Hardening effect analysis in indentation processes by modular configuration of the upper bound theorem

摘要

Present study yields an alternative technique to model an indentation process, considering the hardening effect. Earlier works focus on modelling the material behaviour during indentation under the new Modular Upper Bound Theorem. The material was analysed under plane strain conditions and rigid-perfectly plastic material. Now, the aim of this research is to confer versatility to the new model developed, enriching the study and bringing results closer reality. Hence, a better approximation of the new Modular Upper Bound Theorem to a real indentation process is achieved by the introduction and study of the hardening effect. This is accomplished following the Ludwik equation for the modular configuration and implementing several simulations under finite element method analysis. To investigate the effectiveness of the developed model, results obtained with both methods are compared, showing only a difference between 3% to 5% for the optimum configuration considered, exposing again the consistency of the model.