The fracture behaviour of human cortical bone was analysed considering a miniaturized version of the Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) test. A specific data reduction scheme based on crack equivalent concept was used to obtain the resistance curves. The definition of the cohesive laws mimicking the fracture process was performed measuring the crack tip opening displacement by digital image correlati...

In this paper Cohesive Zone Model (CZM) concepts are applied in order to study mode I fracture in a pre-cracked bonded Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) specimen. A cohesive surface element is implemented in a Finite Element commercial code using intrinsic cohesive zone models: exponential, bilinear and trapezoidal traction-separation laws. The sensitivity of cohesive zone parameters in predicting t...

In this thesis a new parallel computational method is proposed for modeling threedimensional dynamic fracture of brittle solids. The method is based on a combination of the discontinuous Galerkin (DG) formulation of the continuum elastodynamic problem with Cohesive Zone Models (CZM) of fracture. In the proposed framework, discontinuous displacement jumps are allowed to occur at all element boun...

We study experimentally the fracture mechanisms of a model cohesive granular medium consisting of glass beads held together by solidified polymer bridges. The elastic response of this material can be controlled by changing the cross-linking of the polymer phase, for example. Here we show that its fracture toughness can be tuned over an order of magnitude by adjusting the stiffness and size of t...

Recent research on the electrochemical lithiation of amorphous silicon nanoparticles shows that amorphous silicon is more fracture resistant than crystalline silicon during lithiation. Nanoparticles of amorphous silicon can be lithiated and delithiated without any fracture at all. To fully exploit the potential of using amorphous silicon as electrodes for lithium ion batteries it is important t...

Intergranular fracture in polycrystals is often simulated by finite elements coupled to a cohesive zone model for the interfaces, requiring cohesive laws for grain boundaries as a function of their geometry. We discuss three challenges in understanding intergranular fracture in polycrystals. First, 3D grain boundary geometries comprise a five-dimensional space. Second, the energy and peak stres...

The aim of the present paper is a systematic elaboration of a three dimensional finite element analysis tool for discontinuous fracture in brittle solids. Brittle or quasi-brittle fracture usually occurs when a material reaches the limit of its strength and no plastic deformation has been observed prior to failure. In this novel approach, this kind of failure is characterized by three sets of g...