Phase field fracture modelling of solids: dynamics, anisotropy, and multi-physics

Fracture is one of the most commonly encountered failure modes of engineering materials and structures. Computational modelling of fracture is very challenging due to complex evolution of the sharp crack-front. Nonetheless, the phase-field methods (PFMs) are very promising, where the sharp crack is approximated as a thin band of damage with a bandwidth proportional to the considered length scale. The thesis presents a PFM for fracture of brittle and quasi-brittle solids subjected to static, dynamic, thermal, and chemical loading. The proposed model is more accurate, efficient, and robust than existing models; hence it is suitable for predictive modelling of fracture.