AN XFEM-BASED METHOD FOR COHESIVE CRACKS

A new finite element methodology of extended type for modelling fracture in elastodamaging bodies is presented. A soft layer, whose constant finite thickness is the characteristic length of the model, is embedded in an elastodamaging body. When the characteristic length is finite, an extended FE model with a fiite process zone is obtained. When the characteristic length vanishes, a crack model with a cohesive traction-separation law is recovered. Numerical tests for the first ad the second loading modes are presented