An overlay J2 viscoelastic viscoplastic viscodamage model for stable shear localization problems

This work formulates a relatively simple isotropic local Overlay J2-Viscoelastic-Viscoplastic-Viscodamage constitutive model  (O-J2-VVV) which encompasses the merits of both the plastic and continuum damage formulations. The plastic component of the model account for inelastic permanent strains, while the damage component account for loss of stiffness. The plas- tic and damage softening moduli are regularized according to the material mode II fracture energy and the element size. The Orthogonal SubGrid Stabilization Method (OSGS ) is used to ensure existance and uniquess of the solution for strain shear strain localization processes, attaining global and local stability of the corresponding discrete finite element formulation. Consistent residual viscosity is used to enhance robustness and convergence of the formulation. Numerical examples show that the formulation derived is versatily, fully stable and remarkably robust, The solutions obtained are completely mesh independent, unlike those obtained with the ill-posed standard approaches. &nbsp

Explicit mixed strain–displacement finite elements for compressible and quasi-incompressible elasticity and plasticity

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1007/s00466-016-1305-zThis paper presents an explicit mixed finite element formulation to address compressible and quasi-incompressible problems in elasticity and plasticity. This implies that the numerical solution only involves diagonal systems of equations. The formulation uses independent and equal interpolation of displacements and strains, stabilized by variational subscales. A displacement sub-scale is introduced in order to stabilize the mean-stress field. Compared to the standard irreducible formulation, the proposed mixed formulation yields improved strain and stress fields. The paper investigates the effect of this enhancement on the accuracy in problems involving strain softening and localization leading to failure, using low order finite elements with linear continuous strain and displacement fields (P1P1 triangles in 2D and tetrahedra in 3D) in conjunction with associative frictional Mohr–Coulomb and Drucker–Prager plastic models. The performance of the strain/displacement formulation under compressible and nearly incompressible deformation patterns is assessed and compared to analytical solutions for plane stress and plane strain situations. Benchmark numerical examples show the capacity of the mixed formulation to predict correctly failure mechanisms with localized patterns of strain, virtually free from any dependence of the mesh directional bias. No auxiliary crack tracking technique is necessary.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Mesh objective modeling of cracks using continuous linear strain and displacement interpolations

The paper addresses the problem of tensile and mixed‐mode cracking within the so‐called smeared crack approach. Because lack of point‐wise convergence on stresses is deemed as the main difficulty to be overcome in the discrete problem, a (stabilized) mixed formulation with continuous linear strain and displacement interpolations is used. The necessary convergence rate can be proved for such a formulation, at least in the linear problem. Two standard local isotropic Rankine damage models with strain‐softening, differing in the definition of the damage criteria, are used as discrete constitutive model. Numerical examples demonstrate the application of the proposed formulation using linear triangular P1P1 and bilinear quadrilateral Q1Q1 mixed elements. The results obtained do not suffer from spurious mesh‐bias dependence without the use of auxiliary tracking techniques

On the theory of cell migration: durotaxis and chemotaxis

Cell migration is a fundamental element in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. Alteration of its regulatory mechanisms leads to loss of cellular adhesion and increased motility, which are critical steps in the initial stages of metastasis, before a malignant cell colonizes a distant tissue or organ. Consequently, cell migration has become the focus of intensive experimental and theoretical studies; however the understanding of many of its mechanism remains elusive. Cell migration is the result of a periodic sequence of protrusion, adhesion remodeling and contraction stages that leads to directed movement of cells towards external stimuli. The spatio-temporal coordination of these processes depends on the di erential activation of the signaling networks that regulate them at specific subcellular locations. Particularly, proteins from the family of small RhoGTPases play a central role in establishing cell polarization, setting the direction of migration, regulating the formation of adhesion sites and the generation of the forces that drive motion. Theoretical models based on an independent description of these processes have a limited capacity to predict cellular behavior observed in vitro, since their functionality depends intrinsically on the cross-regulation between their signaling pathways. This thesis presents a model of cell migration that integrates a description of force generation and cell deformation, adhesion site dynamics and RhoGTPases activation. The cell is modeled as a viscoelastic body capable of developing active traction and protrusion forces. The magnitude of stresses is determined by the activation level of the RhoGTPases, whose distribution in the cell body is described by a set of reaction-di usion equations. Adhesion sites are modeled as punctual clusters of transmembrane receptors that dynamically bind and unbind the extracellular matrix depending on the force transmitted to them and the distance with ligands on the substrate. Onthe theoretical level, the major findings concern the relationship between the topology of a crosstalk scheme and the properties, as defined in [1], inherited by the associated reaction network as a gradient sensing and regulatory system: persistent and transient polarization triggered by external gradients, adaptation to uniform stimulus, reversible polarization, multi-stimuli response and amplification. This leads to models that remain functional against the biological diversity associated to di erent cell types and matches the observed cell behaviour in Chemotaxis essays [2, 3, 4, 5]: the capacity of cells to amplify gradients, polarize without featuring Turing patterns of activation, and switch the polarization axis and the direction of migration after the source of the external stimulus is changed. The RhoGTPase model, derived on theoretical premises, challenges a long held view on the mechanisms of RhoGTPase crosstalk and suggests that the role of GDIs, GEFs and GAPs has to be revised. Recent experimental evidence supports this idea[6]. In addition, the model allows to recapitulate a continuous transition between the tear-like shape adopted by neutrophiles and the fan-like shape of keratocytes during migration [7] by varying the relative magnitudes of protrusion and contraction forces or, alternatively, the strength of RhoGTPase Crosstalk. The second mechanism represents a novel explanation of the di erent morphologies observed in migrating cells. Di erences in RhoGTPase crosstalk strength could be mediated by di erences between the activity or concentration of GEFs, GAPs and GDIs in di erent cell types; an idea that can be explored experimentally. On cell mechanosensing, a new hypothesis based on a simple physical principle is proposed as the mechanism that might explain the universal preference of cells (bar neurons) to migrate along sti ness gradients. The theory provides a simple unifying explanation to a number of recent observations on force development and growth in real time at cell Focal adhesions [8, 9, 10, 11]. The apparently conflicting results have been attributed to the di erences in experimental set-ups and cell types used, and have fueled a longstanding controversy on how cells prove the mechanical properties of the extra-cellular matrix. The predictions of the theory recapitulate these experimental observations, and its founding hypothesis can be tested experimentally. This hypothesis directly suggests the mechanism that could explain the preference of cells to migrate along sti ness gradients, and for the first time, a plausible biological function for its existence. This phenomenon is known as Durotaxis, and its abnormal regulation has been associated to the malignant behaviour of cancer cells. &nbsp

A mixed Finite Element formulation for incompressibility using linear displacement and pressure interpolations

In this work shall be presented a stabilized finite element method to deal with incompressibility in solid mechanics. A mixed formulation involving pressure and displacement fields is used and a continuous linear interpolation is considered for both fields. To overcome the Ladyzhenskaya-Babuska-Brezzi condition, a stabilization technique based on the orthogonal sub-grid scale method is introduced. The main advantage of the method is the possibility of using linear triangular finite elements, which are easy to generate for real industrial applications. Results are compared with several improved formulations, as the enhanced assumed strain method (EAS) and the Q1P0-formulation, in nearly incompressible problems and in the context of linear elasticity and J2-plasticity

Mixed stabilized finite element methods in nonlinear solid mechanics: Part I: Formulation

This paper exploits the concept of stabilized finite element methods to formulate stable mixed stress/displacement and strain/displacement finite elements for the solution of nonlinear solid mechanics problems. The different assumptions and approximations used to derive the methods are exposed. The proposed procedure is very general, applicable to 2D and 3D problems. Implementation and computational aspects are also discussed, showing that a robust application of the proposed formulation is feasible. Numerical examples show that the results obtained compare favorably with those obtained with the corresponding irreducible formulation

A mixed three-field FE formulation for stress accurate analysis including the incompressible limit

In previous works, the authors have presented the stabilized mixed displacement/pressure formulation to deal with the incompressibility constraint. More recently, the authors have derived stable mixed stress/displacement formulations using linear/linear interpolations to enhance stress accuracy in both linear and non-linear problems. In both cases, the Variational Multi Scale (VMS) stabilization technique and, in particular, the Orthogonal Subgrid Scale (OSS) method allows the use of linear/linear interpolations for triangular and tetrahedral elements bypassing the strictness of the inf–sup condition on the choice of the interpolation spaces. These stabilization procedures lead to discrete problems which are fully stable, free of volumetric locking or stress oscillations. This work exploits the concept of mixed finite element methods to formulate stable displacement/stress/pressure finite elements aimed for the solution of nonlinear problems for both solid and fluid finite element (FE) analyses. The final goal is to design a finite element technology able to tackle simultaneously problems which may involve isochoric behavior (preserve the original volume) of the strain field together with high degree of accuracy of the stress field. These two features are crucial in nonlinear solid and fluid mechanics, as used in most numerical simulations of industrial manufacturing processes. Numerical benchmarks show that the results obtained compare very favorably with those obtained with the corresponding mixed displacement/pressure formulation

A stabilized mixed explicitformulation for plasticity with strain localization

Este artículo presenta la aplicación de la formulación mixta estabilizada explícita en desplazamientos y deformaciones (MEX-FEM) [23,24] para la solución de problemas no lineales de la mecánica de sólidos con localización de deformaciones. A fin de emplear el mismo orden lineal de interpolación para el campo de los desplazamientos y deformaciones, nuestra formulación emplea el método de las sub-escalas variacionales. Comparada con la formulación estándar en desplazamientos, la formulación propuesta proporciona mejores campos de deformaciones y tensiones, y es capaz de abordar situaciones quasi-incompresibles. En este trabajo se investigan los efectos que tienen las deformaciones y tensiones mejoradas en los modelos de plasticidad de Mohr-Coulomb y Drucker Prager, incluyendo el fenómeno de la localización de las deformaciones. Los ejemplos numéricos validan la capacidad de la formulación propuesta para predecir correctamente los mecanismos de fallo, cargas últimas y la dirección de la banda de localización, virtualmente independientes de la malla utilizada y sin necesidad de emplear un algoritmo de rastreo.This paper presents the application of stabilized mixed explicit strain/displacement formulation (MEX-FEM) [23,24] for solving non-linear plasticity problems in solid mechanics with strain localization. In order to use the same linear interpolation order for displacements and strains, the formulation uses the variational subscales method. Compared to the standard irreducible formulation, the proposed formulation yields improved strain and stress fields, and it is capable of addressing nearly incompressible situations. This work investigates the effects of the improved strain and stress fields in problems involving strain softening and localization leading to failure for the Mohr-Coulomb and Drucker Prager plasticity models. Numerical examples validate the ability of the proposed formulation to correctly predict failure mechanisms with localized patterns of strain, virtually free of mesh dependence and without using tracking algorithm.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Modeling the effect of storage temperature on the respiration rate and texture of fresh cut pineapple

The effect of temperature on the respiration rate and texture of fresh cut pineapple was studied over the course of 10 days of storage. The thermal exchange between the pineapple trays and the cooling environment was simulated using the finite element method and tested at 6 °C. The temperatures on pineapple wedges differed between the cold point and points near the surface, indicating that the respiration rate may be affected in pineapple subjected to temperature abuse. The experimental respiration rates obtained were used to develop a model relating respiration to O2 and CO2concentrations at different temperatures using the closed system method. The O2 consumption and CO2 production of pineapple wedges was accurately modeled using Michaelis–Menten kinetics. The texture degradation of pineapple wedges follows a zero-order kinetic reaction at different temperatures and the thermal dependence of the model’s parameters for both respiration rate and texture degradation was described by Arrhenius-type equations