title: Coarse-grained free-energy-functional treatment of quasistatic multiscale processes in heterogeneous materials.
abstract: A new treatment of quasistatic (reversible) multiscale processes in heterogeneous materials at nonzero temperature is presented. The system is coarse grained by means of a finite-element mesh. The coarse-grained free-energy functional (of the positions of the nodes of the mesh) appropriate to the thermodynamic-state variables controlled in the relevant process is minimized. Tests of the new procedure on a Lennard-Jonesium crystal yield thermomechanical properties in good agreement with the "exact" atomistic results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering Mechanics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Diestler
authors.forename: X C
authors.initials: XC
authors.lastname: Zeng