• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.24 no.2 s.173
• /
• pp.472-480
• /
• 2000

A macroscopic yield criterion for porous solids with pressure-sensitive matrices modeled by Coulomb's yield criterion was obtained by generalizing Gurson's yield criterion with consideration of the hydrostatic yield stresses for a spherical thick-walled shell and by fitting the finite element results of a voided cube. The macroscopic yield criterion is valid for negative mean normal stresses as well as for positive mean normal stresses. From the yield criterion, a plastic potential function for the porous solids was derived either for plastic normality flow or for plastic non-normality flow of pressure- sensitive matrices. In addition, the elastic relation, an evolution equation of the plastic flow stress of the matrices and an evolution equation of the void volume fraction were presented to complete a set of constitutive relations. The set of constitutive relations was implemented into a finite element code ABAQUS to analyze the material behavior of rubber-toughened epoxies. The cavitation and the deformation behavior were analyzed around a crack tip under three-point bending and around notch tips under four-point bending. In the numerical analyses, the cavitation of rubber particles was considered via a stress-controlled nucleation model. The numerical results indicate that a reasonable cavitation zone can be obtained with void nucleation controlled by the macroscopic mean normal stress, and a plastic zone is smaller around a notch tip under compression than under tension. These numerical results agree well with corresponding experimental results on the cavitation and plastic zones.