Ionel-Dumitrel Ghiba

A unifying perspective: the relaxed linear micromorphic continuum

We formulate a relaxed linear elastic micromorphic continuum model with symmetric Cauchy force stresses and curvature contribution depending only on the micro-dislocation tensor. Our relaxed model is still able to fully describe rotation of the microstructure and to predict nonpolar size effects. It is intended for the homogenized description of highly heterogeneous, but nonpolar materials with microstructure liable to slip and fracture. In contrast to classical linear micromorphic models, our free energy is not uniformly pointwise positive definite in the control of the independent constitutive variables. The new relaxed micromorphic model supports well-posedness results for the dynamic and static case. There, decisive use is made of new coercive inequalities recently proved by Neff, Pauly and Witsch and by Bauer, Neff, Pauly and Starke. The new relaxed micromorphic formulation can be related to dislocation dynamics, gradient plasticity and seismic processes of earthquakes. It unifies and simplifies the understanding of the linear micromorphic models.

The relaxed linear micromorphic continuum: existence, uniqueness and continuous dependence in dynamics

We study well-posedness for the relaxed linear elastic micromorphic continuum model with symmetric Cauchy force-stresses and curvature contribution depending only on the micro-dislocation tensor. In contrast to classical micromorphic models our free energy is not uniformly pointwise positive definite in the control of the independent constitutive variables. Another interesting feature concerns the prescription of boundary values for the micro-distortion field: only tangential traces may be determined which are weaker than the usual strong anchoring boundary condition. There, decisive use is made of new coercive inequalities recently proved by Neff, Pauly and Witsch, and by Bauer, Neff, Pauly and Starke. The new relaxed micromorphic formulation can be related to dislocation dynamics, gradient plasticity and seismic processes of earthquakes.

Reflection and transmission of elastic waves at interfaces embedded in non-local band-gap metamaterials: a comprehensive study via the relaxed micromorphic model

Abstract In this paper we propose to study wave propagation, transmission and reflection in band-gap mechanical metamaterials via the relaxed micromorphic model. To do so, guided by a suitable variational procedure, we start deriving the jump duality conditions to be imposed at surfaces of discontinuity of the material properties in non-dissipative, linear-elastic, isotropic, relaxed micromorphic media. Jump conditions to be imposed at surfaces of discontinuity embedded in Cauchy and Mindlin continua are also presented as a result of the application of a similar variational procedure. The introduced theoretical framework subsequently allows the transparent set-up of different types of micro-macro connections granting the description of both (i) internal connexions at material discontinuity surfaces embedded in the considered continua and, as a particular case, (ii) possible connections between different (Cauchy, Mindlin or relaxed micromorphic) continua. The established theoretical framework is general enough to be used for the description of a wealth of different physical situations and can be used as reference for further studies involving the need of suitably connecting different continua in view of (meta-)structural design. In the second part of the paper, we focus our attention on the case of an interface between a classical Cauchy continuum on one side and a relaxed micromorphic one on the other side in order to perform explicit numerical simulations of wave reflection and transmission. This particular choice is descriptive of a specific physical situation in which a classical material is connected to a phononic crystal. The reflective properties of this particular interface are numerically investigated for different types of possible micro-macro connections, so explicitly showing the effect of different boundary conditions on the phenomena of reflection and transmission. Finally, the case of the connection between a Cauchy continuum and a Mindlin one is presented as a numerical study, so showing that band-gap description is not possible for such continua, in strong contrast with the relaxed micromorphic case.

A variant of the linear isotropic indeterminate couple-stress model with symmetric local force-stress, symmetric nonlocal force-stress, symmetric couple-stresses and orthogonal boundary conditions

In this paper we venture a new look at the linear isotropic indeterminate couple-stress model in the general framework of second-gradient elasticity and we propose a new alternative formulation which obeys Cauchy–Boltzmann’s axiom of the symmetry of the force-stress tensor. For this model we prove the existence of solutions for the equilibrium problem. Relations with other gradient elastic theories and the possibility of switching from a fourth-order (gradient elastic) problem to a second-order micromorphic model are also discussed with the view of obtaining symmetric force-stress tensors. It is shown that the indeterminate couple-stress model can be written entirely with symmetric force-stress and symmetric couple-stress. The difference of the alternative models rests in specifying traction boundary conditions of either rotational type or strain type. If rotational-type boundary conditions are used in the integration by parts, the classical anti-symmetric nonlocal force-stress tensor formulation is obtained. Otherwise, the difference in both formulations is only a divergence-free second-order stress field such that the field equations are the same, but the traction boundary conditions are different. For these results we employ an integrability condition, connecting the infinitesimal continuum rotation and the infinitesimal continuum strain. Moreover, we provide the orthogonal boundary conditions for both models.

The exponentiated Hencky-logarithmic strain energy. Improvement of planar polyconvexity

In this paper we improve the result about the polyconvexity of the energies from the family of isotropic volumetric-isochoric decoupled strain exponentiated Hencky energies defined in the first part of this series, i.e.

The exponentiated Hencky-logarithmic strain energy: part III—coupling with idealized multiplicative isotropic finite strain plasticity

AbstractWe investigate an immediate application in finite strain multiplicative plasticity of the family of isotropic volumetric–isochoric decoupled strain energies

Real wave propagation in the isotropic-relaxed micromorphic model

F \mapsto W_{\rm eH}(F):= \widehat{W}_{\rm eH}(U) := \left\{ \begin{array}{lll} \frac{\mu}{k}\,e^{k\, \| {\rm dev}_n \log {U}\|^2}+\frac{\kappa}{2\, {\widehat{k}}}\,e^{\widehat{k}\,[ {\rm tr}(\log U)]^2}&\quad \text{if}& \det\, F > 0,\\ + \infty & \quad \text{if} & \det F \leq 0,\end{array} \right.

An ellipticity domain for the distortional Hencky logarithmic strain energy

F↦WeH(F):=W^eH(U):=μkek‖devnlogU‖2+κ2k^ek^[tr(logU)]2ifdetF>0,+∞ifdetF≤0,based on the Hencky-logarithmic (true, natural) strain tensor