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Linear and nonlinear solvers for variational phase‐field models of brittle fracture
Author(s) -
Farrell Patrick,
Maurini Corrado
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
international journal for numerical methods in engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.421
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1097-0207
pISSN - 0029-5981
DOI - 10.1002/nme.5300
Subject(s) - solver , relaxation (psychology) , nonlinear system , minification , variational inequality , convergence (economics) , mathematical optimization , mathematics , gauss–seidel method , phase field models , computer science , iterative method , phase (matter) , physics , psychology , social psychology , quantum mechanics , economics , economic growth
Summary The variational approach to fracture is effective for simulating the nucleation and propagation of complex crack patterns but is computationally demanding. The model is a strongly nonlinear non‐convex variational inequality that demands the resolution of small length scales. The current standard algorithm for its solution, alternate minimization, is robust but converges slowly and demands the solution of large, ill‐conditioned linear subproblems. In this paper, we propose several advances in the numerical solution of this model that improve its computational efficiency. We reformulate alternate minimization as a nonlinear Gauss–Seidel iteration and employ over‐relaxation to accelerate its convergence; we compose this accelerated alternate minimization with Newton's method, to further reduce the time to solution, and we formulate efficient preconditioners for the solution of the linear subproblems arising in both alternate minimization and in Newton's method. We investigate the improvements in efficiency on several examples from the literature; the new solver is five to six times faster on a majority of the test cases considered. © 2016 The Authors International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.