PEAK LOAD DETERMINATION IN LINEAR FICTITIOUS CRACK MODEL

The linear fictitious crack model with linear softening law is a very important special case of the general fictitious crack model proposed by Hillerborg. When the traction-separation softening curve is assumed linear, the peak load can be determined through the proposed linear e igenvalue problem formalism, referred to as the boundary eigenvalue pr oblem. A detailed description is given of the finite element implement ation of the proposed algorithm. It is shown that the first eigenvecto r can be used to calculate the peak load of the linear fictitious crac k model. Furthermore, the first eigenvalue can be related to the criti cal nondimensional specimen size. Finally, it is elucidated that in th e linear fictitious crack model, the peak-load solutions can be presen ted in a nondimensional fashion with proper consideration of material properties and specimen sizes. The nondimensional peak-load solution g raphs can be used effectively for quantifying the size effect in the l inear fictitious crack model.