Phase-field simulation of thermal cracking with length-scale insensitive degradation functions

Area of Science:

• Computational mechanics
• Materials science
• Thermal engineering

Background:

• Thermal cracking is a critical failure mechanism in many materials, particularly ceramics.
• Simulating crack propagation under thermal loads is computationally intensive.
• Existing phase-field models often require fine meshes, increasing computational cost.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an accelerated simulation method for thermal cracking problems.
• To introduce a length-scale insensitive degradation function for phase-field models.
• To accurately predict thermal crack initiation and propagation in solids.

Main Methods:

• Coupling solid deformation, damage evolution, and heat conduction.
• Representing cracks using diffusive phase-field variables.
• Employing a length-scale insensitive degradation function to decouple phase-field and physical scales.

Main Results:

• The proposed method significantly accelerates thermal cracking simulations.
• Numerical results for ceramic examples show good agreement with experimental data.
• The length-scale insensitivity alleviates the meshing burden associated with phase-field models.

Conclusions:

• The developed length-scale insensitive degradation function effectively simulates thermal cracking.
• This approach offers a computationally efficient tool for predicting thermal failure in materials.
• The findings have significant implications for large-scale thermal cracking predictions.