Two models to simulate rate-dependent domain switching effects - application to ferroelastic polycrystalline ceramics

Summary, in English

The aim of this paper is to study rate-dependent switching in ferroelastic materials. More specifically, a micro-mechanically motivated model is embedded into an iterative three-dimensional and electromechanically coupled finite element framework. An established energy-based criterion serves for the initiation of domain switching processes as based on reduction in (local) Gibbs free energy. Subsequent nucleation and propagation of domain walls is captured via a linear kinetics theory with rate-dependent effects being incorporated in terms of a deformation-dependent limit-time-parameter. With this basic model in hand, two different switching formulations are elaborated in this work: on the one hand, a straightforward volume-fraction-ansatz is applied with the volume-fraction-value depending on the limit-time-parameter; on the other hand, a reorientation-transformation-formulation is proposed, whereby the orientation tensor itself is assumed to depend on the limit-time-parameter. Macroscopic behaviour such as stress versus strains curves or stress versus electrical displacements graphs are obtained by applying straightforward volume-averaging-techniques to the three-dimensional finite-element-based simulation results which provides important insights into the rate-dependent response of the investigated ferroelastic materials.

• Author: Andreas Menzel; A Arockiarajan; S M Sivakumar
• Department/s: Solid Mechanics
• Publishing year: 2008
• Language: English
• Publication/Series: Smart Materials and Structures
• Volume: 17
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0964-1726/17/01/015026
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Topic: Mechanical Engineering
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 0964-1726