Phase-field fracture modeling, numerical solution, and simulations for compressible and incompressible solids

Abstract

In this thesis, we develop phase-field fracture models for simulating fractures in compressible and incompressible solids. Classical (primal) phase-field fracture models fail due to locking effects. Hence, we formulate the elasticity part of the phase-field fracture problem in mixed form, avoiding locking. For the elasticity part in mixed form, we prove inf-sup stability, which allows a stable discretization with Taylor-Hood elements. We solve the resulting (3x3) phase-field fracture problem - a coupled variational inequality system - with a primal-dual active set method. In addition, we develop a physics-based Schur-type preconditioner for the linear solver to reduce the computational workload. We confirm the robustness of the new solver for five benchmark tests. Finally, we compare numerical simulations to experimental data analyzing fractures in punctured strips of ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (EPDM) stretched until total failure to check the applicability on a real-world problem in nearly incompressible solids. Similar behavior of measurement data and the numerically computed quantities of interest validate the newly developed quasi-static phase-field fracture model in mixed form.