A HYBRID FINITE-ELEMENT SIMULATION OF SOLID FRACTURE

This paper describes an extension to a computer simulation of solid fr acture. In the original model, rigid elements are assembled into a sim ulated solid by ''gluing'' the elements together with compliant bounda ries which fracture when the tensile strength of the glued joints is e xceeded. The current extension applies portions of the finite element technique to allow changes in the shapes of elements. This is implemen ted at the element level and no global stiffness matrix is assembled; instead, the elements interact across the same compliant boundaries us ed in the rigid element simulation. As a result, the simulated materia l can conform to any desired shape and thus can handle large elastic a nd plastic deformation. This model is intended to study the propagatio n of multitudinous cracks through simulated solids to aid the understa nding of problems such as the impact-induced fragmentation of particle s.