An analysis of the quasicontinuum method

The aim of this paper is to present a streamlined and fully three-dimensional version of the quasicontinuum (QC) theory of Tadmor et al. (Philos. Mag. A 73 (1996) 1529; Langmuir 12 (1996) 4529) and to analyze its accuracy and convergence characteristics. Specifically, we assess the effect of the summation rules on accuracy; we determine the rate of convergence of the method in the presence of strong singularities, such as point loads; and we assess the effect of the refinement tolerance, which controls the rate at which new nodes are inserted in the model, on the development of dislocation microstructures. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.