Related papers: Fracture resistance via topology optimisation

Fracture of materials with rate-dependent mechanical behaviour, e.g. polymers, is a highly complex process. For an adequate modelling, the coupling between rate-dependent stiffness, dissipative mechanisms present in the bulk material and…

A new gradient-based formulation for predicting fracture in elastic-plastic solids is presented. Damage is captured by means of a phase field model that considers both the elastic and plastic works as driving forces for fracture. Material…

We study the effects realistic fracture criteria have on crack morphology obtained in numerical simulations with a stochastic discrete element method. Results are obtained with two criteria which are consistent with the theory of elasticity…

We investigate how material rigidity acts as a key control parameter for the failure of solids under stress. In both experiments and simulations, we demonstrate that material failure can be continuously tuned by varying the underlying…

A dynamic crack will travel in a straight path up to a material-dependent critical speed beyond which its path becomes erratic. Predicting this critical speed and discovering the origin of this instability are two outstanding problems in…

At elevated temperature environments, elastic structures experience a change of the stress-free state of the body that can strongly influence the optimal topology of the structure. This work presents level-set based topology optimization of…

We propose a one-dimensional, nonconvex elastic constitutive model with higher gradients that can predict spontaneous fracture at a critical load via a bifurcation analysis. It overcomes the problem of discontinuous deformations without…

In many scenarios -- when we bite food or during a crash -- fracture is inevitable. Finding solutions to steer fracture to mitigate its impact or turn it into a purposeful functionality, is therefore crucial. Strategies using composites,…

We have developed a simulation technique that uses non-linear finite element analysis and elastic fracture mechanics to compute physically plausible motion for three-dimensional, solid objects as they break, crack, or tear. When these…

The evolution and spatial structure of displacement fronts in fractures with self-affine rough walls are studied by numerical simulations. The fractures are open and the two faces are identical but shifted along their mean plane, either…

We present fracturing analysis of topological Maxwell lattices when they are stretched by applied stress. Maxwell lattices are mechanical structures containing equal numbers of degrees of freedom and constraints in the bulk and are thus on…

Multi-phase materials, such as composite materials, exhibit multiple competing failure mechanisms during the growth of a macroscopic defect. For the simulation of the overall fracture process in such materials, we develop a two-phase spring…

Materials with network-like microstructure, including polymers, are the backbone for many natural and human-made materials such as gels, biological tissues, metamaterials, and rubbers. Fracture processes in these networked materials are…

Topologically interlocked materials and structures, which are assemblies of unbonded interlocking building blocks, are promising concepts for versatile structural applications. They have been shown to exhibit exceptional mechanical…

Using a two dimensional lattice model we investigate the crack growth under the influence of remote tensile forces as well as due to an internally applied pressure (hydraulic fracturing). For homogeneous elastic properties we present…

This paper presents a topology optimization framework for structural problems subjected to transient loading. The mechanical model assumes a linear elastic isotropic material, infinitesimal strains, and a dynamic response. The optimization…

We have designed a new experimental setup able to investigate fracture of soft materials at small scales. At high crack velocity, where energy is mostly dissipated through viscoelastic processes, we observe an increasingly large high strain…

In this report we present a study on the strength of rocks which are partially fractured from before. We have considered a two dimensional case of a rock in the form of a lattice structure. The fiber bundle model is used for modelling the…

We investigate the role of architected thin films in the interfacial failure properties of bi-layer composites. Our results show that, while graded structures can be used to prescribe failure at the interface, they do not offer significant…

On the basis of energy conservation law an without utilizing Linear Fracture Mechanics (LFM) postulates the equation of a real-structure material elastic-plastic fracture has been derived. With the help of this equation the force and energy…