Consistent remeshing and transfer for a three dimensional enriched mixed formulation of plasticity and non-local damage

The ability to model complex three dimensional geometries undergoing large deformations is frequently required in finite element simulations of industrial problems. As a result of the large deformations, finite elements may become excessively distorted and consequently unreliable from the numerical point of view. Remeshing must be used in order to preserve a good quality of the discretisation. An important aspect of remeshing is the transfer of history data from one mesh to another. Errors and numerical instabilities caused by this transfer can be minimised by using a consistent methodology. We concentrate here on this issue for finite-strain elasto-plasticity with and without nonlocal damage. A low-order tetrahedral element specially developed for this material behavior and free from locking and pressure oscillations is used for this purpose. The transfer strategy proposed by Mediavilla, Peerlings and Geers (Computers & Structures, 84(8- 9):604-623, 2006) for a conventional element is taken as a basis and is extended for the 3D bubble enriched element. It is shown that by consistently transferring a minimum and carefully selected set of variables the simulation remains stable with minimal inconsistencies and deviations.