An efficient and stabilised SPH method for large strain metal plastic deformations

Due to its simplicity and robustness, smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) has been widely used in the modelling of solid and fluid mechanics problems. Through the years, various formulations and stabilisation techniques have been adopted to enhance it. Recently, the authors developed JST–SPH, a mixed formulation based on the SPH method. Originally devised for modelling (nearly) incompressible hyperelasticity, the JST–SPH formulation is mixed in the sense that linear momentum and a number of strain definitions, instead of the displacements, act as main unknowns of the problem. The resulting governing system of conservation laws conveniently enables the application of the Jameson–Schmidt–Turkel (JST) artificial dissipation term, commonly employed in computational fluid dynamics, to solid mechanics. Coupled with meshless SPH discretisation, this novel scheme eliminates the shortcomings encountered when implementing fast dynamics explicit codes using traditional mesh-based methods. This paper focuses on the applicability of the JST–SPH mixed formulation to the simulation of high-rate, large metal elastic–plastic deformations. Three applications—including the simulation of an industry-relevant metal forming process—are examined under different loading conditions, in order to demonstrate the reliability of the method. Results compare favourably with both data from the previous literature, and simulations performed with a commercial finite elements package. Most noticeably, these results demonstrate that the total Lagrangian framework of JST–SPH, fundamental to reduce the computational effort associated with the scheme, retains its accuracy in the presence of large distortions. Moreover, an algorithmic flow chart is included at the end of this document, to facilitate the computer implementation of the scheme