Determination of time-dependent constitutive model parameters for microcrystalline cellulose

Material parameters of a time-dependent elasto-viscoplaslic constitutive model, proposed by Adachi and Oka, have been determined for microcrystalline cellulose. Adachi and Oka model has eight material parameters, with five of them (i.e., consolidation index, swelling index, critical index, shear modulus, and Poisson’s ratio) same as those in the more commonly used in time-independent modified Cam-clay model, and remaining three parameters account for time-dependency. To measure the time-dependent parameters, constant strain-rate conventional triaxial compression (CTC) test was designed and conducted using Penn Slate’s flexible-boundary cubical triaxial tester (CTT) with microcrystalline cellulose as the test material. To deposit the powder, the sprinkle filling method was used in a layer by layer fashion with a small spoon. The three time-dependent Adachi and Oka parameters were determined from these tests. Adachi and Oka model was verified by comparing the predicted values from the model with measured values from the CTT at 0.05 level of significance. Results showed that: 1) there were no significant differences (p>0.05) between measured and predicted HTC responses at all loading rates; 2) failure values were predicted accurately (p>0.05); and 3) there were significant differences (p<0.05) between measured and predicted CTC responses at all loading rates.