Efficient snap-to-contact computations for van der Waals interacting fibers

We consider van der Waals interactions between in-plane fibers, where the computational model employs the Lennard-Jones potential and the coarse-grained approach. The involved 6D integral over two interacting fibers is split into a 4D analytical pre-integration over cross sections and the remaining 2D numerical integration along the fibers' axes. Two section-section interaction laws are implemented, refined, and compared. Fibers are modeled using the Bernoulli-Euler beam theory and spatially discretized with isogeometric finite elements. We derive and solve the weak form of both quasi-static and dynamic boundary value problems. Four numerical examples involving highly nonlinear and dynamic snap-to-contact phenomena are scrutinized. We observe that the coarse-graining and pre-integration of interaction potentials enable the efficient modeling of complex phenomena at small length scales.