An adaptive dynamic phase-field modeling with variable-node elements for thermoelastic fracture in orthotropic media

• Published in: Theoretical and applied fracture mechanics Vol. 133; p. 104555
• Main Authors: He, Jia-Nan, Yu, Tiantang, Fang, Weihua, Natarajan, Sundararajan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2024
• Subjects: Adaptive local refinement; Dynamic fracture; Hybrid phase-field method; Orthotropic materials; Thermoelastic loading; Variable-node quadrilateral elements; Orthotropic materials; Thermoelastic loading; Dynamic fracture; Adaptive local refinement; Hybrid phase-field method; Variable-node quadrilateral elements
• ISSN: 0167-8442
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tafmec.2024.104555

In this work, a novel adaptive algorithm integrated into a dynamic phase-field method is developed to model the fracture of orthotropic materials under thermoelastic loading. The procedure of local refinement is synchronized with crack tip advancement, with the phase-field value serving as the criterion for marking elements. To address mesh refinement inconsistencies, variable-node elements are employed. Hughes–Hilbert–Taylor (HHT) and backward difference method are utilized for time discretization of displacement and temperature, respectively. A penalized structural matrix is incorporated into crack surface density to realize the orthotropy of crack growth. The performance of the proposed method is validated through several numerical benchmarks, i.e., the proposed method can effectively simulate the dynamic crack propagation of orthotropic materials under thermoelastic loading, and can assuage computational overhead while keeping acceptable accuracy. •An adaptive dynamic PFM for thermoelastic fracture in orthotropic materials is proposed.•HHT and backward difference method are adopted for time discretization.•A staggered scheme is combined with hybrid PFM.•Local adaptive refinement is driven by a threshold on the phase field variable.•Incompatibility between elements due to local refinement is treated using variable-node elements.