Pseudo-elastic cavitation model: part I — finite element analyses on thin silicone adhesives in façades

This study investigates the structural behavior of adhesive bonds of glass and metal using thin, structural silicones in heavily constrained applications. This special type of connection may lead to triaxial stress conditions under axial loading, which can lead to dilatation failure due to the abrupt growth of cavities (cavitation effect). Cavitation failure leads to significant stress softening and loss of stiffness; however, it increases connection’s ductility. These material deformations should be considered when designing glass-metal connections. Therefore, a constitutive model is developed to account for cavitation in hyperelastic materials. The volumetric component of the model is equipped with a non-linear Helmholtz free energy function that accounts for isotropic void growth under hydrostatic loading. An energy coupling term is then added that numerically explicates strain energy under isochoric deformation, while also guaranteeing physical material behavior. The energy contribution is calculated internally by analysing the geometric evolution of inherent voids. The extended volumetric–isochoric split enables one to numerically calculate heavily constrained silicone joints under arbitrary deformation modes. Three-dimensional finite element calculations on uniaxial tension, bulge, and pancake tests validate the constitutive model. All experiments could be validated with one set of material parameters through numerical simulations. The numerical calculations were robust and efficient without any underlying mesh dependencies.