An extended Hamilton principle as unifying theory for coupled problems and dissipative microstructure evolution

TL;DR

This paper introduces an extended Hamilton principle that unifies the derivation of coupled thermo-mechanical field equations and microstructure evolution, applicable to various material models including dissipative and gradient-enhanced systems.

Contribution

It extends Hamilton's principle to encompass coupled problems and dissipative microstructure evolution, providing a unified framework for deriving complex material models.

Findings

Derivation of thermo-mechanical coupled field equations from the extended Hamilton principle.

Application to rate-dependent, rate-independent, and gradient-enhanced materials.

Demonstration of the principle's use in various material modeling scenarios.

Abstract

An established strategy for material modeling is provided by energy-based principles such that evolution equations in terms of ordinary differential equations can be derived. However, there exist a variety of material models that also need to take into account non-local effects to capture microstructure evolution. In this case, the evolution of microstructure is described by a partial differential equation. In this contribution, we present how Hamilton's principle provides a physically sound strategy for the derivation of transient field equations for all state variables. Therefore, we begin with a demonstration how Hamilton's principle generalizes the principle of stationary action for rigid bodies. Furthermore, we show that the basic idea behind Hamilton's principle is not restricted to isothermal mechanical processes. In contrast, we propose an extended Hamilton principle which is applicable to coupled problems and dissipative microstructure evolution. As example, we demonstrate how the field equations for all state variables for thermo-mechanically coupled problems, i.e. displacements, temperature, and internal variables, result from the stationarity of the extended Hamilton functional. The relation to other principles, as principle of virtual work and Onsager's principle, are given. Finally, exemplary material models demonstrate how to use the extended Hamilton principle for thermo-mechanically coupled rate-dependent, rate-independent, and gradient-enhanced materials.