Numerical Simulation and Experimental Studies on Elastic-Plastic Fatigue Crack Growth

A elastic-plastic fatigue crack growth(FCG)finite element model was developed for predicting crack growth rate under cyclic load.The propagation criterion for this model was established based on plastically dissipated energy.The crack growth simulation under cyclic computation was implemented through the ABAQUS scripting interface.The predictions of this model are in good agreement with the results of crack propagation experiment of compact tension specimen made of 304 stainless steel.Based on the proposed model,the single peak overload retardation effect of elastic-plastic fatigue crack was analyzed.The results shows that the single peak overload will reduce the accumulation rate of plastic energy dissipation of elements at crack tip plastic zone,so that crack growth will be arrested.The crack growth rate will not recover until the crack tip exceed the affected region.Meanwhile,the crack growth rate is mainly determined by the amplitude rather than the mean load under the condition of small scale yielding.The proposed model would be helpful for predicting the growth rate of mode I elastic-plastic fatigue crack.

A Finite Element Study of Elastic-Plastic Hemispherical Contact Behavior against a Rigid Flat under Varying Modulus of Elasticity and Sphere Radius

The present study considers a finite element analysis of elastic-plastic axi-symmetric hemispherical contact for a frictionless deformable sphere pressed by a rigid flat. The material of the sphere is modeled as elastic perfectly plastic. Analysis is carried out to study the effect of varying modulus of elasticity and sphere radius in wide range of dimensionless interference until the inception of plasticity as well as in plastic range. Results are compared with previous elastic-plastic models. It is found that materials with Young’s modulus to yield strength (E/Y) ratio less than and greater than 300 show strikingly different contact phenomena. The dependency of E on dimensionless interference at which the plastic region fully covers the surface is observed. However with different radius, finite element study exhibits similar elastic-plastic phenomena.

GENERAL FORM OF MATCHING EQUATION OF ELASTIC-PLASTIC FIELD NEAR CRACK LINE FOR MODE I CRACK UNDER PLANE STRESS CONDITION

Crack line field analysis method has become an independent method for crack elastic-plastic analysis, which greatly simplifies the complexity of crack elastic-plastic problems and overcomes the corresponding mathematical difficulty. With this method, the precise elastic-plastic solutions near crack lines for variety of crack problems can be obtained. But up to now all solutions obtained by this method were for different concrete problems, no general steps and no general form of matching equations near crack line are given out. With crack line analysis method, this paper proposes the general steps of elastic plastic analysis near crack line for mode I crack in elastic-perfectly plastic solids under plane stress condition, and in turn given out the solving process and result for a specific problem.

Influencing factors on elastic-plastic deformation of multi-layered surfaces under sliding contact

Stress distribution in the gradient multi-layered surface under a sliding contact was investigated using finite element method(FEM). The main structure parameters of layered surface discussed are total layer thickness,layer number and elastic modulus ratio of layer to the substrate. A model of multi-layered surface contact with rough slider was studied. The effect of the surface structure parameters on the elastic-plastic deformation was analyzed.

An elastic-plastic analysis of short-leg shear wall structures during earthquakes

Short-leg shear wall structures are a new form of building structure that combine the merits of both frame and shear wall structures. Its architectural features, structure bearing and engineering cost are reasonable. To analyze the elastic-plastic response of a short-leg shear wall structure during an earthquake, this study modified the multiple-vertical-rod element model of the shear wall, considered the shear lag effect and proposed a multiple-vertical-rod element coupling beam model with a new local stiffness domain. Based on the principle of minimum potential energy and the variational principle, the stiffness matrixes of a short-leg shear wall and a coupling beam are derived in this study. Furthermore, the bending shear correlation for the analysis of different parameters to describe the structure, such as the beam height to span ratio, short-leg shear wall height to thickness ratio, and steel ratio are introduced. The results show that the height to span ratio directly affects the structural integrity; and the short-leg shear wall height to thickness ratio should be limited to a range of approximately 6.0 to 7.0. The design of short-leg shear walls should be in accordance with the ＂strong wall and weak beam＂ principle.

Ideal Drift Response Curve for Robust Optimal Damper Design for Elastic-Plastic MDOF Structures under Multi-Level Earthquakes Dedicated to Professor Karl S.Pister for his 95th birthday

A new method of robust damper design is presented for elastic-plastic multi-degree-of-freedom(MDOF)building structures under multi-level ground motions(GMs).This method realizes a design that is effective for various levels of GMs.The robustness of a design is measured by an incremental dynamic analysis(IDA)curve and an ideal drift response curve(IDRC).The IDRC is a plot of the optimized maximum deformation under a constraint on the total damper quantity vs.the design level of the GMs.The total damper quantity corresponds to the total cost of the added dampers.First,a problem of generation of IDRCs is stated.Then,its solution algorithm,which consists of the sensitivity-based algorithm(SBA)and a local search method,is proposed.In the application of the SBA,the passive added dampers are removed sequentially under the specified-level GMs.On the other hand,the proposed local search method can search the optimal solutions for a constant total damper quantity under GMs’increased levels.In this way,combining these two algorithms enables the comprehensive search of the optimal solutions for various conditions of the status of the GMs and the total damper quantity.The influence of selecting the type of added dampers(oil,hysteretic,and so on)and the selection of the input GMs on the IDRCs are investigated.Finally,a robust optimal design problem is formulated,and a simple local search-based algorithm is proposed.A simple index using the IDRC and the IDA curve of the model is used as the objective function.It is demonstrated that the proposed algorithm works well in spite of its simplicity.

Interaction of underwater explosion bubble with complex elastic-plastic structure

Considering the elastic-plasticity of the structure, the combination of boundary element method and finite element method （FEM） is employed to present the calculation method for solving the complex coupled dynamic problem of bubble, elastic-plastic structure and the free surface, and the complete three-dimensional calculation program is developed as well. The error between the calculated result and the experimental result is within 10%. Taking a surface ship for example, the three-dimensional calculation program is extended to engineering filed. By employing the program, the response of the ship under the bubble loading is analyzed. From the stress-time history curves of typical elements of the structure, it can be seen that the pressure reaches its maximum when the bubble collapses and this validates that the pressure generated by the bubble collapse and the jet can cause serious damage on the ship structure. From the dynamic process of the interaction between the three-dimensional bubble and the ship, the low order vertical mode of the ship is provoked and the ship presents whip-shaped motion. And the ship does elevation and subsidence movement with the expansion and shrinkage of the bubble. Some rules and conclusions which can be applied to the engineering problems are obtained from the analysis in this paper.

Research of Elastic and Elastic-Plastic Deformation on Bending Problems of Variable Stiffness Beams

A novel variable stiffness model was proposed for analyzing elastic-plastic bending problems with arbitrary variable stiffness in detail.First,it was assumed that the material of a rectangular beam is an ideal isotropic elastic-plastic material,whose elastic modulus,yield strength,and section height are functions of the axial coordinates of the beam respectively.Considering the effect of shear on the deformation of the beam,the elastic and elastic-plastic bending problems of the axially variable stiffness beam were studied.Then,the analytical solutions of the elastic and elastic-plastic deformation of the beam were derived when the cross-section height and the elastic modulus of the material were varied by special function along the length of the beam respectively.The elastic and elastic-plastic analysis of the variable stiffness beam was carried out using Differential Quadrature Method(DQM)when the bending stiffness varied arbitrarily.The influence of the axial variation of the bending stiffness on the elastic and elastic-plastic deformation of the beam was analyzed by numerical simulation,DQM,and finite element method(FEM).Simulation results verified the practicability of the proposed mechanical model,and the comparison between the results of the solutions of DQM and FEM showed that DQM is accurate and effective in elastic and elastic-plastic analysis of variable stiffness beams.

ANOMALOUS BEHAVIOR REVISITED:DYNAMIC RESPONSE OF ELASTIC-PLASTIC STRUCTURES

Based on the minimum principle of acceleration in the elastic-plastic continua under finite def ormation, the dynamic response of an elastic-perfectly plastic pin-ended beam subjected to rectangular impulse loading is studied with the help of a numerical approach. The calculated results once again show the anomalous behavior of the beam during its response process, which was previously found in [1]. By carefully analyzing the instantaneous distribution of the bending moment, the membrane force, the curvature and displacement during the response process, it is concluded that the interactive effect between the geometry and materials nonlinearities of the structure is the key reason for leading to the anomalous behavior. This will be helpful for clarifying some misunderstandings in explaining the problem before.

Seismic elastic-plastic time history analysis and reliability study of quayside container crane

Quayside container crane is a kind of huge dimension steel structure,which is the major equipment used for handling container at modern ports.With the aim to validate the safety and reliability of the crane under seismic loads,besides conventional analysis,elastic-plastic time history analysis under rare seismic intensity is carried out.An ideal finite element（FEM） elastic-plastic mechanical model of the quayside container crane is presented by using ANSYS codes.Furthermore,according to elastic-plastic time history analysis theory,deformation,stress and damage pattern of the structure under rare seismic intensity are investigated.Based on the above analysis,the established reliability model according to the reliability theory,together with seismic reliability analysis based on Monte-Carlo simulation is applied to practical analysis.The results show that the overall structure of the quayside container crane is generally unstable under rare seismic intensity,and the structure needs to be reinforced.

The Life Predictions in Whole Process Realized with Different Variables and Conventional Materials Constants for Elastic-Plastic Materials Behaviors under Unsymmetrical Cycle Loading

Author researches a lot of the mathematical models and the related conventional material constants in the traditional and the modem mechanics; to adopt two types of variables a and D, for the fatigue-damage-fracture behaviors to elastic-plastic steels contained flaws, to put forward several calculation models, which are the driving force and the life prediction expressions at each stage and in whole process; for the key parameters .A1 and ,A2 in two stages, there are functional relation with other conventional material constants σF,m1 and M2,λ2, they are defined as the new calculable comprehensive material constants, and indicate their physical and geometrical meanings. In addition, for conversion methods between two types of variables, relevant calculating example is provided. Thereby, make a linking between the fracture mechanics and the damage mechanics, communicating their relationships. This works for saving man powers and funds on fatigue-damage-fracture testing that will be having practical significance.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE LARGE DEFLECTION OF AN ELASTIC-PLASTIC CANTILEVER SUBJECTED TO AN INCLINED CONCENTRATED FORCE

Based on the Plastica theory (see ref. [12]), the large deflection of an elastic-perfectly plastic cantilever subjected to an inclined concentrated force at its tip, before the unloading in the plastic region occurs, is analyzed in this paper. The emphasis of the analysis is put on the effects of the angle of inclination of the concentrated force upon the deformed shape, the load-deflection relationship and the length of the plastic region. Both analytical and computed results are given.

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF THE LARGE DEFLECTION OF AN ELASTIC-PLASTIC BEAM

The layered approach was adopted to study the numerical procedure of the large deflection of art elastic-plastic Timoshenko' s beam, and the nonlinear equilibrium equation was derived by TL Formula. The solution was conducted by means of mNR method. The tangential stiffness matrix of the beam,vas introduced, and the solving procedures were presented in detail. The solution of the problem is satisfactory.

Harten-Lax-van Leer-contact(HLLC)approximation Riemann solver with elastic waves for one-dimensional elastic-plastic problems

A Harten-Lax-van Leer-contact （HLLC） approximate Riemann solver is built with elastic waves （HLLCE） for one-dimensional elastic-plastic flows with a hypo- elastic constitutive model and the von Mises＇ yielding criterion. Based on the HLLCE, a third-order cell-centered Lagrangian scheme is built for one-dimensional elastic-plastic problems. A number of numerical experiments are carried out. The numerical results show that the proposed third-order scheme achieves the desired order of accuracy. The third-order scheme is used to the numerical solution of the problems with elastic shock waves and elastic rarefaction waves. The numerical results are compared with a reference solution and the results obtained by other authors. The comparison shows that the pre- sented high-order scheme is convergent, stable, and essentially non-oscillatory. Moreover, the HLLCE is more efficient than the two-rarefaction Riemann solver with elastic waves （TRRSE）

Stiffness and Shear Stress Distribution of Glulam Beams in Elastic-Plastic Stage:Theory,Experiments and Numerical Modelling

Traditional methods focus on the ultimate bending moment of glulam beams and the fracture failure of materials with defects,which usually depends on empirical parameters.There is no systematic theoretical method to predict the stiffness and shear distribution of glulam beams in elastic-plastic stage,and consequently,the failure of such glulam beams cannot be predicted effectively.To address these issues,an analytical method considering material nonlinearity was proposed for glulam beams,and the calculating equations of deflection and shear stress distribution for different failure modes were established.The proposed method was verified by experiments and numerical models under the corresponding conditions.Results showed that the theoretical calculations were in good agreement with experimental and numerical results,indicating that the equations proposed in this paper were reliable and accurate for such glulam beams with wood material in the elastic-plastic stage ignoring the influence of mechanic properties in radial and tangential directions of wood.Furthermore,the experimental results reported by the previous studies indicated that the method was applicable and could be used as a theoretical reference for predicting the failure of glulam beams.

Internal Variable Formulations of Static and Dynamic Elastic-Plastic Problems Using Liapunov Functions： Algorithmic Aspects

The fundamental problem of an elastic-plastic body subjected to incremental loading is reviewed using a compact internal variable approach based on work carried out at the University of Cape Town in which a quadratic functional was developed for the free energy using Taylor series. Now the departure from that approach is the focus on developing the Liapunov function for the nonlinear differential equations of motion. Static and dynamic equations of motion are derived and shown to meet the requirements of the Liapunov function. As a consequence, time integration parameters that are used in the discrete formulations are easily obtained based on the same requirements. The resulting generalized Newton-Raphson scheme is stable in the sense of Liapunov＇s direct method.

A NOVEL METHOD FOR MEASURING AND CHARACTERIZING DYNAMIC FRACTURE-INITIATION TOUGHNESS OF ELASTIC-PLASTIC MATERIALS

The characterization and testing methods of the dynamic fractureinitiation toughness of elas- tic-plastic materials under tensileimpact are studied. By using the self-designed bar-bar tensile impactappa- ratus, a novel test method for studying dynamicfracture-initiation ahs been proposed based on the one-di- mensionaltest principle. The curve of average load v. s. displacement (P-δ)is smooth until unstable crack propagation, and the kinetic energywhich does not contribute to the crack growth can be removed fromtotal work done by external-force to the specimen.

Elastic-plastic properties of thin film on elastic-plastic substrates characterized by nanoindentation test

To characterize the elastic-plastic properties of thin film materials on elastic-plastic substrates,a simple theory model was proposed,which included three steps:dimensionless analysis,finite element modeling and data fitting.The dimensionless analysis was applied to deriving two preliminary nondimensional relationships of the material properties,and finite element modeling and data fitting were carried out to establish their explicit forms.Numerical indentation tests were carried out to examine the effectiveness of the proposed model and the good agreement shows that the proposed theory model can be applied in practice.

A NEW APPROACH OF PREDICTING BIFURCATION POINTS OF ELASTIC-PLASTIC BUCKLING OF PLATES AND SHELLS

The paper proposes a new approach of predicting the bifurcation points of elastic-plastic buckling of plates and shells,which is obtained from the natural combination of the Lyaponov's dy- namic criterion on stability and the modified adaptive Dynamic Relaxation(maDR)method developed recently by the authors.This new method can overcome the difficulties in the applications of the dy- namic criterion.Numerical results show that the theoretically predicted bifurcation points are in very good agreement with the corresponding experimental ones.The paper also provides a new means for further research on the plastic buckling paradox of plates and shells.

CRACK INITIATION AND STEADY PROPAGATION OF ELASTIC-PLASTIC MATERIALS IN PLANE STRESS CONDITION

The crack tip stress-strain fields of the elastic-plastic cracked specimens have been analyzed using finite element calculations.The crack initiation and steady propagation behaviours have also been investigated by means of slip line pattern etching technique and mechanical tests. The results show that there are HRR near field and distant field in the crack tip region,and the later depends on the specimen configuration.The crack initiation behaviour is controlled by a single parameter J.In contrast,the steady crack propagation is affected by the distant strain field and can not be described by single parameter only.