Phenomenological modeling and numerical simulation of the environmental degradation of multiphase engineering materials

In this paper a coupled thermodynamical/chemical/mechanical model is develo ped to simulate the time dependent degradation of heterogeneous solid mater ials subjected to corrosive environments. The model, which is based on a de scription of the microscale, employs the first law of thermodynamics, a mas s balance of a diffusing corrosive species, and a balance of momentum. The presence of the corrosive species is phenomenologically modeled as irrevers ibly reducing the material stiffness, dependent on the amount and time pres ent. Numerical experiments are given to illustrate some characteristics of the model.