Numerical simulation of cohesive fracture by the virtual-internal-bond model

The recently developed virtual-internal-bond (VIB) model has incorporated a cohesive-type law into the constitutive law of solids such that fracture and failure of solids become a coherent part of the constitutive law and no separate fracture or failure criteria are needed. A numerical algorithm is developed in this study for the VIB model under static loadings. The model is applied to study three examples, namely the crack nucleation and propagation from stress concentration, kinking and subsequent propagation of a mode II crack, and the buckling-driven delamination of a thin film from a substrate. The results have demonstrated that the VIB model provides an effective method to study crack nucleation and propagation in engineering materials and systems.