Discontinuous Galerkin methods for non-linear elasticity

This paper presents the formulation and a partial analysis of a class of discontinuous Galerkin methods for quasistatic non-linear elasticity problems. These methods are endowed with several salient features. The equations that define the numerical scheme are the Euler-Lagrange equations of a one-field variational principle, a trait that provides an elegant and simple derivation of the method. In consonance with general discontinuous Galerkin formulations, it is possible within this framework to choose different numerical fluxes. Numerical evidence suggests the absence of locking at near-incompressible conditions in the finite deformations regime when piecewise linear elements are adopted. Finally, a conceivable surprising characteristic is that, as demonstrated with numerical examples, these methods provide a given accuracy level for a comparable, and often lower, computational cost than conforming formulations. Stabilization is occasionally needed for discontinuous Galerkin methods in linear elliptic problems. In this paper we propose a sufficient condition for the stability of each linearized non-linear elastic problem that naturally includes material and geometric parameters; the latter needed to account for buckling. We then prove that when a similar condition is satisfied by the discrete problem, the method provides stable linearized deformed configurations upon the addition of a standard stabilization term. We conclude by discussing the complexity of the implementation, and propose a computationally efficient approach that avoids looping over both elements and element faces. Several numerical examples are then presented in two and three dimensions that illustrate the performance of a selected discontinuous Galerkin method within the class. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.