XFEM based fictitious domain method for linear elasticity model with crack

Reduction of computational cost of solutions is a key issue to crack identification or crack propagation problems. One of the solution is to avoid re-meshing the domain when the crack position changes or when the crack extends. To avoid re-meshing, we propose a new finite element approach for the numerical simulation of discontinuities of displacements generated by cracks inside elastic media. The approach is based on a fictitious domain method originally developed for Dirichlet conditions for the Poisson problem and for the Stokes problem, which is adapted to the Neumann boundary conditions of crack problems. The crack is represented by level-set functions. Numerical tests are made with a mixed formulation to emphasize the accuracy of the method, as well as its robustness with respect to the geometry enforced by a stabilization technique. In particular an inf-sup condition is theoretically proven for the latter. A realistic simulation with a uniformly pressurized fracture inside a volcano is given for illustrating the applicability of the method.Comment: 27 pages, 15 figure

A local projection stabilized method for fictitious domains

In this work a local projection stabilization method is proposed to solve a fictitious domain problem. The method adds a suitable fluctuation term to the formulation thus rendering the natural space for the Lagrange multiplier stable. Stability and convergence are proved and these results are illustrated by a numerical experiment.Comment: Submitted Preprin

A CutFEM method for two-phase flow problems

In this article, we present a cut finite element method for two-phase Navier-Stokes flows. The main feature of the method is the formulation of a unified continuous interior penalty stabilisation approach for, on the one hand, stabilising advection and the pressure-velocity coupling and, on the other hand, stabilising the cut region. The accuracy of the algorithm is enhanced by the development of extended fictitious domains to guarantee a well defined velocity from previous time steps in the current geometry. Finally, the robustness of the moving-interface algorithm is further improved by the introduction of a curvature smoothing technique that reduces spurious velocities. The algorithm is shown to perform remarkably well for low capillary number flows, and is a first step towards flexible and robust CutFEM algorithms for the simulation of microfluidic devices

Combining Boundary-Conforming Finite Element Meshes on Moving Domains Using a Sliding Mesh Approach

For most finite element simulations, boundary-conforming meshes have significant advantages in terms of accuracy or efficiency. This is particularly true for complex domains. However, with increased complexity of the domain, generating a boundary-conforming mesh becomes more difficult and time consuming. One might therefore decide to resort to an approach where individual boundary-conforming meshes are pieced together in a modular fashion to form a larger domain. This paper presents a stabilized finite element formulation for fluid and temperature equations on sliding meshes. It couples the solution fields of multiple subdomains whose boundaries slide along each other on common interfaces. Thus, the method allows to use highly tuned boundary-conforming meshes for each subdomain that are only coupled at the overlapping boundary interfaces. In contrast to standard overlapping or fictitious domain methods the coupling is broken down to few interfaces with reduced geometric dimension. The formulation consists of the following key ingredients: the coupling of the solution fields on the overlapping surfaces is imposed weakly using a stabilized version of Nitsche's method. It ensures mass and energy conservation at the common interfaces. Additionally, we allow to impose weak Dirichlet boundary conditions at the non-overlapping parts of the interfaces. We present a detailed numerical study for the resulting stabilized formulation. It shows optimal convergence behavior for both Newtonian and generalized Newtonian material models. Simulations of flow of plastic melt inside single-screw as well as twin-screw extruders demonstrate the applicability of the method to complex and relevant industrial applications

Simulation of cell movement through evolving environment: a fictitious domain approach

A numerical method for simulating the movement of unicellular organisms which respond to chemical signals is presented. Cells are modelled as objects of finite size while the extracellular space is described by reaction-diffusion partial differential equations. This modular simulation allows the implementation of different models at the different scales encountered in cell biology and couples them in one single framework. The global computational cost is contained thanks to the use of the fictitious domain method for finite elements, allowing the efficient solve of partial differential equations in moving domains. Finally, a mixed formulation is adopted in order to better monitor the flux of chemicals, specifically at the interface between the cells and the extracellular domain