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We apply physics-augmented neural network (PANN) constitutive models to experimental uniaxial tensile data of rubber-like materials whose behavior depends on manufacturing parameters. For this, we conduct experimental investigations on a 3D printed digital material at different mix ratios and consider several datasets from literature, including Ecoflex at different Shore hardness and a photocured 3D printing material at different grayscale values. We introduce a parametrized hyperelastic PANN model which can represent material behavior at different manufacturing parameters. The proposed model fulfills common mechanical conditions of hyperelasticity. In addition, the hyperelastic potential of the proposed model is monotonic in isotropic isochoric strain invariants of the right Cauchy-Green tensor. In incompressible hyperelasticity, this is a relaxed version of the ellipticity (or rank-one convexity) condition. Using this relaxed ellipticity condition, the PANN model has enough flexibility to be applicable to a wide range of materials while having enough structure for a stable extrapolation outside the calibration data. The monotonic PANN yields excellent results for all materials studied and can represent a wide range of largely varying qualitative and quantitative stress behavior. Although calibrated on uniaxial tensile data only, it leads to a stable numerical behavior of 3D finite element simulations. The findings of our work suggest that monotonicity could play a key role in the formulation of very general yet robust and stable constitutive models applicable to materials with highly nonlinear and parametrized behavior.

In this paper, we study the problem of shape-programming of incompressible hyperelastic shells through differential growth. The aim of the current work is to determine the growth tensor (or growth functions) that can produce the deformation of a shell to the desired shape. First, a consistent finite-strain shell theory is introduced. The shell equation system is established from the 3D governing system through a series expansion and truncation approach. Based on the shell theory, the problem of shape-programming is studied under the stress-free assumption. For a special case in which the parametric coordinate curves generate a net of curvature lines on the target surface, the sufficient condition to ensure the vanishing of the stress components is analyzed, from which the explicit expression of the growth tensor can be derived. In the general case, we conduct the variable changes and derive the total growth tensor by considering a two-step deformation of the shell. With these obtained results, a general theoretical scheme for shape-programming of thin hyperelastic shells through differential growth is proposed. To demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed scheme, several nature-inspired examples are studied. The derived growth tensors in these examples have also been implemented in the numerical simulations to verify their correctness and accuracy. The simulation results show that the target shapes of the shell samples can be recovered completely. The scheme for shape-programming proposed in the current work is helpful in designing and manufacturing intelligent soft devices.

We review nine invariant and dispersion-type anisotropic hyperelastic constitutive models for soft biological tissues based on their fitting performance to experimental data from three different human tissues. For this, we used a hybrid multi-objective optimization procedure. A genetic algorithm is devised to generate the initial guesses followed by a gradient-based search algorithm. The constitutive models are then fit to a set of uniaxial and biaxial tension experiments conducted on tissues with differing fiber orientations. For the in silico investigation, experiments conducted on aneurysmatic abdominal aorta, linea alba, and rectus sheath tissues are utilized. Accordingly, the models are ranked with respect to an objec tive normalized quality of fit metric. Finally, a detailed discussion is carried out on the fitting performance of each model. This work provides a valuable quantitative comparison of various anisotropic hyperelastic models, the findings of which can aid those modeling the behavior of soft tissues in selecting the best constitutive model for their particular application.

Hard-magnetic soft materials (HMSMs) are particulate composites that consist of a soft matrix embedded with particles of high remnant magnetic induction. Since the application of an external magnetic flux induces a body couple in HMSMs, the Cauchy stress tensor in these materials is asymmetric, in general. Therefore, the micropolar continuum theory can be employed to capture the deformation of these materials. On the other hand, the geometries and structures made of HMSMs often possess small thickness compared to the overall dimensions of the body. Accordingly, in the present contribution, a 10-parameter micropolar shell formulation to model the finite elastic deformation of thin structures made of HMSMs and subject to magnetic stimuli is developed. The present shell formulation allows for using three-dimensional constitutive laws without any need for modification to apply the plane stress assumption in thin structures. Due to the highly nonlinear nature of the governing equations, a nonlinear finite element formulation for numerical simulations is also developed. To circumvent locking at large distortions, an enhanced assumed strain formulation is adopted. The performance of the developed formulation is examined in several numerical examples. It is shown that the proposed formulation is an effective tool for simulating the deformation of thin bodies made of HMSMs.

The last decade has witnessed the emergence of magneto-active polymers (MAPs) as one of the most advanced multi-functional soft composites. Depending on the magnetisation mechanisms and responsive behaviour, MAPs are mainly classified into two groups: i) hard magnetic MAPs in which a large residual magnetic flux density sustains even after the removal of the external magnetic field, and ii) soft magnetic MAPs where the magnetisation of the filler particles disappear upon the removal of the external magnetic field. Polymeric materials are widely treated as fully incompressible solids that require special numerical treatment to solve the associated boundary value problem. Furthermore, both soft and hard magnetic particles-filled soft polymers are inherently viscoelastic. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to devise a unified finite element method-based numerical framework for magneto-mechanically coupled systems that can work for compressible and fully incompressible materials and from hard to soft MAPs, including the effects of the time-dependent viscoelastic behaviour of the underlying matrix. First, variational formulations for the uncoupled problem for hard MAPs and the coupled problem for soft MAPs are derived. The weak forms are then discretised with higher-order B\'ezier elements while the evolution equation for internal variables in viscoelastic models is solved using the generalised-alpha time integration scheme, which is implicit and second-order accurate. Finally, a series of experimentally-driven boundary value problems consisting of the beam and robotic gripper models are solved in magneto-mechanically coupled settings, demonstrating the versatility of the proposed numerical framework. The effect of viscoelastic material parameters on the response characteristics of MAPs under coupled magneto-mechanical loading is also studied., Comment: 34 pages

We propose a novel mixed displacement-pressure formulation based on an energy functional that takes into account the relation between the pressure and the volumetric energy function. We demonstrate that the proposed two-field mixed displacement-pressure formulation is not only applicable for nearly and truly incompressible cases but also is consistent in the compressible regime. Furthermore, we prove with analytical derivation and numerical results that the proposed two-field formulation is a simplified and efficient alternative for the three-field displacement-pressure-Jacobian formulation for hyperelastic materials whose strain energy density functions are decomposed into deviatoric and volumetric parts., Comment: Accepted for publication in Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures