Resumen de Nalysis of mechanical problems using agradient-enhanced damage theory

Stella Maris Pires Domingues, Heraldo S. Costa Mattos, Fernando Alves Rochinha

• The present work deals with a gradient-enhanced damage theory for elastic brittlematerials able to perform a macroscopic description of material degradation. A simplenumerical technique, based on the finite element method, is proposed to approximate thesolution of the resulting non-linear mathematical problems. The coupling between damageand strain variables is circumvented by means of a splitting technique. The crack initiationand propagation can be predict by observing the points where the damage has reached acritical value. In order to present the physical coherence of the model some plate problemsare exploited.