Cohesive modeling of quasi-static fracture in functionally graded materials

A spatially varying cohesive failure model is used to simulate quasi-static fracture in functionally graded polymers. A key aspect of this paper is that all mechanical properties and cohesive parameters entering the analysis are derived experimentally from full-scale fracture tests allowing for a fit of only the shape of the cohesive law to experimental data. The paper also summarizes the semi-implicit implementation of the cohesive model into a cohesive-volumetric finite element framework used to predict the quasi-static crack initiation and subsequent propagation in the presence of material gradients.