Rheological models and hysteresis effects (Q1096441)

This paper proposes several types of constitutive relations in an attempt to describe mathematically the mechanical behaviour of a variety of materials. Such laws are derived from models consisting of serial or parallel combinations of two basic rheological elements in parallel or series, respectively. The emphasis is on rate-independent models consisting of elastic, plastic and memory elements to describe elasto- plastic behaviour with hysteresis effects. In particular the classical Preisach model for ferromagnetism is deduced as a special case. In an attempt to describe local fracture the author proposes a new type of rheological element. This feature of absolute irreversibility renders such a model useful in many applications outside continuum mechanics. Assuming that deformations are small, several related dynamical problems are formulated in terms of systems of variational equations for two types of model. The first is a parallel arrangement of several rheological models each consisting of a linear elastic element and a viscous element in series. Replacing the viscous elements by perfectly plastic elements results in the classical model for elasto-plasticity with strain hardening. The second is a serial arrangement of several components each consisting of an elastic and a viscous element in parallel. Two special cases are considered. In one the elastic elements are linear and in the other the viscous elements are linear. The latter case is also generalised by replacing the elastic elements by memory elements. Existence and uniqueness theorems are proved for each of these problems. This is an interesting paper for those researchers concerned with rheological modelling. However it is only likely to be understood by those with some ability in modern mathematical analysis.