Integrated Finite Element Neural Network (IFENN) for Phase-Field Fracture with Minimal Input and Generalized Geometry-Load Handling

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Hauptverfasser: Pantidis, Panos, Svolos, Lampros, Abueidda, Diab, Mobasher, Mostafa E.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Pantidis, Panos
Svolos, Lampros
Abueidda, Diab
Mobasher, Mostafa E.
author_facet Pantidis, Panos
Svolos, Lampros
Abueidda, Diab
Mobasher, Mostafa E.
contents We present a novel formulation for modeling phase-field fracture propagation based on the Integrated Finite Element Neural Network (IFENN) framework. IFENN is a hybrid solver scheme that utilizes neural networks as PDE solvers within FEM, preserving accuracy via residual minimization while achieving speed-up via swift network predictions and reduction of the size of system of equations in coupled problems. In this work, we introduce a radically new formulation of IFENN in which the phase-field variable is calculated using physics-informed convolutional networks (PICNNs), while the equilibrium equation is still solved using FEM to maintain the solver robustness. Unlike conventional approaches, which rely on sequence or time-dependent models, we eliminate the need to include temporal features in the training setup and inference stage. Instead, we show that it is sufficient to learn only the spatial coupling between the strain energy density and the phase-field variable in the vicinity of the fracture process zone, and utilize this information along the advancing crack simulation. We train a single CNN in a purely physics-based, unsupervised manner on just two load increments from a single-notch tension problem, with a total training time of only 5 minutes. Following this exceptionally minimal and fast training, we show that the same PICNN can (when embedded within IFENN) model crack propagation in a very wide range of unseen scenarios, including arbitrarily rectangular domains, single and multiple interacting cracks, varying mesh densities, and arbitrary loading paths. The proposed formulation delivers breakthroughs that address many of the limitations in the existing literature of hybrid modeling, introducing a new paradigm for the development of generalizable, physics-consistent hybrid models that are applicable to fracture and other coupled problems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_19566
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Integrated Finite Element Neural Network (IFENN) for Phase-Field Fracture with Minimal Input and Generalized Geometry-Load Handling
Pantidis, Panos
Svolos, Lampros
Abueidda, Diab
Mobasher, Mostafa E.
Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
We present a novel formulation for modeling phase-field fracture propagation based on the Integrated Finite Element Neural Network (IFENN) framework. IFENN is a hybrid solver scheme that utilizes neural networks as PDE solvers within FEM, preserving accuracy via residual minimization while achieving speed-up via swift network predictions and reduction of the size of system of equations in coupled problems. In this work, we introduce a radically new formulation of IFENN in which the phase-field variable is calculated using physics-informed convolutional networks (PICNNs), while the equilibrium equation is still solved using FEM to maintain the solver robustness. Unlike conventional approaches, which rely on sequence or time-dependent models, we eliminate the need to include temporal features in the training setup and inference stage. Instead, we show that it is sufficient to learn only the spatial coupling between the strain energy density and the phase-field variable in the vicinity of the fracture process zone, and utilize this information along the advancing crack simulation. We train a single CNN in a purely physics-based, unsupervised manner on just two load increments from a single-notch tension problem, with a total training time of only 5 minutes. Following this exceptionally minimal and fast training, we show that the same PICNN can (when embedded within IFENN) model crack propagation in a very wide range of unseen scenarios, including arbitrarily rectangular domains, single and multiple interacting cracks, varying mesh densities, and arbitrary loading paths. The proposed formulation delivers breakthroughs that address many of the limitations in the existing literature of hybrid modeling, introducing a new paradigm for the development of generalizable, physics-consistent hybrid models that are applicable to fracture and other coupled problems.
title Integrated Finite Element Neural Network (IFENN) for Phase-Field Fracture with Minimal Input and Generalized Geometry-Load Handling
topic Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.19566