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This paper introduces a computational strategy to solve structural problems featuring nonlinear phenomena that occur within a small area, while the rest of the structure retains a linear elastic behavior. Two finite element models are defined: a global linear model of the whole structure, and a local nonlinear "submodel" meant to replace the global model in the nonlinear area. An iterative coupling technique is then used to perform this replacement in an exact but non-intrusive way, which means the model data sets are never modified and the computations can be carried out with standard finite element software. Several ways of exchanging data between the models are discussed and their convergence properties are investigated on two examples.

The prediction of the quasi-static response of industrial laminate structures requires to use fine descriptions of the material, especially when debonding is involved. Even when modeled at the mesoscale, the computation of these structures results in very large numerical problems. In this paper, the exact mesoscale solution is sought using parallel iterative solvers. The LaTIn-based mixed domain decomposition method makes it very easy to handle the complex description of the structure; moreover the provided multiscale features enable us to deal with numerical difficulties at their natural scale; we present the various enhancements we developed to ensure the scalability of the method. An extension of the method designed to handle instabilities is also presented.

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A study of mixed-mode crack propagation in bending-based interlaminar fracture specimens is here presented. A numerical scheme to simulate full crack propagation is proposed which makes use of interface laws relating interlaminar stresses to displacement discontinuities along the plane of crack propagation. The relation between interface laws and mixed-mode failure loci in terms of critical energies is discussed and clarified. Numerical simulations are presented and compared with analytical and experimental results.

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