Discrete element approach in brittle fracture mechanics

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use the discrete element method (DEM) to model the fracture behaviour of brittle materials in 2D. Design/methodology/approach The material consists of a set of particles in contact with a close‐packed structure. It allows the derivation of an expression for the stress intensity factor as a function of the contact forces near the crack tip. A classical failure criterion, based on the material's toughness, is then adopted for the analysis of crack propagation, represented by the contact loss between particles. Findings The DEM approach is compared to two tensile cases (mode I); both presenting a monotonous convergence towards classical solutions for more precise discretization. Originality/value The paper proposes a DEM approach in fracture mechanics of isotropic brittle materials entirely compatible with continuous classical theory. Hence the toughness value is directly introduced as a parameter of the material without any previous calibration of the DEM.