PATH SELECTION AND NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF INTERFACIAL FRACTURE

The concepts of interfacial fracture energy and mode mixity are used to investigate the growth paths of interfacial cracks. Numerical approach based on the finite element method is applied to calculate the energy release rate and to simulate the growth process of a crack. Various configurations of interfacial fracture of bimaterials can be simulated. It is shown that the process of interfacial fracture is controlled by the interfacial toughness and phase angle of mode mixity. The predicted crack paths agre...