A method of dynamic fracture analysis for quasi-brittle materials by means of cohesive crack model

Abstract

With a view to the development of a new dynamic fracture analysis method, the cohesive crack model is incorporated into an explicit dynamic finite element method to evaluate dynamic fracture behavior in quasi-brittle materials. In order to evaluate the softening behavior of fracture process zone, we employ a cohesive spring approximation for implementing the cohesive crack model. After briefly summarizing the formulation and the solution algorithm in the present method, in which discrete crack model is used for representing evolving cracks, we examine the mesh-size dependency and the size-effect for quasi-brittle structures subjected to dynamic loading. Finally, a numerical simulation of the dynamic failure of a brick structure is performed to demonstrate the validity and applicability of the present approach.