A boundary element approach for quasibrittle fracture propagation analysis

A simple numerical scheme suitable for tracing the fracture propagation path for structures idealized by means of Hillerborg\'s classical cohesive crack model is presented. A direct collocation, multidomain boundary element method is adopted for the required space discretization. The algorithm proposed is necessarily iterative in nature since the crack itinerary is a priori unknown. The fracture process is assumed to be governed by a path-dependent generally nonlinear softening law. The potentialities of the method are illustrated through two examples.