Deadline Date: 01 December 2026
Fracture and damage mechanics play a critical role in engineering, materials science, and applied mechanics, where accurate prediction of crack initiation, propagation, and progressive material degradation is essential for ensuring the safety and reliability of structures and components.
Recent advances in numerical and computational methods have enabled the modeling of complex, nonlinear, and multiscale phenomena associated with fracture and damage, including corrosion effects, hydrogen embrittlement, dynamic loading, and multiphysical behaviors. This Special Issue focuses on innovative and robust computational strategies for predictive modeling of fracture and damage, encompassing both methodological developments and practical applications in structural and materials engineering.
Contributions are invited on advances in numerical formulations and algorithms, finite element and meshfree methods, cohesive zone models, phase-field fracture models, multiphysics couplings, high-performance computing strategies, and data-driven or machine learning approaches. The goal is to provide an updated overview of computational tools for the accurate prediction of fracture and damage in complex materials and engineering structures.
Potential topics include but are not limited to:
Finite element and extended finite element methods (FEM/XFEM) for fracture and damage analysis
Cohesive zone and phase-field models for crack initiation and propagation
Continuum and non-local damage mechanics formulations
Hydrogen embrittlement and corrosion-induced damage modeling
Multiscale and multiphysics computational approaches
Dynamic fracture and high-rate crack propagation simulations
Adaptive mesh refinement and meshfree/particle-based methods
Predictive modeling for lifetime assessment and structural reliability
Data-driven and machine learning techniques in fracture and damage prediction
Benchmark studies, verification, and validation of computational fracture models
Editorial board
