Simulation of damage evolution in metal structures

Abstract

Phase-field damage models (PFDM) are recently used in finite element method (FEM) software combined with plasticity to simulate damage initiation and evolution in structures. The fracture of structures results from damage that influences the degradation of material's stiffness, so the proper prediction of damage evolution is valuable. The authors proposed modifications of hardening function and coupling variable to provide more control on the material parameters identification process and more accurate qualitative and quantitative prediction of the metal structures behavior. The staggered iterative scheme is employed for the implementation into the FEM software. The simulation results are compared to the experimental tensile tests. The comparison of force-displacement response is given and an excellent result is obtained. Additionally, the equivalent plastic strain and damage field are presented at the end of the loading process. In engineering practice, the proposed modification of PFDM will provide a better understanding of the steel structure's fracture.