Within the tensor mechanics module, we have three separate ways to calculate the strain and stress:

1. Linearized elasticity total small strain problems we use ComputeSmallStrain and ComputeLinearElasticStress
2. Linearized elasticity incremental small strain we use ComputeIncrementalSmallStrain and ComputeFiniteStrainElasticStress
3. Large deformation problems, including elasticity and plasticity, we use ComputeFiniteStrain and ComputeFiniteStrainElasticStress


The linearized elasticity problems are calculated on the reference mesh. In the linearized elasticity total small strain formulation, ComputeSmallStrain a rotation increment is not used; in ComputeIncrementalSmallStrain the rotation increment is defined as the identity tensor. Both the total small strain and the incremental small strain classes pass to the stress divergence kernel a stress calculated on the reference mesh ( $$\sigma(X)$$$). In the third set of the plug-and-play tensor mechanics classes, the large deformation formulation calculates the strain and stress on the deformed (current) mesh. As an example, at the end of the ComputeFiniteStrain class the strains are rotated to the deformed mesh, and in the ComputeFiniteStrainElasticStress class the stress is rotated to the deformed mesh. Newer material models, such as crystal plasticity models and creep models, also rotate the strain and stress to the deformed mesh. In these large deformation classes, the stress passed to the stress divergence kernel is calculated with respect to the deformed mesh ( $$\sigma(x)$$$ ).

As users and developers, we must take care to ensure consistency in the mesh used to calculate the strain and stress and the mesh used to calculate the residual from the stress divergence equation. In the StressDivergenceTensors kernel, or the various stress divergence actions, the parameter use_displaced_mesh is used to determine if the deformed or the reference mesh should be used:

Simulation Formulation Governing Equation Form Correct Kernel Parameter Mesh Configuration Used
Linearized Elasticity $$\nabla_X \cdot \sigma (X)$$$use_displaced_mesh = false Reference (undeformed) mesh Large Deformation (Elasticity and Plasticity) $$\nabla_x \cdot \sigma (x)$$$ use_displaced_mesh = true Deformed (current) mesh

In the stress divergence kernel, nabla is given by the gradients of the test functions, and the mesh, to which the gradients are taken with respect to, is determined by the use_displaced_mesh parameter setting. A source of confusion can be that the use_displaced_mesh parameter is not used in the materials, which compute strain and stress, but this parameter does play a large role in the calculations of the stress divergence kernel. The use_displaced_mesh parameter must be set correcting to ensure consistency in the equilibrium equation: if the stress is calculated with respect to the deformed mesh, the test function gradients must also be calculated with respect to the deformed mesh.

Small strain linearized elasticity problems should be run with the parameter use_displaced_mesh = false in the kernel to ensure all calculations across all three classes (strain, stress, and kernel) are computed with respect to the reference mesh.

  [Kernels]
[./TensorMechanics] # Small strain
displacements = 'disp_x disp_y'
use_displaced_mesh = false
[../]
[]


Large deformation problems should be run with the parameter setting use_displaced_mesh = true in the kernel so that the kernel and the materials all compute variables with respect to the deformed mesh.

  [Kernels]
[./TensorMechanics] # Large deformation
displacements = 'disp_x disp_y'
use_displaced_mesh = true
[../]
[]