques.     

Rapid amorphization of molecular crystals by absorption of solvent molecules in the presence of hydrophilic matrices

Two organic molecular crystalline species, ibuprophen (IB) and indomethacine (IM) were subjected to methanol absorption in the presence of hydrophilic organic matrix, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC). While spraying of 8–10% methanol or water on the drug–matrix mixture decreased the subsequent milling time for amorphization, absorption of methanol in a closed container caused spontaneous amorphization of IB was observed to give a nanocomposites with macroscopic agglomerates up to 250 μm after methanol absorption for overnight. Gentle mechanical homogenization under saturated methanol vapor with a newly developed apparatus, a tandem rotation mill (TRM), brought about homogeneous grains of IB-HPMC nanocomposites with the average particle size, 30 μm. We observed amorphous particles of IB in 60 nm regime dispersed in HPMC matrix under a transmission electron microscope (TEM). In the case of IM, mechanical homogenization with TRM was indispensable to obtain similar nanocomposites with HPMC.     

Homogenization of some variational problems connected to the theory of lubrication

An important problem in the theory of lubrication is to model and analyze the effects of surface roughness on the hydrodynamic performance. An efficient method to do this is homogenization. In this paper we prove a general homogenization result which allows us to consider unstationary variational problems, related to Reynolds type equations, where the lubricant may be Newtonian or non-Newtonian. Recently, the idea of finding upper and lower bounds on the effective behavior, obtained by homogenization, was applied for the first time in tribology. The homogenization result in this work may therefore also serve as a rigorous starting point for developing these successful results to unstationary problems.     

Prediction of fragment size and ejection distance of masonry wall under blast load using homogenized masonry material properties

The fragment hazard resulting from a nearby explosion is a major concern in the design of structures which may be subjected to blast loads. This paper presents a predictive method based on the theories of continuum damage mechanics and mechanics of micro-crack development, and numerical simulation to determine the probabilistic fragment size distribution and the launch distances. Theoretical derivations are presented to calculate fragment distribution. The fragmentation process is modeled according to the crack initiation and propagation, which depend on the material damage levels and are estimated using continuum damage mechanics theory. The proposed method involves two steps. First a finite element model is developed to estimate the material damage, fragment distribution and the ejection velocity. Then a simple algorithm is used to predict the fragment trajectory and the launch distance based on the fragment size and the ejection velocity. A masonry wall is used as an example in this study. The wall is modeled with both the distinctive consideration of the brick and mortar material properties and the homogenized masonry material properties. The reliability and efficiency of using the homogenized masonry material model in predicting the masonry wall damage and fragmentation are proven. The program AUTODYN is used in this study to conduct the numerical simulations with the proposed models linked to it as user subroutines. The numerical results indicate that the masonry fragments approximately follow the Weibull distribution, which is consistent with some empirical fragment distributions. The proposed method avoids using erosion technique, which inevitably results in a loss of fragment mass, and avoids discretizing the structure into particles or predefining the failure planes, which may lead to unrealistic prediction of damage propagation and evolution and therefore inaccurate fragmentation process and fragment size distributions.     

Experiments and mesoscopic modelling of dynamic testing of concrete

Due to their large aggregates size and their heterogeneous microstructure, concretes are difficult materials to test at high strain-rates. Direct tensile tests, spalling tests and edge-on impact experiments have been especially developed and performed on a standard concrete (max grain size of 8 mm). The influence of free water on the high strain rate behaviour has been carefully evaluated. Numerical simulations of dynamic testing have been also performed using a mesoscopic approach in which the matrix and the aggregates are differentiated. Numerical and analytical homogenization methods have been employed to define a model-concrete which fits experimental data of simple and œdometric compression tests. Then, the numerical simulations with several random distributions of aggregates were conducted to validate the processing methods applied to the experimental data of the dynamic tests. Moreover an anisotropic damage model coupled to the mesoscopic approach has been used to simulate the dynamic behaviour of concrete under impact. It allows predicting the increase of strength and cracking density with strain-rate and the free water influence on the dynamic behaviour of concrete.