| Abstract Scope |
The flow of comminuted ceramic during multi-axial loading is relevant to longstanding challenges in penetration mechanics for Army applications. Here, we seek to develop a robust, “necessarily complex” constitutive model for use in hydrocodes that takes into account, on average, the evolution of particle sizes and its effect on the pressure-volume and shear behavior of the fractured material. Concepts common to geological/granular materials, such as interparticle locking/jamming, are incorporated into both elastic moduli and flow strength. Relevant ceramics are fully dense during their initial comminution, with free volume only arising during the subsequent shearing of the material, requiring extension of theories towards limiting cases. Careful consideration is given towards numerical simplicity and stability—critical when a constitutive model is evaluated billions of times in a single simulation. The resulting model is demonstrated by illustrating observed physical phenomena from multi-axial experiments that were not present in its predecessors. |