An energy-limited gradient damage approach for 3D thermal fracture analysis
Abstract
This study presents a thermo-mechanically coupled nonlocal damage model for brittle fracture that is practically implementable and extensible to multi-physics applications. The proposed damage formulation preserves thermodynamic consistency within a variational framework and employs an implicit gradient scheme for efficient regularization. A local damage variable is defined to represent different fracture modes, while a Helmholtz-type PDE is introduced to mitigate mesh dependence. The model is first verified through mechanical benchmark problems, which confirm reduced mesh sensitivity. Its predictive capability is then demonstrated in thermo-mechanical simulations involving diverse geometries, initial conditions, material properties, and spatial dimensions (2D and 3D). The results consistently indicate that the proposed approach delivers robust and accurate predictions of thermal fracture processes while maintaining high computational efficiency.
Details
- Organisation(s)
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Institute of Photonics
- External Organisation(s)
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Beijing University of Technology
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
- Type
- Article
- Journal
- Computers and Structures
- Volume
- 321
- ISSN
- 0045-7949
- Publication date
- 15.01.2026
- Publication status
- Published
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Civil and Structural Engineering, Modelling and Simulation, General Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science Applications
- Electronic version(s)
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruc.2025.108084 (Access:
Closed
)
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Details in the research portal "Research@Leibniz University"
