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Fibre Bragg Gratings have become widespread measurement devices in engineering and other fields of application. In all but a few cases, the relation between cause and effect is simplified to a proportional model. However, at its mathematical core lies a nonlinear inverse problem which appears not to have received much attention in the literature. In this paper, we present this core problem to the mathematical community and provide a first report on opportunities and limitations of a regularization approach. In particular, we show that difficulties arise from non-uniqueness and the absence of established parameter selection rules for nonlinear inverse problems with multiple regularization parameters. Nevertheless, the paper takes a first step toward extracting more information from a single FBG measurement.

This work focuses on the thermodynamics of pseudo-elastic models which represent the Mullins effect. Two established models are analyzed theoretically, their thermomechanical properties are derived, and certain critical points are identified. These findings are used to deduce an alternative approach to deviate pseudo-elasticity. This is achieved by defining a suitable free energy which imposes conditions on the stress tensor and the dissipation using the Clausius-Duhem inequality. The concept of pseudo-elasticity is then generalized to extend arbitrary thermomechanical, even inelastic, material models to allow for softening effects. Under weak assumptions on the softening function the thermomechanical consistency is shown., Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures

This work deals with the characterisation and modelling of the curing process and its associated volume changes of an epoxy based thermoset resin. Measurements from differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) define the progress of the chemical reaction. The related thermochemical volume changes are recorded by an especially constructed experimental setup based on Archimedes principle. Information on measuring procedure and data processing are provided. This includes investigations on compensation of environmental influences, long-term stability and resolution. With the aim of simulating the adhesives curing process, constitutive models representing the reaction kinetics and thermochemical volume changes are presented and the model parameters are identified.

This work deals with the modelling and simulation of curing phenomena in adhesively bonded piezo metal composites which consist of an adhesive layer with integrated piezoelectric module and two surrounding metal sheet layers. In a first step, a general modelling framework is proposed which is able to represent curing phenomena in polymers at finite strains. Based on this formulation, a concretized model is deduced for the simulation of curing in one specific epoxy based adhesive. Here, appropriate material functions are specified and the thermodynamic consistency is proved. Regarding the finite element implementation, a numerical integration scheme and a new approach for the consideration of different initial conditions are provided. Finally, finite element simulations of a newly proposed manufacturing process for the production of bonded piezo metal composite structures are conducted. A deep drawing process of the composite with uncured adhesive layer and the subsequent adhesive curing are investigated., Comment: final paper published at Journal of Computational Mechanics

A simple phenomenological approach to metal plasticity, including the description of the strain-induced plastic anisotropy, is considered. The advocated approach is exemplified by a two-dimensional rheological analogy. This analogy provides insight into modelling of nonlinear kinematic hardening of Armstrong-Frederick type combined with a nonlinear distortional hardening. In the previous publications of the authors, an interpolation rule between the undistorted yield surface of a virgin material and the saturated yield surface of a pre-deformed material was considered. In the current publication, a somewhat more flexible approach is considered. Given a set of convex symmetric key surfaces which correspond to different hardening stages, the form of the yield surface is smoothly interpolated between these key surfaces. Thus, any experimentally observed sequence of symmetric convex yield surfaces can be rendered. In particular, an arbitrary sharpening of the yield locus in the loading direction combined with a flattening on the opposite side can be taken into account. Moreover, the yield locus evolves smoothly and its convexity is ensured at each hardening stage., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. These results were presented at the 10th World Congress on Computational Mechanics, 8-13 July, Sao Paolo, Brazil (2012)

The minimal invasive procedure of vertebroplasty is a surgical technique to treat compression fractures of vertebral bodies. During the treatment, liquid bone cement gets injected into the affected vertebral body and therein cures to a solid. In order to investigate the treatment and the impact of injected bone cement, an integrated modelling and simulation framework has been developed. The framework includes (i) the generation of microstructural computer models based on microCT images of human cancellous bone, (ii) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of bone cement injection into the trabecular structure and (iii) non-linear finite element (FE) simulations of the subsequent bone cement curing. A detailed description of the material behaviour of acrylic bone cements is provide d for both simulation stages. A non-linear process-depending fluid flow model is chosen to represent the bone cement behaviour during injection. The bone cements phase change from a highly viscous fluid to a solid is described by a non-linear viscoelastic material model with curing dependent properties. To take into account the distinctive temperature dependence of acrylic bone cements, both material models are formulated in a thermo-mechanically coupled manner. Moreover, the corresponding microstructural CFD- and FE-simulations are performed using thermo-mechanically coupled solvers. An application of the presented modelling and simulation framework to a sample of human cancellous bone demonstrates the capabilities of the presented approach., Comment: 26 pages, 16 figures, ZAMM - Zeitschrift f\"ur angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik (2015)

We consider the numerical treatment of one of the most popular finite strain models of the viscoelastic Maxwell body. This model is based on the multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient, combined with Neo-Hookean hyperelastic relations between stresses and elastic strains. The evolution equation is six dimensional. For the corresponding local initial value problem, a fully implicit integration procedure is considered, and a simple explicit update formula is derived. Thus, no local iterative procedure is required, which makes the numerical scheme more robust and efficient. The resulting integration algorithm is unconditionally stable and first order accurate. The incompressibility constraint of the inelastic flow is exactly preserved. A rigorous proof of the symmetry of the consistent tangent operator is provided. Moreover, some properties of the numerical solution, like invariance under the change of the reference configuration and positive energy dissipation within a time step, are discussed. Numerical tests show that, in terms of accuracy, the proposed integration algorithm is equivalent to the classical implicit scheme based on the exponential mapping. Finally, in order to check the stability of the algorithm numerically, a representative initial boundary value problem involving finite viscoelastic deformations is considered. An FEM solution of the representative problem using MSC.MARC is presented., Comment: 29 pages, 9 figures