Generating admissible space-time meshes for moving domains in d+1d+1-dimensions

In this paper we present a discontinuous Galerkin finite element method for the solution of the transient Stokes equations on moving domains. For the discretization we use an interior penalty Galerkin approach in space, and an upwind technique in time. The method is based on a decomposition of the space-time cylinder into finite elements. Our focus lies on three-dimensional moving geometries, thus we need to triangulate four dimensional objects. For this we will present an algorithm to generate $d+1$-dimensional simplex space-time meshes and we show under natural assumptions that the resulting space-time meshes are admissible. Further we will show how one can generate a four-dimensional object resolving the domain movement. First numerical results for the transient Stokes equations on triangulations generated with the newly developed meshing algorithm are presented

A statistical approach for fracture property realization and macroscopic failure analysis of brittle materials

Lacking the energy dissipative mechanics such as plastic deformation to rebalance localized stresses, similar to their ductile counterparts, brittle material fracture mechanics is associated with catastrophic failure of purely brittle and quasi-brittle materials at immeasurable and measurable deformation scales respectively. This failure, in the form macroscale sharp cracks, is highly dependent on the composition of the material microstructure. Further, the complexity of this relationship and the resulting crack patterns is exacerbated under highly dynamic loading conditions. A robust brittle material model must account for the multiscale inhomogeneity as well as the probabilistic distribution of the constituents which cause material heterogeneity and influence the complex mechanisms of dynamic fracture responses of the material. Continuum-based homogenization is carried out via finite element-based micromechanical analysis of a material neighbor which gives is geometrically described as a sampling windows (i.e., statistical volume elements). These volume elements are well-defined such that they are representative of the material while propagating material randomness from the inherent microscale defects. Homogenization yields spatially defined elastic and fracture related effective properties, utilized to statistically characterize the material in terms of these properties. This spatial characterization is made possible by performing homogenization at prescribed spatial locations which collectively comprise a non-uniform spatial grid which allows the mapping of each effective material properties to an associated spatial location. Through stochastic decomposition of the derived empirical covariance of the sampled effective material property, the Karhunen-Loeve method is used to generate realizations of a continuous and spatially-correlated random field approximation that preserve the statistics of the material from which it is derived. Aspects of modeling both isotropic and anisotropic brittle materials, from a statistical viewpoint, are investigated to determine how each influences the macroscale fracture response of these materials under highly dynamic conditions. The effects of modeling a material both explicitly by representations of discrete multiscale constituents and/or implicitly by continuum representation of material properties is studies to determine how each model influences the resulting material fracture response. For the implicit material representations, both a statistical white noise (i.e., Weibull-based spatially-uncorrelated) and colored noise (i.e., Karhunen-Loeve spatially-correlated model) random fields are employed herein

Spacetime meshing of stratified spaces for spacetime discontinuous Galerkin methods in arbitrary spatial dimensions

We introduce the spacetime discontinuous Galerkin method and motivate the need for supporting spacetime meshing on meshes comprised of multiple manifolds. We first discuss preliminary concepts behind simplices, simplicial complexes, and the generalization to oriented simplicies. Using these ideas, we define stratified spaces and how they can be used to model a mesh comprised of multiple oriented manifolds. We construct a graphical representation called a Stratified Mesh and use this representation to construct a collection of data structures, the main result being the StratifiedMesh data structure. Next we define a set of support algorithms based on the various data structures discussed. This leads us to review the fundamentals of the TentPitcher algorithm and its relationship to spacetime discontinuous Galerkin methods both theoretically and in the literature. The TentPitcher algorithm is then extended to work on stratified meshes in E^d x R for arbitrary spatial dimension d. We then briefly discuss a parametrization for tentpole vertices that generalizes the baseline TentPitcher, vertex smoothing, and tilted tentpoles. Following that, we discuss at a high level the generic software architecture and techniques used build completely new spacetime meshing software that handles stratified meshes. Visualizations of various examples from the software conclude the work, with examples of single manifold 2d x time, single manifold 3d x time, and a multiple manifold example in 2d x time

Asynchronous parallel solver for hyperbolic problems via the Spacetime Discontinuous Galerkin method

This thesis presents a parallel Space Time Discontinuous Galerkin (SDG) finite element method which makes use of the method's unstructured mesh generation and localized solution technique to achieve a high level of parallel scalability. Our SDG method is different from most traditional adaptive finite element methods in that the solution process generates fully unstructured spacetime grids that satisfy a special causality constraint ensuring that computations can occur locally on small cluster of spacetime elements. The resulting asynchronous solution scheme offers several desirable features: element-wise conservation of solution quantities, strong stability properties without the need for explicit stabilization, local mesh adaptivity operations and linear complexity in the number of spacetime elements. In this thesis we propose an algorithm that effectively parallelizes the Tent Pitcher algorithm developed by [1] using the POSIX Thread (or Pthread) parallel execution model. Multiple software threads can simultaneously and asynchronously perform patch computations by advancing vertices in time. By enforcing the causality constraint on the time step, we can guarantee that each thread only performs calculations using data computed previously. Additionally, improvements to the adaptivity scheme allow for local mesh refinement and coarsening while maintaining globally conforming triangulation. Numerical tests show that our algorithm achieves high parallel scalability using shared-memory parallelization

Foundations of space-time finite element methods: polytopes, interpolation, and integration

The main purpose of this article is to facilitate the implementation of space-time finite element methods in four-dimensional space. In order to develop a finite element method in this setting, it is necessary to create a numerical foundation, or equivalently a numerical infrastructure. This foundation should include a collection of suitable elements (usually hypercubes, simplices, or closely related polytopes), numerical interpolation procedures (usually orthonormal polynomial bases), and numerical integration procedures (usually quadrature rules). It is well known that each of these areas has yet to be fully explored, and in the present article, we attempt to directly address this issue. We begin by developing a concrete, sequential procedure for constructing generic four-dimensional elements (4-polytopes). Thereafter, we review the key numerical properties of several canonical elements: the tesseract, tetrahedral prism, and pentatope. Here, we provide explicit expressions for orthonormal polynomial bases on these elements. Next, we construct fully symmetric quadrature rules with positive weights that are capable of exactly integrating high-degree polynomials, e.g. up to degree 17 on the tesseract. Finally, the quadrature rules are successfully tested using a set of canonical numerical experiments on polynomial and transcendental functions.Comment: 34 pages, 18 figure

A stochastic continuum damage model for dynamic fracture analysis of quasi-brittle materials using asynchronous Spacetime Discontinuous Galerkin (aSDG) method

The microstructural design has an essential effect on the fracture response of brittle materials. We present a stochastic bulk damage formulation to model dynamic brittle fracture. This model is compared with a similar interfacial model for homogeneous and heterogeneous materials. The damage models are rate-dependent, and the corresponding damage evolution includes delay effects. The evolution equation specifies the rate at which damage tends to its quasi-static limit. The relaxation time of the model introduces an intrinsic length scale for dynamic fracture and addresses the mesh sensitivity problem of earlier damage models with much less computational efforts. The ordinary differential form of the damage equation makes this remedy quite simple and enables capturing the loading rate sensitivity of strain-stress response. A stochastic field is defined for material cohesion and fracture strength to involve microstructure effects in the proposed formulations. The statistical fields are constructed through the Karhunen-Loeve (KL) method.An advanced asynchronous Spacetime Discontinuous Galerkin (aSDG) method is used to discretize the final system of coupled equations. Local and asynchronous solution process, linear complexity of the solution versus the number of elements, local recovery of balance properties, and high spatial and temporal orders of accuracy are some of the main advantages of the aSDG method.Several numerical examples are presented to demonstrate mesh insensitivity of the method and the effect of boundary conditions on dynamic fracture patterns. It is shown that inhomogeneity greatly differentiates fracture patterns from those of a homogeneous rock, including the location of zones with maximum damage. Moreover, as the correlation length of the random field decreases, fracture patterns resemble angled-cracks observed in compressive rock fracture. The final results show that a stochastic bulk damage model produces more realistic results in comparison with a homogenizes model