Crack analysis of the composite beam consisted of brittle material and bottom steel sheet by finite element method

The authors have developed finite element analysis (FEA) programs in order to simulate non-linear behavior of refractories with cracking. FEA programs are based on implicit method (IM), damage mechanics technique (DM, DMR) and explicit method (EM). In this study, the authors focused on the composite beam consisted of brittle material and bottom steel sheet. In addition, the authors derived theoretical load versus displacement relation based on the beam theory. This study aims to demonstrate the validity of FEA programs by comparing numerical results with theoretical values of the composite beam. Also, this study aims to clarify accuracy and efficiency of FEA programs. As a result, all FEA programs except for the program based on IM showed generally good agreement with theoretical value. However, the programs based on DM and DMR consumed much time than the program based on EM because of the iterative calculation by occurrence of the crack.