Convergence analysis for a smeared crack approach in brittle fracture (Q2470868)

Summary: Our analysis focuses on the mechanical energies involved in the propagation of fractures: the elastic energy, stored in the bulk, and the fracture energy, concentrated in the crack. We consider a finite element model based on a smeared crack approach: the fracture is approximated geometrically by a stripe of elements and mechanically by a softening constitutive law. We define in this way a discrete free energy \(G_h\) (being \(h\) the element size) which accounts both for elastic displacements and fractures. Our main interest is the behaviour of \(G_h\) as \(h \to 0\). We prove that, only for a suitable choice of the (mesh dependent) constitutive law, \(G_h\) converges to a limit functional \(G_\phi\) with a positive (anisotropic) term concentrated on the crack. We discuss the mesh bias and compute it explicitly in the case of a structured triangulation.