TY - JOUR

T1 - A phase-field lattice model (PFLM) for fracture problem

T2 - Theory and application in composite materials

AU - Yue, Qiang

AU - Wang, Qiao

AU - Tian, Wenxiang

AU - Rabczuk, Timon

AU - Zhou, Wei

AU - Ma, Gang

AU - Zhuang, Xiaoying

AU - Chang, Xiaolin

N1 - Funding Information: Financial support for the project from the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2022YFC3005505), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51979207, No. U2040223) is acknowledged.

PY - 2023/11/1

Y1 - 2023/11/1

N2 - In the present work, a phase-field lattice model (PFLM) is proposed to model fracture problems. The element deletion process and oversimplified failure criterion of the classical lattice model not only lead to a strong mesh sensitivity but also limit the method's application to various materials and fracture modes. Hence, a smeared form of crack is introduced into the lattice model to deal with these problems. The model exploits discontinuous discrete methods to model the propagation of three-dimensional cracks by characterizing the crack with a phase-field variable. Moreover, by regarding the crack propagation process as a multi-field problem composed of a displacement field and a phase-field, a flexible and robust algorithm is established, in which the crack path can be obtained directly by resolving the governing equations. Numerical simulations were performed and compared with the experimental results and other numerical models. It is shown that the PFLM can capture the main features of the fracture for both brittle and quasi-brittle materials. To further demonstrate the performance of the model, a mesoscale system of cement composite generated by computed tomography scanning technology was examined. The result demonstrates that the fracture of composite materials can also be well predicted.

AB - In the present work, a phase-field lattice model (PFLM) is proposed to model fracture problems. The element deletion process and oversimplified failure criterion of the classical lattice model not only lead to a strong mesh sensitivity but also limit the method's application to various materials and fracture modes. Hence, a smeared form of crack is introduced into the lattice model to deal with these problems. The model exploits discontinuous discrete methods to model the propagation of three-dimensional cracks by characterizing the crack with a phase-field variable. Moreover, by regarding the crack propagation process as a multi-field problem composed of a displacement field and a phase-field, a flexible and robust algorithm is established, in which the crack path can be obtained directly by resolving the governing equations. Numerical simulations were performed and compared with the experimental results and other numerical models. It is shown that the PFLM can capture the main features of the fracture for both brittle and quasi-brittle materials. To further demonstrate the performance of the model, a mesoscale system of cement composite generated by computed tomography scanning technology was examined. The result demonstrates that the fracture of composite materials can also be well predicted.

KW - Brittle and quasi-brittle fracture

KW - Composite materials

KW - Lattice model

KW - Phase-field model

KW - Three-dimensional modelling

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85167979134&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.compstruct.2023.117432

DO - 10.1016/j.compstruct.2023.117432

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85167979134

VL - 323

JO - Composite structures

JF - Composite structures

SN - 0263-8223

M1 - 117432

ER -