The roles and effects of friction in cohesive zone modelling: A thermodynamics-based formulation

Abstract

Cohesive zone models have been widely used for modelling failure of interfaces in laminated composites and also for representing the behavior of the Fracture Process Zone in modelling geomaterial failure. Despite their importance and usefulness, most existing models do not adequately take into account the underlying mechanisms of dissipation at a lower scale that include both micro-cracking and friction between micro-crack surfaces. These models either rely on a single scalar damage variable to represent the deterioration process, or inadequately account for the role of friction in governing the interface behavior and failure in mixed mode conditions. In this work, we use a thermodynamics-based formulation of a damage-plasticity cohesive model for the analysis of its behavior in relation to the variation of frictional contribution to the energy dissipation budget. The advantages of the proposed formulation in directly linking frictional contribution with the mechanical responses are highlighted.