Cohesive zone model

Summary

A cohesive zone model describes fracture as a gradual separation of two surfaces that still attract each other. Ahead of the physical crack tip there is a zone where the crack faces carry tractions that depend on their opening, through a traction–separation law. The tractions decrease to zero at a critical opening, and the area under the law is the fracture energy. This removes the stress singularity of linear elastic fracture mechanics and is widely used in finite element simulations of crack growth.