A mesh-free simulation of cracking and failure using the cohesive segments method

An approach to the simulation of the cracking and failure of structures is presented that combines the mesh-free method with a cohesive segments model, in which cracking and failure are regarded as the appearance and combination of a series of cohesive segments. This method removes the need for explicit crack representation, and thus overcomes some of the limitations of conventional modeling methods. The entire displacement field is decomposed into a regular continuous field and various discontinuous fields that correspond to the cohesive segments. Using moving least-squares (MLS) shape functions as the partition of unity, the discontinuity field is approximated with extra degrees of freedom at the existing nodes. An iteratively solving scheme between the two fields is presented, and the chosen numerical examples show that the method is both flexible and efficient. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.