Open Access

ARTICLE

Finite Element Simulations of the Localized Failure and Fracture Propagation in Cohesive Materials with Friction

Chengbao Hu^1,2,3, Shilin Gong^4,*, Bin Chen^1,2,3, Zhongling Zong⁴, Xingwang Bao⁵, Xiaojian Ru⁵

1 Department of Civil Engineering, Hangzhou City University, Hangzhou, 310015, China
2 Zhejiang Engineering Research Center of Intelligent Urban Infrastructure, Hangzhou, 310015, China
3 Key Laboratory of Safe Construction and Intelligent Maintenance for Urban Shield Tunnels of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310015, China
4 School of Civil and Ocean Engineering, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang, 222005, China
5 Institute of Municipal Engineering, Hangzhou Shangcheng District Municipal Engineering Group Co., Ltd., Hangzhou, 310016, China

* Corresponding Author: Shilin Gong. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Computational Design and Modeling of Advanced Composites and Structures)

Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences 2024, 140(1), 997-1015. https://doi.org/10.32604/cmes.2024.048640

Received 13 December 2023; Accepted 31 January 2024; Issue published 16 April 2024

Abstract

Strain localization frequently occurs in cohesive materials with friction (e.g., composites, soils, rocks) and is widely recognized as a fundamental cause of progressive structural failure. Nonetheless, achieving high-fidelity simulation for this issue, particularly concerning strong discontinuities and tension-compression-shear behaviors within localized zones, remains significantly constrained. In response, this study introduces an integrated algorithm within the finite element framework, merging a coupled cohesive zone model (CZM) with the nonlinear augmented finite element method (N-AFEM). The coupled CZM comprehensively describes tension-compression and compression-shear failure behaviors in cohesive, frictional materials, while the N-AFEM allows nonlinear coupled intra-element discontinuities without necessitating extra nodes or nodal DoFs. Following CZM validation using existing experimental data, this integrated algorithm was utilized to analyze soil slope failure mechanisms involving a specific tensile strength and to assess the impact of mechanical parameters (e.g., tensile strength, weighting factor, modulus) in soils.

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Keywords

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