Moresi, LouisDufour, FrédéricMühlhaus, Hans Bernd2025-06-242025-06-240033-4553ORCID:/0000-0003-3685-174X/work/162950276http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0036049739&partnerID=8YFLogxKhttps://hdl.handle.net/1885/733764731The earth's tectonic plates are strong, viscoelastic shells which make up the outermost part of a thermally convecting, predominantly viscous layer. Brittle failure of the lithosphere occurs when stresses are high. In order to build a realistic simulation of the planet's evolution, the complete viscoelastic/brittle convection system needs to be considered. A particle-in-cell finite element method is demonstrated which can simulate very large deformation viscoelasticity with a strain-dependent yield stress. This is applied to a plate-deformation problem. Numerical accuracy is demonstrated relative to analytic benchmarks, and the characteristics of the method are discussed.22enBrittle failureFinite elementMantle convectionViscoelasticity200210.1007/s00024-002-8738-30036049739