Asymptotic Analysis of Free-Edge and Free-Corner Effects in Laminate Structures

Stress fields in the vicinity of free edges and corners of composite laminates exhibit singular characteristics and may lead to premature interlaminar failure modes like delamination fracture. It is of practical interest to investigate the nature of the arising free-edge and free-corner stress singularities - i.e. the singularity orders and modes - closely. The present investigations are performed using the Boundary Finite Element Method (BFEM) which in essence is a fundamental-solution-less boundary element method employing standard finite element formulations. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Deformation Driven Homogenization of Fracturing Solids

The paper discusses numerical formulations of the homogenization for solids with discrete crack development. We focus on multi–phase microstructures of heterogeneous materials, where fracture occurs in the form of debonding mechanisms as well as matrix cracking. The definition of overall properties critically depends on the developing discontinuities. To this end, we extend continuous formulations [1] to microstructures with discontinuities [2]. The basic underlying structure is a canonical variational formulation in the fully nonlinear range based on incremental energy minimization. We develop algorithms for numerical homogenization of fracturing solids in a deformation–driven context with non–trivial formulations of boundary conditions for (i) linear deformation and (ii) uniform tractions. The overall response of composite materials with fracturing microstructures are investigated. As a key result, we show the significance of the proposed non–trivial formulation of a traction–type boundary condition in the deformation–driven context. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The Boundary Finite Element Method for the Efficient Computation of Orders and Modes of Three-Dimensional Stress Singularities

In this contribution the B oundary F inite E lement M ethod (BFEM) is employed for the computation of the orders of stress singularities for several three-dimensional stress concentration problems in linear elastic fracture mechanics. The BFEM combines the advantages of both the FEM and the BEM: while only a discretization on a structural boundary is required, the actual surface mesh consists of standard displacement based finite elements. In contrast to the BEM, no fundamental solution is required. The BFEM is an ef.cient analysis tool which leads to highly accurate results with significantly lesser computational effort when compared to e.g. standard FEM procedures. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Spectral bounds for Dirac operators on open manifolds

We extend several classical eigenvalue estimates for Dirac operators on compact manifolds to noncompact, even incomplete manifolds. This includes Friedrich’s estimate for manifolds with positive scalar curvature as well as the author’s estimate on surfaces.      

<Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis><Superscript>2</Superscript>-Invariants of finite aspherical CW-complexes

Let X be a finite aspherical CW-complex whose fundamental group π ₁(X) possesses a subnormal series with a non-trivial elementary amenable group G ₀. We investigate the L ²-invariants of the universal covering of such a CW-complex X. The main result is the proof of the vanishing of the L ²-torsion under the condition that π ₁(X) has semi-integral determinant. We further show that the Novikov–Shubin invariants are positive.     

Computation of nonautonomous invariant and inertial manifolds

We derive a numerical scheme to compute invariant manifolds for time-variant discrete dynamical systems, i.e., nonautonomous difference equations. Our universally applicable method is based on a truncated Lyapunov–Perron operator and computes invariant manifolds using a system of nonlinear algebraic equations which can be solved both locally using (nonsmooth) inexact Newton, and globally using continuation algorithms. Compared to other algorithms, our approach is quite flexible, since it captures time-dependent, nonsmooth, noninvertible or implicit equations and enables us to tackle the full hierarchy of strongly stable, stable and center-stable manifolds, as well as their unstable counterparts. Our results are illustrated using a test example and are applied to a population dynamical model and the Hénon map. Finally, we discuss a linearly implicit Euler–Bubnov–Galerkin discretization of a reaction diffusion equation in order to approximate its inertial manifold.     

Persistence of undercompressive phase boundaries for isothermal Euler equations including configurational forces and surface tension

The persistence of subsonic phase boundaries in a multidimensional Van der Waals fluid is analyzed. The phase boundary is considered as a sharp free boundary that connects liquid and vapor bulk phase dynamics given by the isothermal Euler equations. The evolution of the boundary is driven by effects of configurational forces as well as surface tension. To analyze this problem, the equations and trace conditions are linearized such that one obtains a general hyperbolic initial boundary value problem with higher‐order boundary conditions. A global existence theorem for the linearized system with constant coefficients is shown. The proof relies on the normal mode analysis and a linear form in suitable spaces that is defined using an associated adjoint problem. Especially, the associated adjoint problem satisfies the uniform backward in time Kreiss–Lopatinski? condition. A new energy‐like estimate that also includes surface energy terms leads finally to the uniqueness and regularity for the found solutions of the problem in weighted spaces. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bed of polydisperse viscous spherical drops under thermocapillary effects

Viscous flow past an ensemble of polydisperse spherical drops is investigated under thermocapillary effects. We assume that the collection of spherical drops behaves as a porous media and estimates the hydrodynamic interactions analytically via the so- called cell model that is defined around a specific representative particle. In this method, the hydrodynamic interactions are assumed to be accounted by suitable boundary conditions on a fictitious fluid envelope surrounding the representative particle. The force calculated on this representative particle will then be extended to a bed of spherical drops visualized as a Darcy porous bed. Thus, the “effective bed permeability” of such a porous bed will be computed as a function of various parameters and then will be compared with Carman–Kozeny relation. We use cell model approach to a packed bed of spherical drops of uniform size (monodisperse spherical drops) and then extend the work for a packed bed of polydisperse spherical drops, for a specific parameters. Our results show a good agreement with the Carman–Kozeny relation for the case of monodisperse spherical drops. The prediction of overall bed permeability using our present model agrees well with the Carman–Kozeny relation when the packing size distribution is narrow, whereas a small deviation can be noted when the size distribution becomes broader.     

Phase-field approach to fracture for finite-deformation contact problems

The present contribution deals with a variationally consistent Mortar contact algorithm applied to a phase-field fracture approach for finite deformations, see [4]. A phase-field approach to fracture allows for the numerical simulation of complex fracture patterns for three dimensional problems, extended recently to finite deformations (see [2] for more details). In a nutshell, the phase-field approach relies on a regularization of the sharp (fracture-) interface. In order to improve the accuracy, a fourth-order Cahn-Hilliard phase-field equation is considered, requiring global C¹ continuity (see [1]), which will be dealt with using an isogeometrical analysis (IGA) framework. Additionally, a newly developed hierarchical refinement scheme is applied to resolve for local physical phenomena e.g. the contact zone (see [3] for more details). The Mortar method is a modern and very accurate numerical method to implement contact boundaries. This approach can be extended in a straightforward manner to transient phase-field fracture problems. The performance of the proposed methods will be examined in a representative numerical example. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)