Phantom Domain Finite Element Method: A novel approach for heterogeneous materials

In this paper, we introduce the Phantom Domain Finite Element Method (PDFEM), a novel computational approach tailored for the efficient analysis of heterogeneous and composite materials. Inspired by fictitious domain methods, this method employs a structured mesh to discretize the entire material domain while utilizing separate, independent meshes for the inclusions. These inclusion meshes are coupled to the structured mesh via a substitution matrix, enabling them to act as phantom meshes that do not directly contribute to the final system of equations. This framework offers significant advantages, including enhanced flexibility in handling complex inclusion geometries and improved computational efficiency. To assess the accuracy and robustness of the proposed method, numerical experiments are conducted on structures containing inclusions of various geometries. In order to emphasize the efficiency of the PDFEM method, a numerical simulation is presented to highlight its advantages in the case of long natural fibers, such as flax and linen. These simulations are compared against FEM calculations, demonstrating the efficiency of PDFEM. Indeed, meshing such fine structures requires an extremely high number of elements, and in some cases, meshing becomes particularly challenging due to the complexity of the geometries. • PDFEM a novel FEM using separate meshes for matrix and inclusions. • PDFEM, inspired by Fictitious Domains, allows non-conformal, flexible meshing. • Substitution matrix links phantom meshes to the main mesh. • Shifts effort to integration, boosting efficiency for complex materials modeling.