On the constitutive modeling of coupled thermomechanical phase-change problems (Q5955386)

A coupled thermoplastic solidification model is developed and solved numerically. The constitutive behavior of material is defined by thermoviscous-elastoplastic free energy function with temperature-dependent material properties. Latent heat associated with phase-change phenomena is incorporated into the free energy function. Plastic response is modeled by a temperature-dependent model, including nonlinear hardening due to plastic deformation and thermal linear softening. A thermo-frictional contact model with frictional hardening and temperature coupling is derived, and heat generation due to the frictional dissipation is included implicitly. The authors use equilibrium conditions at contact interfaces, and contact temperature and entropy variables are introduced in energy balance equation at the contact surface. The infinitesimal strain tensor is locally decomposed into elastic and plastic parts. Hardening mechanisms are characterized by a set of internal variables with viscoelastic behavior, by using an additive splitting of local entropy into elastic and plastic parts. Galerkin finite element projection and a time marching scheme are applied in an unconditionally stable staggered algorithm. Within the isentropic operator splitting, additional split design constraints are introduced providing fixed elastic and plastic entropy in the mechanical problem. The authors present results of numerical simulations of the solidification of aluminium ring into a steel mould, and of the solidification of Al-3MgSi alloy driving wheel into a green sand mould under gravitational force.