The Combined Finite–Discrete Element Method—Theory, Modeling and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

The combined finite–discrete element method’s field of application and user community have significantly grown in recent years in large part due to the ability of this method to seamlessly describe solid domains’ transition from continuum to discontinuum in the form of explicit (i.e., debonding between finite elements) fracture and fragmentation. This feature is very relevant to several research fields where fracture processes at different temporal and length scales are involved. Depending on the application, material fracture and fragmentation may be either a desirable feature, for example for the purpose of hydraulic fracturing operations, or something that is to be avoided at all costs, for example in key components of mechanical systems. In other cases, fractures are already present in the system and must be accommodated for through novel design. Because of this wide spectrum of motivations, there is a continuous need for better and more accurate numerical solvers that can address these challenging problems.

This Special Issue focuses on gathering the latest advances in the theoretical, numerical, and application-based aspects of the combined finite–discrete element method, including multi-physics (i.e., fluid–solid interaction, thermo-hydro-mechanical–chemical coupling, etc.), parallelization (i.e., MPI-based, GPGPU-based, etc.), visualization, etc. Original contributions from engineers, mechanical materials scientists, computer scientists, physicists, chemists, and mathematicians are encouraged.

Dr. Esteban Rougier
Dr. Zhou Lei
Guest Editors

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• combined finite–discrete element method
• finite element techniques
• fracture modeling
• contact modeling
• fluid–solid interaction
• material modeling
• thermo-hydro-mechanical–chemical coupling