Simulation of Crack Propagation under Small-Scale Yielding by means of a Non-local GTN-Model

Today, the local approach to fracture is widely applied to simulate the failure of specimens. For ductile damage processes the Gurson‐Tvergaard‐Needleman model is the quasi‐standard. In the last time non‐local extensions allowed a mesh‐size independent simulation of crack growth. However, most publications dealing with this subject focus upon the convergence regarding global quantities such as the load‐displacement relation. Minor attention is paid to the fields directly at the crack tip. Correspondingly, the interrelationship between the intrinsic length of the model and relevant microscopic damage processes at the crack tip is only partly established until now. In the present study the crack propagation is simulated for an implicitly gradient enriched GTN‐model within a boundary layer in order to overcome influences of the specimen geometry. The different stages of damage evolution are resolved by a fine mesh. (© 2011 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)