A finite element implementation of a fully coupled mechanical-chemical theory

A finite element implementation with UEL user-defined element (UEL) subroutines in ABAQUS for fully coupled mechanical-chemical processes, which accounts for deformation, mass diffusion, and chemical reactions based on irreversible thermodynamics, is presented. The finite element formulations are deduced from the Gibbs function variational principle. To demonstrate the robustness of the numerical implementation, one- and two-dimensional numerical simulations with different boundary conditions are conducted. The results present the validity and capability of the UEL subroutines and the coupled theory, and show the interaction among deformation, mass diffusion and chemical reaction. This work provides a valuable tool to the researchers for the study of coupled problems.