Computational analysis of non-proportional biaxial shear reverse experiments superimposed by different cyclic loads

Abstract

This paper deals with anisotropic ductile damage and fracture behavior under low positive stress triaxialities. Novel tension–shear biaxial low–cycle experiments with different numbers of loading cycles (up to twenty) have been performed using a cruciform biaxially loaded specimen. During the experiment, a tensile preload is first imposed on the horizontal axis until it reaches 3kN; then, it is kept constant while different shear cyclic loading sequences are superimposed on the vertical axis until failure. All cyclic loadings are driven to a large strain range to investigate ductile damage, and the same amplitude is maintained for each repeated reverse loading cycle within a single loading pattern. In addition, numerical simulations are performed with an anisotropic stress-state-dependent plastic-damage continuum model, also considering the Bauschinger effect. The experimental and numerical analysis of the evolution of the first principal total strain and damage strains highlights the influence of the cyclic loading history on the material behavior. Moreover, fracture surfaces are examined by scanning electron microscopy to analyze the different mechanical performances at the micro-level

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