Void Nucleation in Nonlinear Solid Mechanics
Abstract
Consider a solid sphere of unit radius subjected to a uniformly- distributed radial tensile traction p on its surface. In response to this loading, the body can expand into a larger solid sphere. However for certain materials, when p is sufficiently large, it is energetically more favorable for the body to instead develop an internal spherical cavity. A bifurcation analysis yields the value P sub cr of the applied stress at which this instability occurs, without the need for an ad hoc failure criterion. This phenomenon of internal rupture is closely related to the well-known phenomenon of cavitation in fluids, and has therefore been dubbed 'cavitation' even in solids. Since the nucleation of a void in a stressed solid is often a precursor to failure, it would be useful to be able to predict the conditions under which cavitation occurs. The present project has been aimed at trying to determine whether cavitation, viewed as an intrinsic material instability, provides insight into the phenomenon of void nucleation. The project had two principal goals: one, to better understand teh phenomena of spherically (of cylindrically) symmetric cavitation, and two, to study the phenomenon of cavitation in circumstances that do not possess such symmetry.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA228890
Entities
People
- Rohan Abeyaratne
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology