Jianfeng Lu¹, Xu Liang^1,2, Shuling Hu^1,2

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.45, No.3, pp. 145-162, 2015, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2015.045.145

Abstract Flexoelectricity phenomenologically describes the universal electromechanical coupling effect between electric polarization and strain gradient, and electric field gradient and elastic strain. In contrast to piezoelectricity which is invalid in materials with inversion symmetry, flexoelectricity exists, commonly, in all solid dielectrics. In this paper, a summary of the research on flexoelectricity is presented to illustrate the development of this topic. Flexoelectricity still have many open questions and unresolved issues in the developing field, although it has attracted a surge of attention recently. Here we review the theoretical investigations and experimental studies on flexoelectricity, and the aim of the current paper is… More >

J. Joseph¹, Y. C. Lu ¹,

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.42, No.1, pp. 63-74, 2014, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2014.042.063

Abstract The super-long, vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (SL-VACNTs) are novel carbon nanomaterial produced from template-free synthesis. The mechanical responses of such material have been investigated by continuum finite element modeling and compared with experimental observations. The crushable foam model has been adequate in modeling the stress-strain curve and deformation of the SL-VACNTs under compression. SL-VACNTs are seen to exhibit transient elastic deformation at small displacement and then plastic deformation at large displacement. The deformation mostly occur at the position immediately beneath the compression platen (indenter face) due to the high stress/strain concentrations. More >

R. R. Valisetty¹, A.M. Dongare², A.M. Rajendran³, R. R. Namburu¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.36, No.3, pp. 231-255, 2013, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2013.036.231

Abstract Materials used in soldier protective structures, such as armor, vehicles and civil infrastructures, are being improved for performance in extreme dynamic environments. Nanocrystalline metals show significant promise in the design of these structures with superior strengths attributed to the dislocation-based and grain-boundary-based processes as compared to their polycrystalline counterparts. An optimization of these materials, however, requires a fundamental understanding of damage evolution at the atomic level. Accordingly, atomistic molecular dynamics simulations are performed using an embedded-atom method (EAM) potential on three nano-crystalline aluminum atom systems, one a Voronoi-based nano-crystalline system with an average grain size of 10 nm, and the… More >

Surkay D. Akbarov^1,2, Arzu Turan³

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.24, No.3, pp. 257-270, 2011, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2011.024.257

Abstract The influence of the initial finite stretching or compressing of the strip containing a single crack on the Energy Release Rate (ERR) and on the SIF of mode I at the crack tips is studied by the use of the Three-Dimensional Linearized Theory of Elasticity. It is assumed that the edges of the crack are parallel to the face planes of the strip and the ends of the strip are simply supported. The initial finite strain state arises by the uniformly distributed normal forces acting at the ends of the strip. The additional normal forces act on the edges of… More >

Haofeng Chen¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.20, No.2, pp. 159-184, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2010.020.159

Abstract In this paper a state-of-the-art numerical method is discussed for the evaluation of the shakedown and ratchet limits for an elastic-perfectly plastic body subjected to cyclic thermal and mechanical load history. The limit load or collapse load, i.e. the load carrying capacity, is also determined as a special case of shakedown analysis. These design limits in plasticity have been solved by characterizing the steady cyclic state using a general cyclic minimum theorem. For a prescribed class of kinematically admissible inelastic strain rate histories, the minimum of the functional for these design limits are found by a programming method, the Linear… More >

N.J. Bartle¹, P.D. Gosling¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.20, No.1, pp. 19-62, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2010.020.019

Abstract ETFE cushions are increasingly being used to form high-profile facades and structural forms. This investigation aims to extend an analytical theory of large deformation in order to predict the shape and stress distributions of an un-patterned square ETFE cushion without the need to resort to discretised numerical methods. In order to assess the validity of the theoretical procedure a prototype cushion has been analysed using a finite element simulation. The theoretical procedure is also compared with alternative approximate equations proposed for the design of ETFE cushions. More >

H. Wang¹, Y. Wu², P.D. Wu¹, K.W. Neale³

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.19, No.3, pp. 255-284, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2010.019.255

Abstract Large strain homogeneous simple shear of Hexagonal Close Packed (HCP) polycrystals is first studied numerically. The analyses are based on the classical Taylor model and the Visco-Plastic Self-Consistent (VPSC) model with various Self-Consistent Schemes (SCSs). In these polycrystal plasticity models, both slip and twinning contribute to plastic deformations. The simple shear results are then extended to the case of solid circular bars under large strain fixed-end torsion, where it is assumed that the solid bar has the same mechanical properties as the element analyzed for large strain simple shear. It is shown that the predicted second-order axial force is very… More >

J. Wang¹, D. C. C. Lam²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.17, No.3, pp. 215-232, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2010.017.215

Abstract Selected elastic moduli of nanocomposites are higher than the elastic moduli of microcomposites. Molecular immobilization and crystallization at the interfaces had been proposed as potential causes, but studies suggested that these effects are minor and cannot be used to explain the magnitude observed in nanocomposites with >3nm particles. Alternately, molecular simulation of polymer deformation showed that rotation gradients can lead to additional molecular rotations and stiffen the matrix. The stiffening is characterized by the nanostiffening material parameter, l2. In this investigation, an analytical expression for nanostiffening in nanocomposites was developed using finite element analysis. The nanostiffening in nanocomposites was determined… More >

Zone-Ching Lin¹and Ren-Yuan Wang¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.16, No.3, pp. 247-272, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2010.016.247

Abstract The paper establishes a new three-dimensional quasi-steady molecular statics nanoscale abrasive cutting model to investigate the abrasive cutting behavior in the downpressing and abrasive cutting process of a workpiece in chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process. The downpressing and abrasive cutting process is a continuous process. The abrasive cutting process is done after the single abrasive particle has downpressed and penetrated a workpiece to a certain depth of a workpiece. The paper analyzes the effects of the abrasive particles with different diameters on action force. It also analyzes the action force change of abrasive particles with different diameters on the projected… More >

Veturia Chiroiu¹, Ligia Munteanu¹, Pier Paolo Delsanto²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.16, No.1, pp. 75-100, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2010.016.075

Abstract Conventional continuum theories are unable to capture the observed indentation size effects, due to the lack of intrinsic length scales that represent the measures of nanostructure in the constitutive relations. In order to overcome this deficiency, the Toupin-Mindlin strain gradient theory of nanoindentation is formulated in this paper and the size dependence of the hardness with respect to the depth and the radius of the indenter for multiple walled carbon nanotubes is investigated. Results show a peculiar size influence on the hardness, which is explained via the shear resistance between the neighboring walls during the buckling of the multiwalled nanotubes. More >