Power Law Softening

Softening model with an abrupt stress release upon cracking. This class is intended to be used with ComputeSmearedCrackingStress.

Description

The material PowerLawSoftening computes the reduced stress and stiffness along the direction of a crack according to a power law equation. The computed reduced stiffness softens the tensile response of the material once the principle stress applied to a material exceeds the cracking stress threshold of the material.

As with the other smeared cracking softening models, which all follow the nomenclature convention of using the Softening suffix, this model is intended to be used with the ComputeSmearedCrackingStress material.

Softening Model

The tensile stress response to cracking is calculated as a function of the number cracks, where the number of cracks reduces the stress reponse of the cracked material. The calculated stress is the principle stress in the single direction of the crack. (1) where is the reduction factor applied to the initial stiffness each time a new crack initiates, is the Youngs' modulus, and is the strain along the direction of the crack. The reduction factor in Eq. (1) is a function of the number of cracks (2) where is the initial cracking reduction factor and is the number of cracks. The form of Eq. (2) gives the PowerLawSoftening model its name.

In the context of the smeared cracking modeling approach, individual cracks are not tracked; therefore, Eq. (2) is approximated by a single constant input parameter. The user should consult additional resources to determine a reasonable value for the initial stiffness reduction factor.

Example Input File

[./power_law_softening]
  type = PowerLawSoftening
  stiffness_reduction = 0.3333
[../]
(../moose/modules/tensor_mechanics/test/tests/smeared_cracking/cracking_power.i)

PowerLawSoftening must be run in conjunction with the fixed smeared cracking material model as shown below:

[./elastic_stress]
  type = ComputeSmearedCrackingStress
  cracking_stress = 1.68e6
  softening_models = power_law_softening
[../]
(../moose/modules/tensor_mechanics/test/tests/smeared_cracking/cracking_power.i)

Input Parameters

  • stiffness_reductionFactor multiplied by the current stiffness each time a new crack forms

    C++ Type:double

    Controllable:No

    Description:Factor multiplied by the current stiffness each time a new crack forms

Required Parameters

  • blockThe list of blocks (ids or names) that this object will be applied

    C++ Type:std::vector<SubdomainName>

    Controllable:No

    Description:The list of blocks (ids or names) that this object will be applied

  • boundaryThe list of boundaries (ids or names) from the mesh where this object applies

    C++ Type:std::vector<BoundaryName>

    Controllable:No

    Description:The list of boundaries (ids or names) from the mesh where this object applies

  • constant_onNONEWhen ELEMENT, MOOSE will only call computeQpProperties() for the 0th quadrature point, and then copy that value to the other qps.When SUBDOMAIN, MOOSE will only call computeQpProperties() for the 0th quadrature point, and then copy that value to the other qps. Evaluations on element qps will be skipped

    Default:NONE

    C++ Type:MooseEnum

    Options:NONE, ELEMENT, SUBDOMAIN

    Controllable:No

    Description:When ELEMENT, MOOSE will only call computeQpProperties() for the 0th quadrature point, and then copy that value to the other qps.When SUBDOMAIN, MOOSE will only call computeQpProperties() for the 0th quadrature point, and then copy that value to the other qps. Evaluations on element qps will be skipped

  • declare_suffixAn optional suffix parameter that can be appended to any declared properties. The suffix will be prepended with a '_' character.

    C++ Type:MaterialPropertyName

    Controllable:No

    Description:An optional suffix parameter that can be appended to any declared properties. The suffix will be prepended with a '_' character.

  • prop_getter_suffixAn optional suffix parameter that can be appended to any attempt to retrieve/get material properties. The suffix will be prepended with a '_' character.

    C++ Type:MaterialPropertyName

    Controllable:No

    Description:An optional suffix parameter that can be appended to any attempt to retrieve/get material properties. The suffix will be prepended with a '_' character.

Optional Parameters

  • control_tagsAdds user-defined labels for accessing object parameters via control logic.

    C++ Type:std::vector<std::string>

    Controllable:No

    Description:Adds user-defined labels for accessing object parameters via control logic.

  • enableTrueSet the enabled status of the MooseObject.

    Default:True

    C++ Type:bool

    Controllable:Yes

    Description:Set the enabled status of the MooseObject.

  • implicitTrueDetermines whether this object is calculated using an implicit or explicit form

    Default:True

    C++ Type:bool

    Controllable:No

    Description:Determines whether this object is calculated using an implicit or explicit form

  • seed0The seed for the master random number generator

    Default:0

    C++ Type:unsigned int

    Controllable:No

    Description:The seed for the master random number generator

  • use_displaced_meshFalseWhether or not this object should use the displaced mesh for computation. Note that in the case this is true but no displacements are provided in the Mesh block the undisplaced mesh will still be used.

    Default:False

    C++ Type:bool

    Controllable:No

    Description:Whether or not this object should use the displaced mesh for computation. Note that in the case this is true but no displacements are provided in the Mesh block the undisplaced mesh will still be used.

Advanced Parameters

  • output_propertiesList of material properties, from this material, to output (outputs must also be defined to an output type)

    C++ Type:std::vector<std::string>

    Controllable:No

    Description:List of material properties, from this material, to output (outputs must also be defined to an output type)

  • outputsnone Vector of output names where you would like to restrict the output of variables(s) associated with this object

    Default:none

    C++ Type:std::vector<OutputName>

    Controllable:No

    Description:Vector of output names where you would like to restrict the output of variables(s) associated with this object

Outputs Parameters

References

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