Friedlein J, Steinmann P, Mergheim J (2026)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2026
Book Volume: 253
Article Number: 104471
DOI: 10.1016/j.finel.2025.104471
Gradient-enhancement of the damage variable for the regularisation of coupled plasticity-damage constitutive models leads to a coupled system of equations. This is mostly solved monolithically due to the strong coupling and often implemented by a thermomechanical substitution approach into commercial finite element solvers. Therewith the analogy between implicit gradient theory and heat equation is utilised. This avoids the implementation of a separate element formulation and is compatible with many existing finite element solvers. However, for some commercial solvers only a staggered thermomechanical approach is available. Therefore, a method is introduced to use a staggered solver for gradient-enhanced damage formulations. The strong coupling is thereby only approximated, but the size and symmetry of the subsystems can be preserved. Moreover, the staggered approach leads to a modular implementation, which enables to stack multiple subsystems without permanently occupying the thermal solver by a single monolithic coupling. This easily extendable multi-purpose use of the thermal solver is demonstrated by a three-field problem solving coupled thermo-plasticity-gradient-damage. The staggered and monolithic approach are compared and investigated by numerical examples.
APA:
Friedlein, J., Steinmann, P., & Mergheim, J. (2026). One-way coupled staggered implementation of gradient-enhanced damage models coupled to thermoplasticity. Finite Elements in Analysis and Design, 253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.finel.2025.104471
MLA:
Friedlein, Johannes, Paul Steinmann, and Julia Mergheim. "One-way coupled staggered implementation of gradient-enhanced damage models coupled to thermoplasticity." Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 253 (2026).
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