A phase‐field model for cohesive fracture

SUMMARY In this paper, a phase‐field model for cohesive fracture is developed. After casting the cohesive zone approach in an energetic framework, which is suitable for incorporation in phase‐field approaches, the phase‐field approach to brittle fracture is recapitulated. The approximation to the Dirac function is discussed with particular emphasis on the Dirichlet boundary conditions that arise in the phase‐field approximation. The accuracy of the discretisation of the phase field, including the sensitivity to the parameter that balances the field and the boundary contributions, is assessed at the hand of a simple example. The relation to gradient‐enhanced damage models is highlighted, and some comments on the similarities and the differences between phase‐field approaches to fracture and gradient‐damage models are made. A phase‐field representation for cohesive fracture is elaborated, starting from the aforementioned energetic framework. The strong as well as the weak formats are presented, the latter being the starting point for the ensuing finite element discretisation, which involves three fields: the displacement field, an auxiliary field that represents the jump in the displacement across the crack, and the phase field. Compared to phase‐field approaches for brittle fracture, the modelling of the jump of the displacement across the crack is a complication, and the current work provides evidence that an additional constraint has to be provided in the sense that the auxiliary field must be constant in the direction orthogonal to the crack. The sensitivity of the results with respect to the numerical parameter needed to enforce this constraint is investigated, as well as how the results depend on the orders of the discretisation of the three fields. Finally, examples are given that demonstrate grid insensitivity for adhesive and for cohesive failure, the latter example being somewhat limited because only straight crack propagation is considered. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.