Localization of plastic deformations as a result of wave interaction

Abstract

The main objective of the paper is the investigation of the interaction and reflection of elastic-viscoplastic waves which can lead to localization phenomena in solids. The rate type constitutive structure for an elastic-viscoplastic material with thermomechanical coupling is used. An adiabatic inelastic flow process is considered. Discussion of some features of rate dependent plastic medium is presented. This medium has dissipative and dispersive properties. In the evolution problem considered in such dissipative and dispersive medium the stress and deformation due to wave reflections and interactions are not uniformly distributed, and this kind of heterogeneity can lead to strain localization in the absence of geometrical or material imperfections. Numerical examples are presented for a 2D specimens subjected to tension, with the controlled displacements imposed at one side with different velocities. The initial-boundary conditions which are considered reflect the asymmetric (single side) tension of the specimen with the opposite side fixed, which leads to non-symmetric deformation. The influence of the constitutive parameter (relaxation time of mechanical perturbances) is also studied in the examples. The attention is focused on the investigation of the interactions and reflections of waves and on the location of localization of plastic deformations.