A computational approach to handle complex microstructure geometries

In multiscale analysis of components, there is usually a need to solve microstructures with complex geometries. In this paper, we use the extended finite element method (X-FEM) to solve scales involving complex geometries. The X-FEM allows one to use meshes not necessarily matching the physical surface of the problem while retaining the accuracy of the classical finite element approach. For material interfaces, this is achieved by introducing a new enrichment strategy. Although the mesh does not need to conform to the physical surfaces, it needs to be fine enough to capture the geometry of these surfaces. A simple algorithm is described to adaptively refine the mesh to meet this geometrical requirement. Numerical experiments on the periodic homogenization of two-phase complex cells demonstrate the accuracy and simplicity of the X-FEM. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved