A fast and robust discrete FFT-based solver for computational homogenization

Abstract

We propose a new discrete FFT-based method for computational homogenization of micromechanics on a regular grid that is simple, fast and robust. The discretization scheme is based on a tetrahedral stencil that displays three crucial properties. First, and most importantly, the Fourier representation of the associated Green operator is defined for any finite q-vector generated by the periodic boundary conditions and that does not belong to the Reciprocal Lattice of the discrete grids. As shown in the paper, this property guaranties that, for any elastic contrats, even infinite, mechanical equilibrium is always mathematically stable, i.e. free of any unphysical patterns, such as oscillations, ringing or checkerboarding, a property which is not shared by the original Moulinec-Suquet method \cite{moulinec1994fast,moulinec1998numerical} nor by the rotated scheme proposed by Willot \cite{willot2015fourier}. Second, the components of tensorial quantities are all defined on the same location, which permits the use of any elastic anisotropy and any spatial variation of the material fields. Third, convergence to equilibrium using the simplest iterative scheme, the "basic scheme", is fast and the number of iterates stabilizes at high contrasts, so that infinite contrast is obtained without additional computational cost.