Multiscale quasicontinuum approaches for beam lattices

The quasicontinuum (QC) method was originally developed to reduce the computational efforts of large-scale atomistic (conservative) lattice computations. QC approaches have an intrinsically multiscale character, as they combine fully resolved regions in which discrete lattice events can occur, with coarse-grained regions in which the lattice model is interpolated and integrated (summed in QC terminology). In previous works, virtual-power-based QC approaches were developed for dissipative (i.e. non-conservative) lattice computations which can for instance be used for fibrous materials. The virtual-power-based QC approaches have focused on dissipative spring/truss networks, but numerous fibrous materials can more accurately be described by (planar) beam networks. In this presentation, different QC approaches for planar beam lattices are introduced. In contrast to spring/truss lattices, beam networks include not only displacements but also rotations which need to be incorporated in the QC method, resulting in a mixed formulation. Furthermore, the presentation will show that QC approaches for planar beam lattices require higher-order interpolations to obtain accurate results, which also influences the numerical integration (summation in QC terminology). Results using different interpolations and types of integration will be shown for multiscale examples.