Theory

The general theory of phase-field approaches to fracture is summarized below. The derivation begins with the definition of state variables and kinematics:

• State variables and kinematics

First, the thermodynamics of the system is discussed:

• Thermodynamics

Then, the problem of interest is cast into a minimization problem, and the governing equations follow from the minimization procedure:

• The minimization problem

The list of available constitutive models in RACCOON are listed here:

• Constitutive models

The resulting initial-boundary-value problem (IBVP) is discretized using the finite element method.