Experimental investigation and numerical modeling of resultant-based bending plasticity in cables

This work focuses on the modeling of constitutive bending behavior of cables. Inelastic effects are investigated in bending experiments using the well-known three point bending setup and a new pure bending device. The results will show that an elastoplastic constitutive model is not sufficient to model the bending behavior of cables undergoing large deformations, because damage effects are observed as well. These effects are modeled using a finite beam element, which uses incremental displacements and rotations as primary variables. It is based on the Cosserat rod theory where the constitutive law is formulated in the sectional quantities of the beam's cross section. The constitutive model includes linear elastic behavior for small deformations, plasticity with isotropic hardening and a damage formulation, which account for the effects observed at large deformations. Computational experiments are executed and model parameters are identified with optimization routines in comparison to experimental results.