Fully optimized second-order estimates for the macroscopic behavior and field statistics of particle-reinforced viscoplastic composites

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the characterization of the macroscopic behavior and statistics for the distribution of the stress and strain-rate fields in composites consisting of random and isotropic suspensions of rigid spherical particles in power-law viscoplastic materials. For this purpose, use is made of the Fully Optimized Second-Order (FOSO) homogenization method (Ponte Castañeda, 2016) in combination with recently developed estimates (Kammer and Ponte Castañeda, 2022) for the macroscopic properties of the associated ‘linear comparison composite’ (LCC). Special attention is devoted to the method’s ability to account for the dependence of the homogenized properties of the nonlinear composite on the Lode angle (third invariant) of the applied loading. It is found that, while, for large particle volume fractions c, the effective flow stress is only weakly dependent on the Lode angle, for dilute volume fractions, the dependence on the Lode angle becomes more pronounced. In the ideally plastic limit, as c tends to zero, the effective yield stress is shown to depend linearly on c for axisymmetric shear, while this dependence becomes weaker with a non-analytic leading-order correction of O(c/lnc) for pure shear loading. This strong dependence on the Lode angle at dilute concentrations is shown to be due to significant differences in the local deformation patterns, which become strongly anisotropic and localize for pure shear conditions, but do not for axisymmetric shear. In turn, the FOSO homogenization method is able to capture the statistical features of these different deformation patterns by providing consistent estimates for the covariance tensor of the strain-rate field fluctuations in the matrix phase, which tend to become more strongly anisotropic for the pure shear case. As c increases, the shear bands are deflected by the randomly dispersed spheres leading to a more isotropic distribution of the stress and strain-rate fields, which is consistent with a weaker Lode angle effect. The estimates can also capture the effect of strong particle interactions, including the existence of a rigidity threshold where the macroscopic flow stress and field fluctuations blow up.