A variational formulation of the coupled thermo-mechanical boundary-value problem for general dissipative solids

A variational formulation of the coupled thermo-mechanical boundary-value problem for general dissipative solids is presented. The coupled thermo-mechanical boundary-value problem under consideration consists of the equilibrium problem for a deformable, inelastic and dissipative solid with the heat conduction problem appended in addition. The variational formulation allows for general dissipative solids, including finite elastic and plastic deformations, non-Newtonian viscosity, rate sensitivity, arbitrary flow and hardening rules, as well as heat conduction. We show that a joint potential function exists such that both the conservation of energy and the balance of linear momentum equations follow as Euler–Lagrange equations. The identification of the joint potential requires a careful distinction between equilibrium and external temperatures, which are equal at equilibrium. The variational framework predicts the fraction of dissipated energy that is converted to heat. A comparison of this prediction and experimental data suggests that α-titanium and Al2024-T conform to the variational framework.