A cohesive approach to thin-shell fracture and fragmentation

We develop a finite-element method for the simulation of dynamic fracture and fragmentation of thin-shells. The shell is spatially discretized with subdivision shell elements and the fracture along the element edges is modeled with a cohesive law. In order to follow thepR(")BRw3 and branching of cracks, subdivision shell elements arepR77'S7Rw3S3 ab initio and the crackopckR( is constrained pons to crack nucleation. ThisapsR33` allows for shell fracture in an inpn -R tearing mode, a shearing mode, or a bending of hinge mode. The good pdR3]S[3Rw of the method is demonstrated through the simulation of petalling failuree experiments in aluminum plates