Stable crack propagation in steel at 1173K: Experimental investigation and simulation using 3D cohesive elements in large-displacements

This paper deals with the numerical simulation of a stable crack propagation experiment at 1173K in a 16MND5 steel. At this temperature, the material is viscoplastic. A cohesive zone model is formulated in order to simulate the rupture of a CT specimen. A large displacement 3D cohesive element with eight nodes is implemented in the finite element code ABAQUS. The associated traction–separation law is of Tvergaard and Hutchinson type, in which an hardening slope has been added. This hardening simulates the material strengthening associated to the increasing strain rate in front of the crack tip when crack tip starts to propagate.We show that in this case the form of the cohesive law has great impact on the simulated propagation velocity.