Thermodynamically Consistent Phase-Field Models for Investigating Self-Heating Induced by Crack Growth in Linear Thermoviscoelastic Solids

Thermodynamically Consistent Phase-Field Models for Investigating Self-Heating Induced by Crack Growth in Linear Thermoviscoelastic Solids | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF correspondence Thermodynamically Consistent Phase-Field Models for Investigating Self-Heating Induced by Crack Growth in Linear Thermoviscoelastic Solids Sayahdin Alfat, Mardiana Napirah, Mohammad Suriyaidulman Rianse, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8654373/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 29 Apr, 2026 Read the published version in Continuum Mechanics and Thermodynamics → Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract One indicator of crack formation is a rise in temperature around the deformed region. At the same time, temperature plays a crucial role in influencing deformation behavior and crack growth in many materials. While this phenomenon is well understood in plastic materials, it remains less explored in viscoelastic solids such as polymers and soft matter. This study investigates temperature surges and their consequences for thermal softening in viscoelastic solids during crack growth using a phase-field model. To capture this behavior, we propose two new phase-field models for crack growth in Maxwell-type thermoviscoelastic materials, derived from rigorous physical and mathematical principles through the microforce balance approach. To ensure thermodynamic consistency, we establish an energy dissipation identity that incorporates viscoelastic energy, surface energy, and thermal energy, based on energy conservation and the second law of thermodynamics, specifically the Clausius--Duhem inequality. For the numerical evaluation, we employ the anisotropic adaptive finite element method, which is effective for solving phase-field models of crack propagation. All simulations are performed using FreeFEM, a finite element software for solving partial differential equations. The results reveal three main findings: (1) heat generation during crack propagation originates from mechanical energy dissipation, (2) thermal softening occurs more rapidly in materials with higher viscosity due to enhanced self-heating, and (3) self-heating and thermal softening are strongly correlated, each influencing the other. Overall, the numerical results are consistent with established studies. Self-Heating Thermal Softening Phase Field Model for Crack Growth Maxwell Type Thermoviscoelasticity Solid Materials Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 29 Apr, 2026 Read the published version in Continuum Mechanics and Thermodynamics → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 16 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 16 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 06 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 Jan, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 29 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 28 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 28 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 20 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8654373","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"correspondence","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":582320195,"identity":"da24ad9d-199c-4ede-b64d-fcdc9ccd364b","order_by":0,"name":"Sayahdin 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