A NOVEL NUMERICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE THREEDIMENSIONAL MODELING OF BRITTLE FRACTURE Philippe Jger e-mail: pjaeger@rhrk.uni-kl.

de Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Kaiserslautern, 67653 Kaiserslautern, Germany Paul Steinmann e-mail: steinmann@ltm.uni-erlangen.de Department of Mechanical Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, 91058 Erlangen, Germany Ellen Kuhl e-mail: ekuhl@stanford.edu Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA-94305, USA

ABSTRACT The aim of the present paper is a systematic elaboration of a three dimensional finite element analysis tool for discontinuous fracture in brittle solids. Brittle or quasi-brittle fracture usually occurs when a material reaches the limit of its strength and no plastic deformation has been observed prior to failure. In this novel approach, this kind of failure is characterized by three sets of governing equations: (i) the elastic bulk problem and (ii) the cohesive interface problem regarding the solid deformation field and (iii) the crack tracking problem concerning the crack kinematics. This manuscript describes a unique modular tool for the coupled set of nonlinear equations. We focus in particular on the boundary conditions for the crack tracking problem. Finally, the capability of the method to simulate brittle fracture is demonstrated by qualitative and quantitative comparisons with experiments from the literature as well as by common benchmark problems. keywords: discontinuities failure, brittle fracture, interface, cohesive crack concept, concrete modeling, crack tracking