Internal springs distribution for quasi brittle fracture via Symmetric Boundary Element Method

In this paper the symmetric boundary element formulation is applied to the fracture mechanics problems for quasi brittle materials. The basic aim of the present work is the development and implementation of two discrete cohesive zone models using Symmetric Galerkin multi-zone Boundary Elements Method. The non-linearity at the process zone of the crack will be simulated through a discrete distribution of nodal springs whose generalized (or weighted) stiffnesses are obtainable by the cohesive forces and relative displacements modelling. This goal is reached coherently with the constitutive relation σ−Δu that describes the interaction between mechanical and kinematical quantities along the process zone.