The legends for all of the stress and strain results are all the same, and are included in this table also. Notice that the stress results are of von Mises stress, and the contour intervals are as defined by the strain-hardening model step intervals. The equivalent plastic strain results, denoted PEEQ in the Abaqus finite element results output, are displayed in this paper using a logarithmic scale.

FEA modelling

The finite element model comprises only a small part of the overall geometry, but included significantly geometry than is shown the results images. The sketch suggested in Figure 2(c) is not drawn to scale, but it does represent the mirror symmetry on the left hand side edge, and the applied loading, as distributed pressure, on the upper and lower surfaces. In addition, minimal boundary conditions were applied to satisfy the rigid body requirement, without any additional constraint.
The element mesh size in the region of interest was very fine. This was to satisfy the need to represent a finely graded surface roughness profile, the varying sizes of pores, and the need to represent the stress-strain state to a good degree of fidelity. Away from the region of interest, a much coarser mesh was sufficient, and to ensure a suitably smoothly graded mesh transition a systematic approach to geometry partitioning was employed. This approach has been described by the authors in more detail in a previous work [63].
Table 2. Model information.