Successive softening and cyclic damage in viscoplastic material

A successive initiation finite element modeling approach is presented in which an empirical continuum damage model, energy partitioning damage evolution model, developed by the author is used to update state of damage and constitutive properties of the material under thermomechanical cyclic loading and accumulate damage in the elements. Plastic and viscoplastic damages are evaluated based on the plastic and viscoplastic work densities obtained through finite element. Constitutive properties are updated elementwise at each step of the process based on the state of damage in each element. The elements that have reached the damage threshold are removed from the structure to initiate and propagate fatigue crack. This successive initiation approach is used to model crack initiation and propagation in Pb-free solder material under thermomechanical loading. A case study is presented, damage propagation path and pattern are compared with typical experimental results, and the accuracy of the model was verified.