Global spatial regularity for time dependent elasto-plasticity and related problems

We study the global spatial regularity of solutions of generalized elasto-plastic models with linear hardening on smooth domains. Under natural smoothness assumptions on the data and the boundary we obtain that the displacements belong to L^8((0,T);H^(3/2-d)(O)) whereas the internal variables belong to L^8((0,T);H^(1/2-d)(O)). The key step in the proof is a reflection argument which gives the regularity result in directions normal to the boundary on the basis of tangential regularity result

Global spatial regularity for time dependent elasto-plasticity and related problems

We study the global spatial regularity of solutions of generalized elasto-plastic models with linear hardening on smooth domains. Under natural smoothness assumptions on the data and the boundary we obtain that the displacements belong to L^\∞((0,T);H^(3/2-\δ)(\Ω)) whereas the internal variables belong to L^\∞((0,T);H^(1/2-\δ)(\Ω)). The key step in the proof is a reflection argument which gives the regularity result in directions normal to the boundary on the basis of tangential regularity results

Short note on global spatial regularity in elasto-plasticity with linear hardening

We study the global spatial regularity of solutions of elasto-plastic models with linear hardening. In order to point out the main idea, we consider a model problem on a cube, where we describe Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions on the top and the bottom, respectively, and periodic boundary conditions on the remaining faces. Under natural smoothness assumptions on the data we obtain u in L∞((0,T);H3/2-δ(Ω)) for the displacements and z in L∞((0,T);H1/2-δ(Ω)) for the internal variables. The proof is based on a difference quotient technique and a reflection argument

A quasilinear differential inclusion for viscous and rate-independent damage systems in non-smooth domains

This paper focuses on rate-independent damage in elastic bodies. Since the driving energy is nonconvex, solutions may have jumps as a function of time, and in this situation it is known that the classical concept of energetic solutions for rate-independent systems may fail to accurately describe the behavior of the system at jumps. Therefore we resort to the (by now well-established) vanishing viscosity approach to rate-independent modeling, and approximate the model by its viscous regularization. In fact, the analysis of the latter PDE system presents remarkable difficulties, due to its highly nonlinear character. We tackle it by combining a variational approach to a class of abstract doubly nonlinear evolution equations, with careful regularity estimates tailored to this specific system, relying on a q-Laplacian type gradient regularization of the damage variable. Hence for the viscous problem we conclude the existence of weak solutions, satisfying a suitable energy-dissipation inequality that is the starting point for the vanishing viscosity analysis. The latter leads to the notion of (weak) parameterized solution to our rate-independent system, which encompasses the influence of viscosity in the description of the jump regime

Homogenization of elliptic systems with non-periodic, state dependent coefficients

In this paper, a homogenization problem for an elliptic system with non-periodic, state dependent coefficients representing microstructure is investigated. The state functions defining the tensor of coefficients are assumed to have an intrinsic length scale denoted by ε > 0. The aim is the derivation of an effective model by investigating the limit process ε → 0 of the state functions rigorously. The effective model is independent of the parameter ε > 0 but preserves the microscopic structure of the state functions (ε > 0), meaning that the effective tensor is given by a unit cell problem prescribed by a suitable microscopic tensor. Due to the non-periodic structure of the state functions and the corresponding microstructure, the effective tensor turns out to vary from point to point (in contrast to a periodic microscopic model). In a forthcoming paper, these states will be solutions of an additional evolution law describing changes of the microstructure. Such changes could be the consequences of temperature changes, phase separation or damage progression, for instance. Here, in addition to the above and as a preparation for an application to time-dependent damage models (discussed in a future paper), we provide a Γ-convergence result of sequences of functionals being related to the previous microscopic models with state dependent coefficients. This requires a penalization term for piecewise constant state functions that allows us to extract from bounded sequences those sequences converging to a Sobolev function in some sense. The construction of the penalization term is inspired by techniques for Discontinuous Galerkin methods and is of own interest. A compactness and a density result are provided

Global spatial regularity for elasticity models with cracks, contact and other nonsmooth constraints

A global higher differentiability result in Besov spaces is proved for the displacement fields of linear elastic models with self contact. Domains with cracks are studied, where nonpenetration conditions/Signorini conditions are imposed on the crack faces. It is shown that in a neighborhood of crack tips (in 2D) or crack fronts (3D) the displacement fields are B 3/2 2,∞ regular. The proof relies on a difference quotient argument for the directions tangential to the crack. In order to obtain the regularity estimates also in the normal direction, an argument due to Ebmeyer/Frehse/Kassmann is modified. The methods are then applied to further examples like contact problems with nonsmooth rigid foundations, to a model with Tresca friction and to minimization problems with nonsmooth energies and constraints as they occur for instance in the modeling of shape memory alloys. Based on Falk's approximation Theorem for variational inequalities, convergence rates for FE-discretizations of contact problems are derived relying on the proven regularity properties. Several numerical examples illustrate the theoretical results

Global spatial regularity for elasticity models with cracks, contact and other nonsmooth constraints

A global higher differentiability result in Besov spaces is proved for the displacement fields of linear elastic models with self contact. Domains with cracks are studied, where nonpenetration conditions/Signorini conditions are imposed on the crack faces. It is shown that in a neighborhood of crack tips (in 2D) or crack fronts (3D) the displacement fields are B 3/2 2,∞ regular. The proof relies on a difference quotient argument for the directions tangential to the crack. In order to obtain the regularity estimates also in the normal direction, an argument due to Ebmeyer/Frehse/Kassmann is modified. The methods are then applied to further examples like contact problems with nonsmooth rigid foundations, to a model with Tresca friction and to minimization problems with nonsmooth energies and constraints as they occur for instance in the modeling of shape memory alloys. Based on Falk's approximation Theorem for variational inequalities, convergence rates for FE-discretizations of contact problems are derived relying on the proven regularity properties. Several numerical examples illustrate the theoretical results

Energy release rate for cracks in finite-strain elasticity

Griffith's fracture criterion describes in a quasistatic setting whether or not a pre-existing crack in an elastic body is stationary for given external forces. In terms of the energy release rate (ERR), which is the derivative of the deformation energy of the body with respect to a virtual crack extension, this criterion reads: If the ERR is less than a specific constant, then the crack is stationary, otherwise it will grow. In this paper, we consider geometrically nonlinear elastic models with polyconvex energy densities and prove that the ERR is well defined. Moreover, without making any assumption on the smoothness of minimizers, we derive rigorously the well-known Griffith formula and the $J$-integral, from which the ERR can be calculated. The proofs are based on a weak convergence result for Eshelby tensors