No / High temperature reversion tests have revealed a state of pre-existing molecular orientation in extruded polyethylene sheet. This state is related to differences in stress-deformation behaviour when specimens of the sheet are stretched along different angles with respect to the extrusion direction. An established large deformation, rate-dependent constitutive equation has been developed to model this material, by incorporating the pre-orientation by the addition of a strained Gaussian network. The level of pre-orientation is deduced from the dimensional changes on shrinkage. The constitutive equation is incorporated into the finite element package , and the shapes and drawing forces of tensile specimens extended at various angles to the extrusion direction are modelled.

Yes / A multi-element constitutive model for a lactide-based shape memory polymer has been developed that represents loading to large tensile deformations, stress relaxation and stress recovery at 60, 65 and 70°C. The model consists of parallel Maxwell arms each comprising neo-Hookean and Eyring elements. Guiu-Pratt analysis of the stress relaxation curves yields Eyring parameters. When these parameters are used to define the Eyring process in a single Maxwell arm, the resulting model yields at too low a stress, but gives good predictions for longer times. Stress dip tests show a very stiff response on unloading by a small strain decrement. This would create an unrealistically high stress on loading to large strain if it were modelled by an elastic element. Instead it is modelled by an Eyring process operating via a flow rule that introduces strain hardening after yield. When this process is incorporated into a second parallel Maxwell arm, there results a model that fully represents both stress relaxation and stress dip tests at 60°C. At higher temperatures a third arm is required for valid predictions.

Yes / An established statistical mechanical theory of amorphous polymer deformation has been incorporated as a plastic mechanism into a constitutive model and applied to a range of polymer mechanical deformations. The temperature and rate dependence of the tensile yield of PVC, as reported in early studies, has been modeled to high levels of accuracy. Tensile experiments on PET reported here are analyzed similarly and good accuracy is also achieved. The frequently observed increase in the gradient of the plot of yield stress against logarithm of strain rate is an inherent feature of the constitutive model. The form of temperature dependence of the yield that is predicted by the model is found to give an accurate representation. The constitutive model is developed in two-dimensional form and implemented as a user-defined subroutine in the finite element package ABAQUS. This analysis is applied to the tensile experiments on PET, in some of which strain is localized in the form of shear bands and necks. These deformations are modeled with partial success, though adiabatic heating of the instability causes inaccuracies for this isothermal implementation of the model. The plastic mechanism has advantages over the Eyring process, is equally tractable,and presents no particular difficulties in implementation with finite elements. / F. Boutenel acknowledges an Erasmus Programme Scholarship

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No / A large deformation, rate dependent model is applied to high temperature stretching of polyethylene. The theory is physically motivated, consisting of a model of a network of chain molecules to represent regions dominated by amorphous polymer, with embedded rigid spheres to introduce strain concentration similar to that caused by hard crystalline regions. Dependence on time and rate is introduced via shear stress driven diminution of the sphere radii. Experimentally, the rate dependence of the stress is such that, under tensile deformation, there is no necking associated with the initial yield point. Necking occurs at higher strains; this is associated with a weakening of rate dependence with increasing strain, which is a natural feature of the theory. It provides a realistic model of large tensile deformations, which in general involve the evolution of necking instabilities. It is implemented in a finite element scheme by using the package ABAQUS.

Yes / In constitutive models of polymers, there has been a long history of the use of strain-rate dependent viscous processes, such as the Eyring and Argon models. These are combined with elastic elements to generate viscoplastic models that exhibit typical phenomena such as rate dependent yield, creep and stress relaxation. The Eyring process is one of the most frequently used such mechanisms. It has two significant drawbacks: it implies a temperature dependence of mechanical behaviour that is in an opposite sense to that observed; and it predicts a strain rate dependence of yield stress that is less complex than that observed, leading to the requirement for two or more Eyring processes. In recent years, new ideas for amorphous polymers have been developed that lead to an alternative plastic mechanism that addresses these concerns. In this paper a constitutive model that incorporates this mechanism is developed, and its effectiveness in modelling macroscopic mechanical behaviour of polymers is explored with respect to published data.

The use of piezoelectric ceramic materials for structural actuation is a fairly well developed practice that has found use in a wide variety of applications. However, actuators with piezoceramic fibers and interdigitated electrodes have risen to the forefront of the intelligent structures community due to their increased actuation capability. However, their fiber-reinforced construction causes them to exhibit anisotropic piezomechanical properties, and the required larger driving voltages make the inherent piezoelectric nonlinearities more prevalent. In order to effectively utilize their increased performance, the more complicated behavior of these actuators must be sufficiently characterized. The current work is intended to provide a detailed nonlinear characterization of the mechanical and piezoelectric behavior of the Macro Fiber Composite actuator, which was developed at the NASA Langley Research Center. The mechanical behavior of this planar actuation device, which is both flexible and robust, is investigated by first developing a classical lamination model to predict its short-circuit linear-elastic properties, which are then verified experimentally. The sensitivity of this model to variations in constituent material properties is also studied. Phenomenological models are then used to represent the measured nonlinear short-circuit stress-strain response to various in-plane mechanical loads. Piezoelectric characterization begins with a nonlinear actuation model whose material parameters are determined experimentally for monotonically increasing electric fields. Next, the response of the actuator to a sinusoidal electric field input is measured under various constant mechanical loads and field amplitudes. From this procedure, the common linear piezoelectric strain coefficients are presented as a function of electric field amplitude and applied stress. In addition, a Preisach model is developed that uses the collected data sets to predict the hysteretic piezoelectric behavior of the MFC. Lastly, other related topics, such as manufacturing, cure kinetics modeling and linear thermoelasticity of the Macro Fiber Composite, are covered in the appendices. / Ph. D.

Petroleum reservoirs located in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea have undergone unexpected subsidence of great magnitude (> 10 m) during more than 30 years of petroleum recovery operations. Historical laboratory investigations have shown that the subsidence is due to the mechanical behavior and mechanical properties of chalk. Chalk behavior is characterized by elastoplasticity, including pore collapse, shear failure, and tensile failure mechanisms; rate-dependence; and pore fluid dependence. The research described in this dissertation was performed with the objectives to formulate a constitutive model which describes all aspects of chalk and soft rock mechanical behavior, develop and/or implement methods to integrate the equations which form the constitutive model, and to apply the model to finite element simulations of engineering problems encountered in chalk and soft rock. A new rate-dependent constitutive model is developed based on a three-dimensional extension of a volumetric time-lines model, similar to that of Bjerrum (1967). Shear and tensile failure surfaces are also included to reflect these failure mechanisms observed in chalk. Twelve model parameters are required to fully describe chalk behavior. Procedures to determine values for each of these parameters from laboratory test results are described. Correlations of model parameter values with index parameters are given for North Sea chalks, to allow reasonable values to be obtained in the absence of an extensive laboratory testing program. Comparisons between observed behavior and model simulations indicate that the new model is able to reproduce and predict the behavior of chalk quite well. A new integration method for critical state cap plasticity models is presented. This new method may be used for rate-independent or rate-dependent constitutive models which are formulated with elliptical cap yield surfaces, including the chalk model. The new method gives results that compare favorably to integration methods used currently, in terms of accuracy and computational effort. The effects of pore fluid composition on chalk behavior are included in the constitutive model. It is shown that the variability in constitutive behavior with pore fluid composition is due to dependence of model parameter values on pore fluid composition. This variability in model parameters with pore fluid composition has been quantified and implemented into the model for the complete spectrum of oil-water mixtures in chalk. Finite element simulations are presented to demonstrate performance of the model in analyzing problems at several different scales, including laboratory, borehole, and full-field scales. A new algorithm called "equivalent uniform water saturation" has been developed to determine the average mechanical properties of finite chalk masses with non-uniform pore fluid compositions, which are frequently encountered during finite element simulations. Results of the laboratory-scale simulations indicate that the constitutive model can reproduce the inhomogeneous deformation patterns which occur in chalk during waterflooding tests, and that use of the new algorithm utilizing "equivalent uniform water saturation" produces consistent results for chalk masses with inhomogeneous pore fluid distributions when used with different finite element mesh discretizations. Results of the larger-scale simulations indicate that changes in pore fluid composition and pore fluid pressure have different effects on macro-scale chalk mechanical behavior, and that both must be considered during analysis. / Ph. D.

Working from Charland's (1987) description of constitutive rhetoric, this thesis is concerned what the popular zombie apocalypse television series The Walking Dead (TWD) has to say regarding survival behavior in a post-apocalyptic world. TWD's plot focuses primarily on the relationships between survivor characters situated among the crumbling remains of society and humanity. An attempt is made to show how TWD (1) establishes a common ideology among its characters, and therefore (2) constitutes its characters as a primary audience through an ideology of inhumanity by three narrative ideological effects. In doing so, the study aims to advance understanding of constitutive rhetoric in a temporal sense and also to emphasize that popular culture artifacts suggest viewers as secondary audiences and implied auditors tied to ideologies. The results of this analysis suggest the new order of a post-apocalyptic world binds survivors into a collective and transhistorical subject. These characters are tied to their past before the apocalypse and also become relatively relatable for viewers. / Master of Arts