A numerical simulation of effects of softening and heterogeneity on the stress intensity factor of quasi-brittle material

Abstract

A numerical approach to simulate the crack initiation and propagation process of the nonlinear fracture behavior of the quasi-brittle materials under tensile loading is presented. The nonlinear fracture of Mode I of quasi-brittle material is analyzed by considering the effects of microscopic softening rate and heterogeneity. The results show that the softening rate and the heterogeneity of quasi-brittle material affect the values of stress intensity factor K I. The softening index affects merely the size of the plastic zones while the heterogeneity causes the more sophisticated response of quasi-brittle materials. © 2014 Tielin Chen et al.