Numerical simulation of ductile crack growth under cyclic and dynamic loading with a damage–viscoplasticity model

In this paper, the crack propagation in ductile materials is simulated under cyclic and dynamic loading. The adaptive finite element method is used to model the discontinuity due to crack propagation. The ductile fracture assumptions and continuum damage mechanics are utilized to model the material rupture behavior. Moreover both the rate-independent and rate-dependent constitutive equations are elaborated and the crack closure effect and combined hardening model are discussed in addition to some aspects of finite element implementation. Finally, a comparison is performed between the numerical simulation results and those of experiments to illustrate the robustness of proposed computational algorithm.

► Crack propagation is modeled for ductile materials in cyclic and dynamic loading. ► A rate-dependent visco-plastic model is used considering the crack closure effect. ► A combined nonlinear isotropic and kinematic hardening model is implemented. ► A node-to-surface contact algorithm is used to avoid the penetration of crack edges. ► The adaptive FEM strategy is used based on the SPR technique for data transferring.