Influence of Mullins effect on local strains and stresses in structures-Numerical analysis

Laurent Gornet (1) , Grégory Chagnon (2) , Pierre Charrier (3)

1 GeM - Institut de Recherche en Génie Civil et Mécanique
2 3SR - Laboratoire sols, solides, structures - risques [Grenoble]
3 Trelleborg

Elastomers exhibit a stress-softening response which depends on the maximum strain previously endured by the material. In complex structures, the strain is not homogeneous; as a consequence, the local maxima of strain is not uniform and the stress-softening either. In the sequel, a stress-softening model is used for finite element simulations. It appears that the damage distribution is not homogeneous and that weak zones of the structure vary in a great range. As expected, stress levels depend strongly on the loading path, and the strain state is also modified because of the non-homogeneity of the whole structure. This brings to light that the Mullins effect is of fundamental importance in structural and fatigue design.

Domaines: Mécanique des structures [physics.class-ph]

Laurent Gornet, Grégory Chagnon, Pierre Charrier. Influence of Mullins effect on local strains and stresses in structures-Numerical analysis. Fourth European Conference on Constitutive Models for Rubber, ECCMR 2005, Jun 2005, Stockholm, Sweden. ⟨hal-01689154⟩