Effect of particle clustering on the strengthening versus damage rivalry in particulate reinforced elastic plastic materials: A 3-D analysis from a self-consistent modelling

The elasto-plastic behaviour and damage of materials reinforced with uniform or clustered distributions of particles has been previously investigated, for uniaxial loading, in a 1-D analysis restricted to the loading direction. Computational comparisons were performed in making use of a self-consistent modelling which assumed material elastic isotropy and incompressibility, as well as a spherical particle shape. Attention was paid to the effect of particle clustering on the strengthening and damage evolution. Clusters were found to both harden the material and accelerate damage accumulation, resulting in no significant effect on the material mechanical response. The present 3-D analysis, from a more general self-consistent scheme, addresses the extent to which the account of elastic compressibility, particle shape and local stress triaxiality, as well as the damage description itself, moderate and complement this conclusion.