Free discontinuity problems arising in the variational theory for fracture mechanics are considered.AΓ -convergence proof for an r-adaptive 3Dfinite element discretization is given in the case of a brittle material. The optimal displacement field, crack pattern and mesh geometry are obtained through a variational procedure that encompasses both mechanical and configurational forces. Possible ex...

A new procedure is proposed to perform push-out tests in SiC/SiC composites. To avoid the interphase damage resulting from mechanical polishing, the sample is prepared with the help of a ion slicing process. Initiation of debonding is detected on the mechanical response. A finite fracture mechanics approach allows to use the force at debonding onset to estimate the interfacial fracture energy.

Inspired by biological systems in which damage triggers an autonomic healing response, we have developed a polymer composite material that can heal itself when cracked. This paper summarizes the self-healing concept for polymeric composite materials and investigates fracture mechanics issues consequential to the development and optimization of this new class of materials. The self-healing mater...

Elastomers and gels can often deformmultiple times their original length. The stretchability is insensitive to small cuts in the samples, but reduces markedly when the cuts are large. We show that this transition occurs when the depth of cut exceeds a material-specific length, defined by the ratio of the fracture energy measured in the large-cut limit and the work to rupture measured in the sma...

In this paper, we introduce an implementation of the extended finite element method for fracture problems within the finite element software ABAQUSTM. User subroutine (UEL) in Abaqus is used to enable the incorporation of extended finite element capabilities. We provide details on the data input format together with the proposed user element subroutine, which constitutes the core of the finite ...

We present a borehole failure model which is based on fracture mechanics and layer buckling theories and compare its prediction with experimental data. The model assumes that the main mechanism of borehole collapse takes place in the form of layers buckling near the borehole surface. The model introduces a combination of fracture mechanics parameters with dimension of length that scale the size...

Numerical methods such as boundary element and finite element methods are widely used for the stress analysis in solid mechanics. This study presents boundary element method based on the displacement discontinuity formulation to solve general problems of interaction between hydraulic fracturing and discontinuities. The crack tip element and a higher order boundary displacement collocation techn...

We present our theoretical analysis and coarsegrained molecular dynamics (CGMD) simulation results to describe the mechanics of breakup of spherical vesicles driven by changes in spontaneous curvature. Systematic CGMD simulations reveal the phase diagrams for the breakup and show richness in breakup morphologies. A theoretical model based on Griffith fracture mechanics is developed and used to ...

Abstract A simple method is proposed to model the open cracked beam structures. In this method, crack is modeled as a beam element. Hence cracked beam can be assumed to be a beam with stepped cross sections, and problem of determining natural frequency and mode shape of cracked beam, can be solved as determining these characteristics for a beam with different length and cross section. With this...