An implicit algorithm for a rate-dependent ductile failure model

An implicit numerical algorithm has been developed for a rate-dependent model for damage and failure of ductile materials under high-rate dynamic loading [F. L. Addessio and J. N. Johnson, J. Appl. Phys. 74, 1640 (1993)]. Over each time step, the algorithm first implicitly determines the equilibrium state on a Gurson surface, and then calculates the final state by solving viscous relaxation equations, also implicitly. Numerical examples are given to demonstrate the key features of the algorithm. Compared to the explicit algorithm used previously, the current algorithm allows significantly larger time steps that can be used in the analysis. As the viscosity of the material vanishes, the results of the rate-dependent model are shown here to converge to that of the corresponding rate-independent model, a result not achieved with the explicit algorithm. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3005883]