Develop and implement a phase-field-based model for brittle fracture

Abstract

This thesis aims to develop and implement a phase-field model for brittle fracture in plane stress condition. It is composed of four themed chapters. Firstly, Chapter 1 introduces the motivation and objectives of the project. The lack of an effective simulation tool in predicting the cracks that usually occur in thin objects motivates the author to develop a mathematical model that could capture their fracture mechanism. Chapter 2 begins by laying out the theoretical dimensions of the research and provides a brief review of fracture models, initiating from the classical Linear Elastic Fracture Model to phenomenally effective implementation of crack growth, Extended finite element method (XFEM), and ending up with the state-of-the-art approach, namely phase-field model for fracture. Next, Chapter 3 revisits the theory behind the phase-field model for fracture, its finite element formulation, and some notable variations. Chapter 4 presents two new developments, including the adaptive staggered scheme, to the original framework in the theory part and then analyzes the results of numerical experiments applying these adjustments. Finally, the conclusion gives a brief summary and recommendations for future work.

Date	28 Jun 2024
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	École de technologie supérieure
Supervisor	Tan Pham (Supervisor)