Coupled elastic-plastic thermomechanically assisted diffusion: Theory development, numerical implementation, and application

摘要

A fully coupled thermomechanical diffusion theory describing the thermal and mechanically assisted mass transport of dilute mobile constituents in an elastic solid is extended to include the effects of elastic-plastic deformation. Using the principles of modern continuum mechanics and classical plasticity theory, balance laws and constitutive equations are derived for a continuum composed of an immobile, but deformable, parent material and a dilute mobile constituent. The resulting equations are cast into a finite element formulation for incorporation into a finite element code. This code serves as a tool for modeling thermomechanically assisted phenomena in elastic-plastic solids. A number of simplified problems for which analytical solutions can be derived are used to benchmark the theory and finite element code. Potential uses of the numerical implementation of the theory are demonstrated using two problems. Specifically, tritium diffusion in a titanium alloy and hydrogen diffusion in a multiphase stainless steel are examined.