Analysis of essential work of rupture using non-local damage-plasticity modelling

We consider the non-local damage plasticity modelling of the essential work of rupture (EWR), i.e. the specific energy required to cause failure within a specimen, resulting in its separation into two parts. The more usual concept of essential work of fracture (EWF) is a measure of the specific energy, per unit cross sectional area, consumed during the propagation of cracks across a series of double edge-notched tensile (DENT) specimens. Recently, a novel framework has been proposed allowing the determination of a related quantity, the essential work of necking and tearing from a single tensile test on an unnotched dogbone specimen of ductile metal. Simultaneous multiple gauge length extensometry forms a crucial component of the experimental approach, and allows capture of such phenomena as strain localisation, post-critical deformation behaviour, damage non-locality, elastic snap-back, and size effects. In this study the rupture test is simulated using a non-local damage-plasticity model using finite elements. The results are interpreted in terms of essential and non-essential work of rupture.