Besides efficient techniques allowing for the finite-element modeling of propagating
displacement discontinuities, the numerical simulation of fracture processes in
quasibrittle materials requires the definition of criteria for crack initiation and
propagation. Among several alternatives proposed in the literature, the possibility to
characterize energetically the discontinuous solution has recently attracted special
interest. In this work, the initiation and propagation of cohesive cracks in an
inhomogeneous elastic bar, subject to an axial body force is considered. The
incremental finite-step problem for the evolving discontinuity is formulated
accounting for progressive damage in the cohesive interface. For assigned loading
conditions, it is shown that the equilibrium of the system and the position where the
crack actually forms can be obtained from the minimality conditions of an energy
functional including the bulk elastic energy and the crack surface energy. The
subsequent step-by-step propagation of the cohesive crack is also obtained from the
minimality conditions of an energy functional defined for each step. The issue of the
algorithmic selection of the energetically more convenient solution is briefly
discussed.
Keywords
cohesive crack, variational formulation, finite-step
problem