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COMSOL Multiphysics® 6.2 Release Highlights

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Geomechanics Module Updates

For users of the Geomechanics Module, COMSOL Multiphysics® version 6.2 provides extended functionality for modeling concrete structures, new soil material models, and updates to the multiplicative flow rule for soil plasticity models that extend their applicability to the large-strain regime. Learn more about these updates below.

Coupled Damage–Plasticity Model for Concrete

The new Coupled damage–plasticity material model combines damage mechanics with a plasticity model. The model can be used to describe important characteristics of the mechanical response and failure of concrete and similar brittle materials subjected to multiaxial and cyclic loading. The Failure of a Concrete Beam Using Coupled Damage–Plasticity and Concrete Damage–Plasticity Material Tests tutorial models showcase this new addition.

The COMSOL Multiphysics UI showing the Model Builder with the Concrete node highlighted, the corresponding Settings window, and a concrete beam in the Graphics window.
The new Coupled damage–plasticity material model, used to simulate cracks in a concrete beam.

Improvements to Soil Models

Two new material models for soils have been added: Hardening Soil Small Strain and Small Strain Overlay. These models, as well as all of the previously existing material models in the Plasticity, Soil Plasticity, and Elastoplastic Soil Material families, have a new formulation based on the multiplicative decomposition of deformation gradients. This makes it possible to study problems where very large strains occur. These improvements can be seen in the Hysteresis in Soil Using the Small-Strain Overlay Model and Triaxial Test with the Hardening Soil Small-Strain Material Model tutorial models.

The COMSOL Multiphysics UI showing the Model Builder with the Elastoplastic Soil Material node highlighted, the corresponding Settings window, and a 1D plot in the Graphics window.
The new Hardening Soil Small Strain material model captures the effects of small-strain stiffness and hysteresis under cyclic loading.

New Phase-Field Damage Multiphysics Interface

The new Phase-Field Damage multiphysics interface combines a Solid Mechanics interface with the new Phase Field in Solids interface through a Phase-Field Damage bidirectional multiphysics coupling. The stress or the strain energy density drives the evolution of the phase field, and the phase field determines the degree of damage to the elastic material model.

 
Phase-field modeling of ductile damage evolution in an elastoplastic compact tension specimen.

New Tutorial Models

COMSOL Multiphysics® version 6.2 brings the following new tutorial models to the Geomechanics Module.

Hysteresis in Soil Using the Small-Strain Overlay Model

A 1D plot with shear strain on the x-axis and shear stress on the y-axis.
The stress–strain relationship of a small-strain overlay soil model under cyclic shear loading.

Application Library Title:
hysteresis_small_strain_overlay
Download from the Application Gallery

Triaxial Test with the Hardening Soil Small-Strain Material Model

A 1D plot with axial strain on the x-axis and nondimensional axial stress on the y-axis.
The stress–strain relationships of various hardening soil small-strain material models under monotonic loading.

Application Library Title:
triaxial_test_hardening_soil_small_strain
Download from the Application Gallery

Concrete Damage–Plasticity Material Tests

A 1D plot showing the stress–strain relationship with red and blue lines.
The stress–strain relationship in a coupled damage–plasticity model for concrete with cyclic (blue) and monotonic (red) uniaxial loading.

Application Library Title:
concrete_damage_plasticity
Download from the Application Gallery

Failure of a Concrete Beam Using Coupled Damage–Plasticity

A concrete beam model showing the damage in the Prism color table, with red arrows representing a load on the top surface of the beam.
Damage in a reinforced concrete beam, with a coupled damage–plasticity material model for the concrete, metal plasticity for the rebars, and a nonlinear bond–slip law for the interaction between concrete and the rebars.

Application Library Title:
concrete_beam_cdpm
Download from the Application Gallery