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    [Gamma]-limits and relaxations for rate-independent evolutionary problems
    (Berlin : Weierstraß-Institut für Angewandte Analysis und Stochastik, 2006) Mielke, Alexander; Toubíček, Tomáš; Stefanelli, Ulisse
    This work uses the energetic formulation of rate-independent systems that is based on the stored-energy functionals ε and the dissipation distance D. For sequences (ε k)k ∈ ℕ and (D k)k ∈ ℕ we address the question under which conditions the limits q∞ of solutions qk: [0,T] → Q satisfy a suitable limit problem with limit functionals ε∞ and D∞, which are the corresponding Γ-limits. We derive a sufficient condition, called emphconditional upper semi-continuity of the stable sets, which is essential to guarantee that q∞ solves the limit problem. In particular, this condition holds if certain emphjoint recovery sequences exist. Moreover, we show that time-incremental minimization problems can be used to approximate the solutions. A first example involves the numerical approximation of functionals using finite-element spaces. A second example shows that the stop and the play operator convergece if the yield sets converge in the sense of Mosco. The third example deals with a problem developing microstructure in the limit k → ∞, which in the limit can be described by an effective macroscopic model.
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    Crack growth in polyconvex materials
    (Berlin : Weierstraß-Institut für Angewandte Analysis und Stochastik, 2008) Knees, Dorothee; Zanini, Chiara; Mielke, Alexander
    We discuss a model for crack propagation in an elastic body, where the crack path is described a-priori. In particular, we develop in the framework of finite-strain elasticity a rate-independent model for crack evolution which is based on the Griffith fracture criterion. Due to the nonuniqueness of minimizing deformations, the energy-release rate is no longer continuous with respect to time and the position of the crack tip. Thus, the model is formulated in terms of the Clarke differential of the energy, generalizing the classical crack evolution models for elasticity with strictly convex energies. We prove the existence of solutions for our model and also the existence of special solutions, where only certain extremal points of the Clarke differential are allowed.