Investigation of the local behavior of different cohesive zone models

Cohesive interface elements are well suited for three-dimensional crack propagation analyses as long as the crack path is known. This is the case e.g. in delamination analyses of laminated composite structures or failure analyses of adhesively bonded joints. Actually, they are widely used in such applications for both brittle and ductile systems.

As long as the strength and fracture toughness of the material are accurately captured it is generally accepted that the shape of the cohesive law has little to no influence on the mechanical behavior of the investigated structures. However, when having a look on the local behavior of different cohesive zone models, such as stress distribution in the fracture process zone, the results exhibit certain differences. These will be studied in the present contribution. Especially the local stress distribution will be investigated and the effect on the computational efficiency will be pointed out. (© 2012 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)