A General Return-Mapping Framework for Fractional Visco-Elasto-Plasticity

TL;DR

This paper introduces a comprehensive fractional return-mapping framework for visco-elasto-plasticity, combining fractional models with an implicit scheme, demonstrating improved computational efficiency and accuracy for complex viscoelastic behaviors.

Contribution

It develops a unified, fully implicit or semi-implicit return-mapping approach for fractional visco-elasto-plastic models, enhancing computational efficiency and flexibility.

Findings

At least first-order accuracy under general loading.

50% reduction in CPU time compared to existing methods.

Framework applicable to bio-tissues with multiple viscoelastic power-laws.

Abstract

We develop a fractional return-mapping framework for power-law visco-elasto-plasticity. In our approach, the fractional viscoelasticity is accounted through canonical combinations of Scott-Blair elements to construct a series of well-known fractional linear viscoelastic models, such as Kelvin-Voigt, Maxwell, Kelvin-Zener and Poynting-Thomson. We also consider a fractional quasi-linear version of Fung's model to account for stress/strain nonlinearity. The fractional viscoelastic models are combined with a fractional visco-plastic device, coupled with fractional viscoelastic models involving serial combinations of Scott-Blair elements. We then develop a general return-mapping procedure, which is fully implicit for linear viscoelastic models, and semi-implicit for the quasi-linear case. We find that, in the correction phase, the discrete stress projection and plastic slip have the same form for all the considered models, although with different property and time-step dependent projection terms. A series of numerical experiments is carried out with analytical and reference solutions to demonstrate the convergence and computational cost of the proposed framework, which is shown to be at least first-order accurate for general loading conditions. Our numerical results demonstrate that the developed framework is more flexible, preserves the numerical accuracy of existing approaches while being more computationally tractable in the visco-plastic range due to a reduction of $50\%$ in CPU time. Our formulation is especially suited for emerging applications of fractional calculus in bio-tissues that present the hallmark of multiple viscoelastic power-laws coupled with visco-plasticity.