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Call for papers: Computer Applications in Research and Development of Complex Mechanical Systems

Submitted by Roddy MacLeod on

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=579

Call for papers: Computer Applications in Research and Development of Complex Mechanical Systems

A special issue of the International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology  (IJCAT)

Nonlinear Electroelastic Deformations

Submitted by Luis Dorfmann on

Electro-sensitive (ES) elastomers form a class of smart materials whose mechanical properties can be changed rapidly by the application of an electric field. These materials have attracted considerable interest recently because of their potential for providing relatively cheap and light replacements for mechanical devices, such as actuators, and also for the development of artificial muscles. In this paper we are concerned with a theoretical framework for the analysis of boundary-value problems that underpin the applications of the associated electromechanical interactions. We confine attention to the static situation and first summarize the governing equations for a solid material capable of large electroelastic deformations. The general constitutive laws for the Cauchy stress tensor and the electric field vectors for an isotropic electroelastic material are developed in a compact form following recent work by the authors. The equations are then applied, in the case of an incompressible material, to the solution of a number of representative boundary-value problems. Specifically, we consider the influence of a radial electric field on the azimuthal shear response of a thick-walled circular cylindrical tube, the extension and inflation characteristics of the same tube under either a radial or an axial electric field (or both fields combined), and the effect of a radial field on the deformation of an internally pressurized spherical shell.

Damage Accumulation and Fracture Initiation in Uncracked Ductile Solids

Submitted by Liang Xue on

doi:10.1016/j.ijsolstr.2006.12.026

Damage accumulation and fracture initiation in uncracked ductile solids subject to triaxial loading

Liang Xue, International Journal of Solids and Structures, Volume 44, Issue 16, 1 August 2007, Pages 5163-5181

A new website has been created for Prof. Raymond Mindlin, including funding solicitation for the Mindlin Medal

Submitted by Xi Chen on

A new website has been recently created for the centennial of Professor Raymond Mindlin. In addition, the Engineering Mechanics Division of ASCE has launched an effort to establish the Mindlin Medal of Applied Mechanics. The goal is to raise about $30,000 to setup an endowment at ASCE.

Pure shear decomposition of the deformation gradient for finite strain measures

Submitted by tvpc22 on

Hai,

I am wondering about deformation gradient for pure shear decompositions. As i saw much literature on simple shear, I couldn't able to track one on pure shear.

Please some one in this forum provide me with literaure and fine details.

Regards

Venkat 

 

 

Delocalizing Strain in a Thin Metal Film on a Polymer Substrate

Submitted by Teng Li on

Teng Li, Zhenyu Huang, Zhichen Xi, Stephanie P. Lacour, Sigurd Wagner, Zhigang Suo, Mechanics of Materials, 37, 261-273 (2005).

Under tension, a freestanding thin metal film usually ruptures at a smaller strain than its bulk counterpart. Often this apparent brittleness does not result from cleavage, but from strain localization, such as necking. By volume conservation, necking causes local elongation. This elongation is much smaller than the film length, and adds little to the overall strain. The film ruptures when the overall strain just exceeds the necking initiation strain, εN , which for a weakly hardening film is not far beyond its elastic limit. Now consider a weakly hardening metal film on a steeply hardening polymer substrate. If the metal film is fully bonded to the polymer substrate, the substrate suppresses large local elongation in the film, so that the metal film may deform uniformly far beyond εN. If the metal film debonds from the substrate, however, the film becomes freestanding and ruptures at a smaller strain than the fully bonded film; the polymer substrate remains intact. We study strain delocalization in the metal film on the polymer substrate by analyzing incipient and large-amplitude nonuniform deformation, as well as debond-assisted necking. The theoretical considerations call for further experiments to clarify the rupture behavior of the metal-on-polymer laminates.

Related posts and discussions

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Local thinning of Cu film
High ductility of a metal film adherent on a polymer substrate


High ductility of a metal film adherent on a polymer substrate

Submitted by Yong Xiang on

In recent development of deformable electronics, it has been noticed that thin metal films often rupture at small tensile strains. Here we report experiments with Cu films deposited on polymeric substrates, and show that the rupture strains of the metal films are sensitive to their adhesion to the substrates. Well-bonded Cu films can sustain strains up to 10% without appreciable cracks, and up to 30% with discontinuous microcracks. By contrast, poorly bonded Cu films form channel cracks at strains about 2%. The cracks form by a mixture of strain localization and intergranular fracture.

Mechanics of flexible macroelectronics

Submitted by Teng Li on

The following entry was first posted in www.macroelectronics.org on 8 May 2006.

Flat-panel displays are rapidly replacing cathode-ray tubes as the monitors of choice for computers and televisions, a commercial success that has opened the era of macroelectronics, in which transistors and other micro-components are integrated over large areas. In addition to the flat-panel displays, other macroelectronic products include x-ray imagers, thin-film solar cells, and thin-film antennas.
Like a microelectronic product, a macroelectronic product consists of many thin-film components of small features. While microelectronics advances by miniaturizing features, macroelectronics does so by enlarging systems. Macroelectronic products today are mostly fabricated on substrates of glass or silicon; they are expensive, fragile and not readily portable when their areas are large. To reduce cost and enhance portability, future innovation will come from new choice of materials and of manufacturing processes. For example, thin-film devices on thin polymer substrates lend themselves to roll-to-roll fabrication, resulting in lightweight, rugged and flexible products. These macroelectronic products will have diverse architectures, hybrid materials, and small features. Their mechanical behavior during manufacturing and use poses significant challenges to the creation of the new technologies.

A recent review paper by Suo et al. describes ongoing work in the emerging field of research – mechanics of flexible macroelectronics, with emphasis on the mechanical behavior at the scale of individual features, and over a long time. The following topics have been discussed in the paper: