Macroscopic Theories of Cumulative Damage I: Strain Formulation.

Abstract

This article is devoted to the formulation of a mechanical constitutive theory accounting for deformation-induced material degradation, such as that resulting from the growth of small flaws. As in a previous investigation by the authors, the degrading material is modeled here as an effectively materially-uniform, simple body in the sense of Noll, 'damage' being interpreted as a permanent alteration in the stress-functional of this effective continuum. The authors' previous theory, which did not account for continued damage at constant strain, is shown here to provide a measure of damage incurred during a given strain history relative to the equilibrium configuration defined by the current value of strain. It is then shown that this 'relative damage functional' can be used to generate an absolute measure of damage if it is accepted that no damage can accrue in the absence of stress. In view of the physical assumptions introduced here, the present formulation appears to encompass fatigue and spallation phenomena as well as the slow deformation of most composite materials.

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1975
Accession Number
ADA014610

Entities

People

  • G. D. Allen
  • G. S. Brockway

Organizations

  • Texas A&M University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accounting
  • Aging (Materials)
  • Composite Materials
  • Degradation
  • Determinants (Mathematics)
  • Material Degradation Processes
  • Materials

Readers

  • Mechanical Engineering/Mechanics of Materials.
  • Structural Health Monitoring of Composite Structures.
  • Theoretical Analysis.