Modelisation of dynamic crack propagation criteria

Abstract
The aim of this study is the analysis of the dynamic crack propagation criteria in materials under impact loading. We want to define which mechanical quantities monitor the propagation, then use these parameters in numerical simulations and finally compare the results with dynamic propagation experiments. First, we propose a 1D semi-analytical model. In this model several mechanical quantities can be used to define the propagation criterion, like the energy release rate... The effect of the applied loading and the reflections of waves is also very important, leading sometimes to a stick-slip propagation. Next, we present a 2D modelisation. In this case, it is not possible to study analytically the effect each criterion and we need to use a numerical simulation. We propose a numerical method based on finite element. The propagation is simulated by releasing nodes with a the release criterion defined from the propagation criterion. The numerical scheme is chosen to respect the equivalence between the total dissipation and the fracture dissipation. In parallel, we have performed dynamic propagation experiments on PMMA. The samples are DCB specimens loading with a wedge in a Kolsky set-up. During each test, the location of the crack has been recorded 4 times with high speed cameras (1 microsecond shutter).