Lagrangian simulations of penetration environments via mesh healing and adaptative optimisation

In this work, we demonstrate the feasibility of fully-Lagrangian finite element simulations of the mechanics of three-dimensional penetration environments. The key enabling component is a robust library informed with state-of-the-art algorithms for mesh healing and optimization, which is repeatedly used during the simulations to eliminate deformation-induced mesh distortion and to maintain the quality of the numerical solution. The computational strategy effectively avoids the need to resort to artifacts such as element deletion or conversion to meshless particles which have been proposed to eliminate the issue of mesh distortion. The effectiveness of the computational strategy is demonstrated in a simulation of deep oblique penetration of a spherical-nosed steel rod on an aluminum target.