Analysis of Finite Strain Anisotropic Elastoplastic Fracture in Thin Plates and Shells

Abstract

A finite element methodology for analyzing fracture in thin shells in the large strain elastoplastic regime is presented. The postlocalization constitutive model is based on a cohesive surface dissipation mechanism. We employ a Kirchhoff-Love shell model (and the corresponding discretization by finite elements) and make use of the extended finite element technique in the (implicit) form of midsurface displacement and director field discontinuities. Applications showing the possibilities of this technique are shown, and the effect of plastic anisotropy in the crack pattern is numerically inspected.