PSI - Issue 72

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ScienceDirect

Procedia Structural Integrity 72 (2025) 538–546

12th Annual Conference of Society for Structural Integrity and Life (DIVK12) Some Qualitative Observations of Evolution of (Quasi)Brittle Fracture of Pre-Cracked Specimens Using Particle Dynamics Sreten Mastilovic a, * a University of Belgrade, Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, 11030 Belgrade, Serbia *Correspondence: misko.mastilovic@imsi.bg.ac.rs Abstract This study utilizes the particle dynamics method to simulate fracture toughness testing on a pre-cracked virtual sample mimicking the standard compact tension (CT) specimen. The material systems modeled are prone to microcracking to varying degrees depending on the level of quenched disorder. The simulations feature a system of randomly distributed “continuum particles” shaped approximately like the CT specimen, interconnected by bonds with random lengths, stiffnesses, and failure thresholds, and subjected to gradually increasing displacement-controlled quasistatic loads. The objective is to investigate the micro/mesoscale mechanisms governing damage and fracture. Results from this established method of computational mechanics of discontinua provide qualitative insights relevant to empirical modeling efforts that employ scaling concepts grounded in weakest-link theory, extreme value theory, and Weibull statistics for size-effect analysis of ferritic steels in the ductile-brittle transition region. Preliminary findings reveal that the stress field near the crack tip aligns with brittle fracture behavior under small-scale yielding, consistent with fracture process zone characteristics reported in the literature. However, contrary to the rigor of weakest-link theory, the simulation results suggest that even in highly damage-intolerant systems, initial micro-ruptures do not trigger immediate catastrophic failure but instead lead to progressive damage accumulation and propagation culminating in global failure. Thus, while damage remains mostly localized and limited in extent—to various degrees depending on the level of quenched disorder—it persists and ultimately drives global (macroscale) failure of the system. © 2026 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of Aleksandar Sedmak, Branislav Djordjevic, Simon Sedmak Dr. Simon Sedmak, ssedmak@mas.bg.ac.rs, Innovation Center of Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Belgrade, Serbia

Keywords: particle dynamics; brittle fracture; quasibrittle fracture; compact tension; quenched disorder

* Corresponding author. Tel. +00-000-000-000 E-mail address: misko.mastilovic@imsi.bg.ac.rs

2452-3216 © 2026 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of Aleksandar Sedmak, Branislav Djordjevic, Simon Sedmak Dr. Simon Sedmak, ssedmak@mas.bg.ac.rs, Innovation Center of Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Belgrade, Serbia 10.1016/j.prostr.2025.08.136