Glaucio H. Paulino
Assoc. Prof., Burton and Erma-Lewis Faculty Scholar, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Cohesive Zone Modeling of Dynamic Failure in Functionally Graded Materials

This lecture addresses simulation of spontaneous crack initiation, propagation, and branching in functionally graded materials. The fracture criteria adopt a cohesive view of material, in which a finite material strength and work to fracture are included in the graded material description. Novel bulk and surface cohesive formulations for modeling brittle fracture are developed and implemented into a finite element framework considering explicit dynamics. The capabilities and shortcomings of the cohesive zone method are discussed from a critical point of view, and illustrated by means of examples. The numerical tests include comparison of dynamic failure of graded materials with conventional homogeneous materials. Some distinct features of dynamic failure in graded material systems are validated by means of available experimental results for a beam under low velocity impact loading.

Acknowledgments
The author appreciates the contribution of Ms. Zhengyu Zhang to this work, which was funded by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA).