Combined continuum damage‐embedded discontinuity model for explicit dynamic fracture analyses of quasi‐brittle materials

In this paper, a novel constitutive model combining continuum damage with embedded discontinuity is developed for explicit dynamic analyses of quasi‐brittle failure phenomena. The model is capable of describing the rate‐dependent behavior in dynamics and the three phases in failure of quasi‐brittle materials. The first phase is always linear elastic, followed by the second phase corresponding to fracture‐process zone creation, represented with rate‐dependent continuum damage with isotropic hardening formulated by utilizing consistency approach. The third and final phase, involving nonlinear softening, is formulated by using an embedded displacement discontinuity model with constant displacement jumps both in normal and tangential directions. The proposed model is capable of describing the rate‐dependent ductile to brittle transition typical of cohesive materials (e.g., rocks and ice). The model is implemented in the finite element setting by using the CST elements. The displacement jump vector is solved for implicitly at the local (finite element) level along with a viscoplastic return mapping algorithm, whereas the global equations of motion are solved with explicit time‐stepping scheme. The model performance is illustrated by several numerical simulations, including both material point and structural tests. The final validation example concerns the dynamic Brazilian disc test on rock material under plane stress assumption. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The fracture process in quasi‐brittle materials simulated using a lattice dynamical model

The damage process in quasi‐brittle materials is characterized by the evolution of a micro‐crack field, followed by the joining of micro‐cracks, stress localization and crack instability. In network models, masses are lumped at nodal points which are interconnected by one‐dimensional elements with a bilinear constitutive relation, considering the energy consistency during the simulated process. In order to replicate the material imperfections, to render a realistic behaviour in damage localization, the model has not only random elastic and rupture properties, but also a geometric perturbation. In the present paper 2D plates with different levels of brittleness are simulated. The numerical results are presented in terms of global stress vs strain diagram, final network configuration, energy balance during the process and as geometric damage evolution. Therefore, the predictive potential of the lattice discrete element model to capture fracture processes in quasi‐brittle materials is demonstrated.     

A probabilistic nonlocal model for crack initiation and propagation in heterogeneous brittle materials

A probabilistic damage model is developed to study crack initiation and growth in quasi‐brittle materials. Two different thresholds are considered to describe these mechanisms. A Weibull model is used to account for the randomness of crack initiation(s) and then a fracture mechanics based threshold is considered to model crack propagation. The model is integrated in a finite element code via a nonlocal damage approach. A regularization operator based on a stress regularization is introduced. Both damage thresholds are checked using the ‘regularized’ stress field to avoid mesh dependence. The interaction between propagating cracks and potential initiation sites is accounted for. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gradient damage modeling of brittle fracture in an explicit dynamics context

In this contribution, we propose a dynamic gradient damage model as a phase‐field approach for studying brutal fracture phenomena in quasi‐brittle materials under impact‐type loading conditions. Several existing approaches to account for the tension–compression asymmetry of fracture behavior of materials are reviewed. A better understanding of these models is provided through a uniaxial traction experiment. We then give an efficient numerical implementation of the model in an explicit dynamics context. Simulations results obtained with parallel computing are discussed both from a computational and physical point of view. Different damage constitutive laws and tension–compression asymmetry formulations are compared with respect to their aptitude to approximate brittle fracture. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new method for modelling cohesive cracks using finite elements

A model which allows the introduction of displacements jumps to conventional finite elements is developed. The path of the discontinuity is completely independent of the mesh structure. Unlike so‐called ‘embedded discontinuity’ models, which are based on incompatible strain modes, there is no restriction on the type of underlying solid finite element that can be used and displacement jumps are continuous across element boundaries. Using finite element shape functions as partitions of unity, the displacement jump across a crack is represented by extra degrees of freedom at existing nodes. To model fracture in quasi‐brittle heterogeneous materials, a cohesive crack model is used. Numerical simulations illustrate the ability of the method to objectively simulate fracture with unstructured meshes. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison of a phase‐field model and of a thick level set model for brittle and quasi‐brittle fracture

This paper provides a comparison between one particular phase‐field damage model and a thick level set (TLS) damage model for the simulation of brittle and quasi‐brittle fractures. The TLS model is recasted in a variational framework, which allows comparison with the phase‐field model. Using this framework, both the equilibrium equations and the damage evolution laws are guided by the initial choice of the potential energy. The potentials of the phase‐field model and of the TLS model are quite different. TLS potential enforces a priori a bound on damage gradient whereas the phase‐field potential does not. The TLS damage model is defined such that the damage profile fits to the one of the phase‐field model for a beam of infinite length. The model parameters are calibrated to obtain the same surface fracture energy. Numerical results are provided for unidimensional and bidimensional tests for both models. Qualitatively, similar results are observed, although TLS model is observed to be less sensible to boundary conditions. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于显式动力学的焊点冲击失效分析

组件级高速剪切测试是用来研究芯片封装中Sn-Ag-Cu焊点冲击可靠性问题的一个重要手段。实验研究表明:随着冲击速度的增加,焊点封装结构的失效会由焊锡母材的韧性破坏向界面金属间化合物(IMC)的脆性断裂过渡;同时,其荷载-位移响应曲线形态也会发生显著的改变。为了能够更详细地了解封装结构的冲击失效行为,并进一步改进其结构设计,该文提出结合焊锡材料应变率相关的动态硬化特性,利用渐进损伤模型来模拟其动态损伤过程;同时,引进一种能够有效表征复合型裂纹扩展的内聚力模型来模拟IMC的脆性动态断裂。与实验结果的对比表明:该文提出的方法能够较为有效地表征焊点封装结构在不同冲击速度下的失效行为。     

A phase-field model for brittle fracture of anisotropic materials

In the present work, a phase field damage model is developed to address the numerical simulation of brittle fracture. This model successfully captures some important aspects of crack propagation, including crack branching and bifurcation. In addition, the proposed phase field model has been developed in the general framework of anisotropic elasticity. It can thus be used for the simulation of brittle fracture in polycrystalline materials, for which crack propagation is impacted by crystallographic orientation because of the anisotropic character of stiffness properties.     

Incremental‐secant modulus iteration scheme and stress recovery for simulating cracking process in quasi‐brittle materials using XFEM

In this paper, an incremental‐secant modulus iteration scheme using the extended/generalized finite element method (XFEM) is proposed for the simulation of cracking process in quasi‐brittle materials described by cohesive crack models whose softening law is composed of linear segments. The leading term of the displacement asymptotic field at the tip of a cohesive crack (which ensures a displacement discontinuity normal to the cohesive crack face) is used as the enrichment function in the XFEM. The opening component of the same field is also used as the initial guess opening profile of a newly extended cohesive segment in the simulation of cohesive crack propagation. A statically admissible stress recovery (SAR) technique is extended to cohesive cracks with special treatment of non‐homogeneous boundary tractions. The application of locally normalized co‐ordinates to eliminate possible ill‐conditioning of SAR, and the influence of different weight functions on SAR are also studied. Several mode I cracking problems in quasi‐brittle materials with linear and bilinear softening laws are analysed to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed scheme, as well as the characteristics of global responses and local fields obtained numerically by the XFEM. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Localizing gradient damage model with decreasing interactions

Nonlocal integral and/or gradient enhancements are widely used to resolve the mesh dependency issue with standard continuum damage models. However, it is reported that whereas the structural response is mesh independent, a spurious damage growth is observed. Accordingly, a class of modified nonlocal enhancements is developed in literature, where the interaction domain increases with damage. In this contribution, we adopt a contrary view that the interaction domain decreases with damage. This is motivated by the fact that the fracture of quasi‐brittle materials typically starts as a diffuse network of microcracks, before localizing into a macroscopic crack. To ensure thermodynamics consistency, the micromorphic theory is adopted in the model development. The ensuing microforce balance resembles closely the Helmholtz expression in a conventional gradient damage model. The superior performance of the localizing gradient damage model is demonstrated through a one‐dimensional problem, as well as mode I and II failure in plane deformation. For all three cases, a localized deformation band at material failure is obtained. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An adaptive material point method coupled with a phase-field fracture model for brittle materials

In this study, a new adaptive method for crack propagation analysis is developed by using the material point method coupled with a phase-field fracture model for brittle materials. A background grid of material particles is adaptively refined based on the amount of material damage to resolve the length scale in the phase-field evolution equation. A division process of the material particles associated with the refined background cells is also performed to increase the resolution of solutions near the crack tip. The effectiveness and validity of the proposed method is assessed through several numerical examples for crack propagation in brittle materials.     

A simple element-splitting model to simulate the tensile fracture of brittle materials and its experimental verification

Because of the low tensile strength of brittle materials, the tensile fracture simulation is of great importance to the numerical study of the failure procedure of these materials. A simple element-splitting model is proposed in this paper to simulate the tensile fracture procedure based on finite element method (FEM). As an application of this model, the fracture procedure of a doughnut-shaped specimen is simulated and the numerical results are compared with the deformation fields’ evolution from an experiment on a granite specimen with the same geometry and same loading process. Results from the experiment verified the validation of the simulation model.     

Field‐gradient partitioning for fracture and frictional contact in the material point method

Contact and fracture in the material point method require grid‐scale enrichment or partitioning of material into distinct velocity fields to allow for displacement or velocity discontinuities at a material interface. A new method is presented in which a kernel‐based damage field is constructed from the particle data. The gradient of this field is used to dynamically repartition the material into contact pairs at each node. This approach avoids the need to construct and evolve explicit cracks or contact surfaces and is therefore well suited to problems involving complex 3‐D fracture with crack branching and coalescence. A straightforward extension of this approach permits frictional ‘self‐contact’ between surfaces that are initially part of a single velocity field, enabling more accurate simulation of granular flow, porous compaction, fragmentation, and comminution of brittle materials. Numerical simulations of self contact and dynamic crack propagation are presented to demonstrate the accuracy of the approach. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Phase‐field material point method for brittle fracture

The material point method for the analysis of deformable bodies is revisited and originally upgraded to simulate crack propagation in brittle media. In this setting, phase‐field modelling is introduced to resolve the crack path geometry. Following a particle in cell approach, the coupled continuum/phase‐field governing equations are defined at a set of material points and interpolated at the nodal points of an Eulerian, ie, non‐evolving, mesh. The accuracy of the simulated crack path is thus decoupled from the quality of the underlying finite element mesh and relieved from corresponding mesh‐distortion errors. A staggered incremental procedure is implemented for the solution of the discrete coupled governing equations of the phase‐field brittle fracture problem. The proposed method is verified through a series of benchmark tests while comparisons are made between the proposed scheme, the corresponding finite element implementation, and experimental results.     

An embedded cohesive crack model for finite element analysis of mixed mode fracture of concrete*

An embedded cohesive crack model is proposed for the analysis of the mixed mode fracture of concrete in the framework of the Finite Element Method. Different models, based on the strong discontinuity approach, have been proposed in the last decade to simulate the fracture of concrete and other quasi‐brittle materials. This paper presents a simple embedded crack model based on the cohesive crack approach. The predominant local mode I crack growth of the cohesive materials is utilized and the cohesive softening curve (stress vs. crack opening) is implemented by means of a central force traction vector. The model only requires the elastic constants and the mode I softening curve. The need for a tracking algorithm is avoided using a consistent procedure for the selection of the separated nodes. Numerical simulations of well‐known experiments are presented to show the ability of the proposed model to simulate the mixed mode fracture of concrete.     

Extrinsic cohesive modelling of dynamic fracture and microbranching instability in brittle materials

Dynamic crack microbranching processes in brittle materials are investigated by means of a computational fracture mechanics approach using the finite element method with special interface elements and a topological data structure representation. Experiments indicate presence of a limiting crack speed for dynamic crack in brittle materials as well as increasing fracture resistance with crack speed. These phenomena are numerically investigated by means of a cohesive zone model (CZM) to characterize the fracture process. A critical evaluation of intrinsic versus extrinsic CZMs is briefly presented, which highlights the necessity of adopting an extrinsic approach in the current analysis. A novel topology‐based data structure is employed to enable fast and robust manipulation of evolving mesh information when extrinsic cohesive elements are inserted adaptively. Compared to intrinsic CZMs, which include an initial hardening segment in the traction–separation curve, extrinsic CZMs involve additional issues both in implementing the procedure and in interpreting simulation results. These include time discontinuity in stress history, fracture pattern dependence on time step control, and numerical energy balance. These issues are investigated in detail through a ‘quasi‐steady‐state’ crack propagation problem in polymethylmethacrylate. The simulation results compare reasonably well with experimental observations both globally and locally, and demonstrate certain advantageous features of the extrinsic CZM with respect to the intrinsic CZM. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental Investigations of Fracture Process in Concrete by Means of X‐ray Micro‐computed Tomography

The paper describes investigation results on fracture in notched concrete beams under quasi‐static three‐point bending by the X‐ray micro‐computed tomography. The two‐dimensional (2D) and three‐dimensional image procedures were used. Attention was paid to width, length, height and shape of cracks along beam depth. In addition, the displacements on the surface of concrete beams during the deformation process were measured with the 2D digital image correlation technique in order to detect strain localisation before a discrete crack occurred. The 2D fracture patterns in beams were numerically simulated with the finite‐element method using an isotropic damage constitutive model enhanced by a characteristic length of micro‐structure. Concrete was modelled as a random heterogeneous four‐phase material composed of aggregate, cement matrix, interfacial transitional zones and air voids. The advantages of the X‐ray micro‐computed tomography were outlined.     

Modeling impact‐induced damage and debonding using level sets in a sharp interface Eulerian framework

This work presents a level‐set–based sharp interface technique to simulate the evolution of damage in ductile materials under high velocity impact conditions. The level‐set method is adopted to track all interfaces including damage zones within the materials. Two types of damage are considered, ie, the creation of spall zones due to damage accumulation in homogeneous ductile materials and interfacial debonding in heterogeneous materials. Spall is simulated using continuum damage models and a level‐set–based crack generation and evolution algorithm. Three continuum damage models are tested for metal targets subjected to flyer impact; the results from the current code (SCIMITAR3D) are compared with the two widely used computer codes EPIC and CTH, and to experimental data; it is found that the computer codes are in good agreement among each other, but agreement of all methods with experimental data is not uniform. At material interfaces, damage is handled using a cohesive zone model and evolving level sets to create void spaces because of material separation due to debonding. Finally, ductile damage combined with debonding is simulated in an Al‐Ni laminate impacted by a projectile. The results demonstrate the ability of the present approach to simulate various types of damage in materials with heterogeneities and inclusions.