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Conference Article: The Effect of Softening on The Predicted Strength of Brittle Materials Using a Continuum Damage Mechanics Failure Model

Li Shi, Haiyan Li, Suyuan Yu, Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Beijing, CHINA; S.L. Fok, B.J. Marsden, The Manchester School of Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, UNITED KINGDOM

Abstract

A continuum damage mechanics (CDM) failure model, which can predict both the initiation and propagation of cracks in brittle materials such as ceramics and nuclear graphite, has been developed and implemented into the commercial finite element code ABAQUS. In this model, both the stress-based failure criterion and fracture-mechanics-based failure criterion are used to define the damage surface, and a softening parameter ‘n’ is adopted to control the rate of damage development. Specifically, a change in the softening parameter changes the shrinkage rate of the damage surface, thus giving rise to different traction-displacement behaviors at the interface where crack initiation and propagation are taking place. This paper studies the effect of the degree of softening in the CDM model on the predicted strength of brittle materials subjected to loadings with different stress gradients.

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key words: Gas Cooled Reactor, Nuclear Technology
Reference:
Proceedings of the Conference on High Temperature Reactors, Beijing, China, September, 22-24, 2004
International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria)
HTR-2004, pp:1-8