Interface element for strength analysis of joint between dissimilar materials

Crack propagation in both brittle and ductile materials and debonding along the interface in composite materials are the typical examples of fracture. In these types of fracture, the failure is the consequence of surface formation accompanied by the crack extension. Based on this understanding, the authors proposed an interface element which explicitly models the formation of new surfaces. The proposed method is applied to peeling of thin film from substrate, dynamic crack propagation in elastic material and ductile crack growth. In this report, its applications to the strength analysis of elastic plate with a center crack and bonded joint between the dissimilar materials are presented.