{
  "abstract": "Thin elastic flexible structures exploit large geometric deformation to achieve mechanical functionality, making their fracture behavior strongly coupled with the evolving structural configuration. This work presents a unified discrete differential geometry (DDG) phase-field framework for fracture in highly deformable thin structures. Membrane and bending elasticity are formulated from discrete geometric measures on a triangulated midsurface, while the phase field is defined on the same discrete surface to describe onset of crack growth and subsequent propagation. The coupled problem is solved using a staggered scheme, with phase-field irreversibility enforced by an active-set method. A degradation-deletion procedure removes nearly fully failed elements and reconstructs the DDG topology, enabling complete crack opening and substantial post-fracture reconfiguration. For two-dimensional in-plane fracture problems, the DDG predictions agree closely with geometrically nonlinear finite element results in both crack evolution and mechanical response. In three-dimensional tearing, the framework resolves the interaction between out-of-plane deformation and crack propagation, including the experimentally observed convergence and coalescence of initially parallel cracks. Its engineering applicability is further demonstrated using an island--bridge structure representative of flexible electronics. The simulations capture direction-dependent deformation modes, instability and snap-through during loading, and the coupled evolution of structural configuration and fracture. These results establish the proposed framework as an effective tool for investigating geometry-dependent fracture and supporting the damage-tolerant design of flexible thin structures.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.08997",
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Bohan Zhang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Bo Wang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Huajiang Ouyang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zhigang Wu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yu Zhou"
    },
    {
      "name": "Weicheng Huang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/03pxw96hy0f5e.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.08997",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "03pxw96hy0f5e",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.08997",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.soft"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2211|Numerical methods in engineering"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7220948765",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.08997",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-06",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/03pxw96hy0f5e.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:27:37Z",
      "native_id": "2610.08997",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.08997"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.soft",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Phase-Field Fracture Simulation of Highly Deformable Thin Structures via a Discrete Differential Geometry Framework",
  "title_text": "Phase-Field Fracture Simulation of Highly Deformable Thin Structures via a Discrete Differential Geometry Framework",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:27:37Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/03pxw96hy0f5e",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}