Abstract This study presents the formulation, the numerical solution, and the validation of a theoretical framework based on the concept of variable-order mechanics and capable of modeling dynamic fracture in brittle and quasi-brittle solids. More specifically, the reformulation of the elastodynamic problem via variable and fractional-order operators enables a unique and extremely powerful approach to model nucleation and propagation of cracks in solids under dynamic loading. The resulting dynamic fracture formulation is fully evolutionary, hence enabling the analysis of complex crack patterns without requiring any a priori assumption on the damage location and the growth path, and without using any algorithm to numerically track the evolving crack surface. The evolutionary nature of the variable-order formalism also prevents the need for additional partial differential equations to predict the evolution of the damage field, hence suggesting a conspicuous reduction in complexity and computational cost. Remarkably, the variable-order formulation is naturally capable of capturing extremely detailed features characteristic of dynamic crack propagation such as crack surface roughening as well as single and multiple branching. The accuracy and robustness of the proposed variable-order formulation are validated by comparing the results of direct numerical simulations with experimental data of typical benchmark problems available in the literature.
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Comparison of Interfacial and Continuum Models for Dynamic Fragmentation Analysis
The microstructural design has an essential effect on the fracture response of brittle materials. We present a stochastic bulk damage formulation to model dynamic brittle fracture. This model is compared with a similar interfacial model for homogeneous and heterogeneous materials. The damage models are rate-dependent, and the corresponding damage evolution includes delay effects. The delay effect provides mesh objectivity with much less computational efforts. A stochastic field is defined for material cohesion and fracture strength to involve microstructure effects in the proposed formulations. The statistical fields are constructed through the Karhunen-Loeve (KL) method. An advanced asynchronous Spacetime Discontinuous Galerkin (aSDG) method is used to discretize the final system of coupled equations. Application of the presented formulation is shown through dynamic fracture simulation of rock under a uniaxial compressive load. The final results show that a stochastic bulk damage model produces more realistic results in comparison with a homogenizes model.
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- PAR ID:
- 10113632
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of ASME 2018 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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