Asymptotic and Computational Analysis of Large Shear Deformations of a Thermoplastic Material (Q4237258)

The general model for shear bands, which are thin regions of high strain that develop in materials under intense thermoplastic shear deformations, are difficult to solve even numerically. Hence, the authors have considered a simplified model which neglects the effect of diffusion but still captures much of the important dynamics. Asymptotic results have been obtained by neglecting heat conduction. The regular perturbation expansion obtained is found to fail. Hence a uniform expansion has been obtained which tracks the divergent behaviour of the solution of the simplified model. Even for the simplified model severe computational difficulties exist which has been overcome by adapting numerical schemes that track the severe blow up behaviour well. The method used is second-order accurate and has automatic mesh- and time-step refinement capabilities. It also captures the severe band narrowing and strain rate growth in solutions of the full model with heat conduction. Although the simplified model equations considered here do not capture the dynamics in all their generality, the authors have succeeded in constructing both the asymptotic as well as numerical solutions which are found to be in good qualitative agreement with the physically observes phenomena. As such the method given in the paper can be used for solving more complicated models.