A simplified mesh-free method for shear bands with cohesive surfaces

A simple methodology to model shear bands as strong displacement discontinuities in a mesh-free particle method is presented. The shear band is represented as a set of sheared particles. A sheared particle is developed through enrichment by tangential displacement discontinuities. The representation of the shear band as set of cohesive segments provides a simple and versatile model of shear bands. The loss of material stability is used as the criterion for switching from a classical continuum description of the constitutive behaviour to a traction-separation law acting on the discontinuity surface. The method is implemented for two and three dimensions. Examples of shear band progression in rate-dependent and rate-independent materials are presented, including the Kalthoff problem, where the transition from brittle fracture to shear banding is studied. Copyright q 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.