| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to present some numerical aspects related to the modeling both the formation and the propagation of discrete cracks in solid structures. The presented formulation corresponds to the concept of embedded discontinuities 1], and will be applied to a plate and to a beam element. The failure of solid structures is often triggered by a highly localized pattern of inelastic deformation in the form of narrow bands. Characteristic examples are shear bands in metals and soils, or localized bands of cracking in brittle materials, like concrete or rocks. A well known difficulty associated with classical (local, rate‐independent) continuum theories with strain softening attributes is that numerical solutions are found to lack invariance with respect to the choice of spatial discretization. For quasi‐static boundary problems, this mathematical inconsistency causes the loss of ellipticity for the governing equations (material instability). To regularize this inconsistency, several strategies have been applied. In the presented formulation, additional degrees of freedom are considered. Within the concept of embedded discontinuities, the regular displacements are enriched by discontinuities. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) |
