Multiscale analysis of damage using dual and primal domain decomposition techniques

In this contribution, dual and primal domain decomposition techniques are studied for the multiscale analysis of failure in quasi-brittle materials. The multiscale strategy essentially consists in decomposing the structure into a number of nonoverlapping domains and considering a refined spatial resolution where needed. In multiscale analysis of damage, the spatial refinement is performed where damage nucleation and propagation take place. The domain decomposition approach turns to be a computationally cheaper alternative to the direct numerical solution in which a fine scale model is considered throughout the complete sample. Dual and primal domain decomposition techniques are appropriate for such concurrent multiscale analyses and provide identical results. Parallel scalability of the multiscale analysis is studied using a moderate number of processors and a parallel direct solver for the system obtained through the assembly of all domains.Postprint (published version

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Concurrent multiscale analysis of heterogeneous materials

Concurrent multiscale analysis of quasi-brittle heterogeneous materials such as concrete and rock is conducted employing non-overlapping domain decomposition techniques. Initially, a coarse discretization with effective properties is considered at each domain. A zoom-in technique is performed at those domains in which non-linearities take place. The coarse mesh is replaced with a fine discretization which includes the lower scale constituents, e.g. aggregates or reinforcement. The present framework captures the interaction between the mesoscopic constituents and the strain/stress fields. The resulting crack path is in agreement with the one obtained with direct numerical simulations. It is shown that the interscale relations enforced at the interface between coarse and fine domains play an important role in the global response of the material

Domain decomposition and parallel direct solvers as an adaptive multiscale strategy for damage simulation in materials

Understanding physical phenomena of heterogeneous materials is an ongoing active research field in the structural design of buildings and roads. The failure analysis of quasi-brittle materials such as concrete is a particular topic of interest in civil engineering. This process is characterized by the initial formation of cracks on a microscopic length scale which coagulate into macroscale cracks leading up to weakening and fracture. Because the fracturing process of these materials occurs on several different length scales, care must be taken to provide an accurate description which accounts for all the relevant mechanical processes while maintaining a reasonable computation cost. With this reasoning in mind, we use a multiscale approach in our numerical simulation, switching between different meshes and material parameters depending on the local mechanical behaviour. In this contribution, we will present a non-linear finite element computation involving a non-local damage model of a wedge-split test used for evaluating fracture mechanics in concrete-like materials. We will apply the classical FETI framework (Farhat and Roux [1991]) to the non-linear gradient enhanced damage (GD) model (Peerlings et al. [1996]) using both iterative and direct solvers to the interface problem as well as using a direct solver for the entire set of equations of the fully dual assembled system.Peer Reviewe

Objective multiscale analysis of random heterogeneous materials

The multiscale framework presented in [1, 2] is assessed in this contribution for a study of random heterogeneous materials. Results are compared to direct numerical simulations (DNS) and the sensitivity to user-defined parameters such as the domain decomposition type and initial coarse scale resolution is reported. The parallel performance of the implementation is studied for different domain decompositions

Multiscale analysis of damage using dual and primal domain decomposition techniques

In this contribution, dual and primal domain decomposition techniques are studied for the multiscale analysis of failure in quasi-brittle materials. The multiscale strategy essentially consists in decomposing the structure into a number of nonoverlapping domains and considering a refined spatial resolution where needed. In multiscale analysis of damage, the spatial refinement is performed where damage nucleation and propagation take place. The domain decomposition approach turns to be a computationally cheaper alternative to the direct numerical solution in which a fine scale model is considered throughout the complete sample. Dual and primal domain decomposition techniques are appropriate for such concurrent multiscale analyses and provide identical results. Parallel scalability of the multiscale analysis is studied using a moderate number of processors and a parallel direct solver for the system obtained through the assembly of all domains