Cohesive models for quasistatic cracking in inelastic solids

Abstract

In has been shown that slow stable cracking process can be sustained by strain-softening materials such as cementitious composites, e.g., rock, concrete, mortars, ceramics and others. A mathematical model is proposed based on the theory of quasi-static crack extension governed by Wnuk's criterion of final stretch (equivalent to the CTOA condition). Requirement of self-similarity of the crack opening profile, maintained during the quasistatic growth phase, leads to a differential equation defining the material resistance to sustained crack extension, as a function of crack growth increment, material properties such as tearing modulus, strain-softening parameter, and the size of the process zone.