Computational Modeling of Embedded and Contact Interfaces

Mike Puso, Tod Laursen, Peter Wriggers, Jerome Solberg

The treatment of interfaces in computational modeling takes on a variety of forms: overlapping meshes, contact-impact, embedded Dirichelet constraints and embedded interfaces. Overlapping mesh methods such as immersed boundary, Chimera, Arlequin, embedded grid etc. are very powerful techniques and often include moving domains. Contact generally includes the interfacing of dissimilar meshes and different friction treatment. Embedded interfaces are often captured using XFEM and in general require some approach to handle the Dirichelet type constraints. These interface methods require special techniques including: spatial discretization approaches to avoid locking, implicit solution of resulting systems of equations, energy conservation for impact, efficient explicit implementations, handling of moving meshes for fluid-structure implementations, special material considerations at the interface such as tribological laws of friction or the underlying physics of phase transformation. In addition to mechanical interactions, the scope of this session includes thermal, electromagnetics and other physics at the interface boundaries.