On the time-dependent mechanics of membranes via the nonlinear finite element method

In this work, the problem of finite generalized and viscoelastic deformation of thin membranes with different geometries, made of incompressible hyperelastic materials, is formulated. The multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient tensor into elastic and viscous parts, and making use of dissipation inequality, nonlinear evolution equations for the internal variables of the models are obtained. The mechanical behavior of the dampers is assumed to be linearly viscous. Therefore, the Cauchy-like stress in the dampers is similar to that in Newtonian fluids and includes terms for the hydrostatic pressure and viscosity. The implicit and second-order accurate trapezoidal method is employed for the time integration of the evolution equations. Due to the highly nonlinear governing differential equations including the effects of geometric nonlinearity and viscoelasticity, a nonlinear finite element formulation based on isoparametric elements is developed. The accuracy and performance of the developed formulation and time-dependent solutions are verified by studying several numerical examples. The obtained results are compared with theoretical and experimental data available in the literature. The proposed formulation can appropriately predict the experimental results of viscoelastic membranes for both in-plane and out-of-plane deformations. (c) 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.