DISCRETE ELEMENT METHODS

IMPLEMENTATION OF COMBINED SINGLE AND

SMEARED CRACK MODEL IN 3D COMBINED
FINITE-DISCRETE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

Zhou Lei1, Mengyan Zang2, Antonio Munjiza1

1
Department of Engineering, Queen Mary, University of London
2
School of Mechanical & Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology

Large-scale combined finite-discrete element simulations involve a

large number of separate bodies that interact with each other and in
general deform and fracture. In this context, the so-called combined
single and smeared crack model, which is based on actual representa-
tion of experimental stress-strain curves, was proposed and success-
fully implemented into a general purpose two-dimension (2D) com-
bined finite-discrete element code in the last decade. In this paper, the
combined single and smeared crack model is extended into three-
dimension (3D) in the context of the combined finite-discrete element
method. The validation of such extension is illustrated through a nu-
merical example.

INTRODUCTION
The combined finite-discrete element method, which merges the finite ele-
ment-based analysis of continua with discrete element-based transient dynamics,
contact detection, and contact interaction solutions, has already proven its effi-
ciency and reliability as a computational tool to solve the problems involving
transient dynamics of systems in which deformation and contact play an important

Simulations of Discontinua – Theory and Applications 102

 DISCRETE ELEMENT METHODS

role. Now, this approach is a fast developing area of computational mechanics of

discontinua involving researchers and engineers from various disciplines [1].
One of the key advantages of the combined finite-discrete element method is
capable of simulating large-scale multi-fracture problems. The robust fracture al-
gorithm called combined single and smeared crack model was proposed for such
problems by Munjiza [2-3]. However, the combined single and smeared crack
model was aimed at mode I loaded cracks only in its original form and it has been
implemented in 2D.
In this work, the combined single and smeared crack model is extended into
three-dimension and is implemented into a general purpose three-dimension com-
bined finite-discrete element code Y3D. The 3D FEMDEM code, which contains
usual features of the finite element method, has the full capability for contact de-
tection and contact interaction.
In the remainder of the paper, algorithmic issues concerning the combined sin-
gle and smeared crack model in the context of the 3D combined finite-discrete
element method are presented together with a numerical example.

COMBINED SINGLE AND SMEARED CRACK MODEL IN 3D

The combined single and smeared crack model is based on actual representa-
tion of experimental stress-strain curves. It divides the stress-strain curves into
two parts: the strain-hardening part and the strain-softening part [1-3]. In the
strain-hardening part, no failure occurs in the material and the standard continuum
constitutive law dominates the system performance; while in the strain-softening
part, a single-crack model is used and the bonding stresses are taken to be a func-
tion of the separation vector δ.
At any point on the surfaces of a crack, the separation vector δ can be divided
into two components,

δ = δnn + δtt (1)

where n and t are the unit vectors in the normal and tangential direction of the
surface at such a point, δn and δt are the magnitudes of the components of δ,
respectively.

Simulations of Discontinua – Theory and Applications 103

 DISCRETE ELEMENT METHODS

Accordingly, the traction vector p in the strain-softening stage are divided into
two components in the direction of n and t,

p = σn + τt (2)
where, σ and τ are the normal and tangential stresses, and can be calculated by

  zf t (3)

  zfs (4)
here, ft and fs are the tensile and shear strength of material. z is a heuristic
parameter depended both on the material and the seperation components [1-3],

z  1 
ab
e 
 a  b  1 D ( a  cb /(( a b )(1 a b ))) 
 a(1  D)  b(1  D) c  (5)
 
where a, b, c are material parameters chosen to fit a particular experimental curve,
and D is therefore parameter calculated through the separation components

2 2
   
D   n   t  (6)
  cn    ct 
here, δcn and δct are the normalized crack opening and sliding displacements
determined by the energy release rate Gf and the strengths. In the above equation,
D ≥ 1 means that the material is failure and no resistance exists; to represent such
a truth, D is thereof set to 1 as long as D ≥ 1, thus z as well as σ and τ are zero.
In actual implementation, the cracks are assumed to coincide with the finite
element boundary (surfaces in 3D); the separation of adjacent element surfaces is
assumed in advance through the topology of the finite elements. A so-called joint
element in the context of the combined finite-discrete element method is inserted
in advance between two adjacent elements to connect those two originally adja-
cent elements. Thus no two original finite elements share any nodes at the begin-
ning of calculation-the continuity between elements is enforced through the pen-
alty function method [1-3].

Simulations of Discontinua – Theory and Applications 104

 DISCRETE ELEMENT METHODS

NUMERICAL EXAMPLE
In this section, a relatively simple example is shown to demonstrate the imple-
mented fracture model.
As shown in Fig 1, a beam is supported by 3 supports moving in opposite di-
rections (in direction y) with constant velocity of 0.1 m/s. The material properties
of the beam are: Young’s modulus E = 26 GPa, Position’s ratio v = 0.18, density ρ
= 2340 kg/m3, tensile strength ft = 3.15 MPa, and strain energy release rate Gf =
10 N/m. To constrain the cracks to be the mode I type, the shear strength of beam
is set large enough.
The displacements of the nodes, the initional positions of which are at points A
and B in Fig 1, are taken into consideration. In Fig 2(a), the displacement of all 8
nodes at point A are the same, which represents that the continuity between finite
elements is enforced through the penalty function method; while Fig 2(b) shows
that the material at point B undergoes both the strain-hardening stage (before 0.62
ms) and strain-softening stage (from 0.62 ms until to failure). Through the post-
processer, the total progressive collapse of the beam is observed. It presents that
the first crack appears at the bottom midspan point and propagates towards the top
until the beam eventually breaks into two. The process satisfies well with that
simulated by the 2D combined finite-discrete element code Y2D [2], and the frac-
ture pattern at some moment is shown in Fig 3.

Fig 1. Diagram and initial finite element mesh of the simply supported beam.

Simulations of Discontinua – Theory and Applications 105

 DISCRETE ELEMENT METHODS

(a) Point A (b) Point B

Fig 2. Displacements of the nodes at point A and B.

Fig 3. Fracture pattern at some moment.

CONCLUSION
The combined single and smeared crack model is extended into three-
dimension and implemented into a general purpose 3D combined finite-discrete
element code Y3D. The extension enables both single and multiple cracks to be
modelled in 3D by using Y3D. Thus it is promising to use the 3D model to ana-
lyze progressive fracturing and fragmentation involving a large number of cracks.
However, the numerical examples with more complex load conditions should
be tested, and the influence of the parameters such as the penalty factor on the
analysis results should be studied in our future work.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Zhou Lei would like to acknowledge the support from the State Scholarship
Fund of China (File No. 2009615030), with the help of which, he has the oppor-

Simulations of Discontinua – Theory and Applications 106

 DISCRETE ELEMENT METHODS

tunity to pursue his study under the supervision of Professor A. Munjiza in Great
Britain as a joint PhD student. Zhou Lei is on leave from the School of Mechani-
cal & Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology.

REFERENCES
1. A. Munjiza, The combined finite-discrete element method, Wiley, 2004.
2. A. Munjiza, K.R.F. Andrews, J.K. White, ‘Combined single and smeared
crack model in combined finite-discrete element analysis’, International jour-
nal for numerical methods in engineering, Volume 44, No.1, 41-57, 1999.
3. A. Munjiza, N.W.M. John, ‘Mesh size sensitivity of the combined FEM/DEM
fracture and fragmentation algorithms’, Engineering fracture mechanics, Vol-
ume 69, No.2, 281-295, 2002.

Simulations of Discontinua – Theory and Applications 107

 Impact fracture behavior of automobile glass using 3D
combined finite-discrete element methodI
Zhou Leia,b,1,∗, Antonio Munjizaa , Mengyan Zangb
a
Department of Engineering, Queen Mary, University of London, London E1 4NS,
United Kingdom
b
School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of
Technology, Guangzhou 510640, People’s Republic of China

Abstract

The combined finite-discrete element method (FEM-DEM or FDEM) is used

to study the impact fracture process of automobile glass. Firstly, an existing
crack model, the combined Single/Smeared crack model, is introduced in
three dimension (3D) and implemented into the general purpose combined
finite-discrete element analysis code, Y-code. Then, the validity of the model
and code are proved through a simple numerical example. Finally, the impact
fracture processes of automobile glass is simulated; the validation of the
present method is preliminarily verified through comparing the simulation
results with that of experiments.
Keywords: Discrete elements, Finite elements, Automobile glass, Impact

I
This work was supported by the State Scholarship Fund of China (File No.
2009615030), the International Cooperation Project of the Ministry of Science and Tech-
nology of China (No. 2008DFA51740) and the National Natural Science Foundation of
China (No. 10972079).
∗
Corresponding author. Tel.: 1-505-667-1733; Fax.: 1-505-667-8487.
Email addresses: alei.hnu@gmail.com (Zhou Lei), a.munjiza@qmul.ac.uk
(Antonio Munjiza), myzang@scut.edu.cn (Mengyan Zang)
1
Current address: Solid Earth Geophysics (EES-17), Los Alamos National Laboratory,
Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA 87545

Preprint submitted to Engineering Fracture Mechanics June 16, 2012

fracture

Nomenclature

a, b, c material parameters chosen to fit a particular experimental curve

d parameter calculated through the separation components

df~ infinitesimal contact force

f~c total contact force between the two contact objects

ft , fs tensile and shear strengths

Gi energy release rate in mode i = I or II

~n, ~t unit vectors in the normal and tangential direction

~nΓ outward unit normal to the boundary of the overlapping area

Ni standard shape function of node i

p~ traction vector at any point on the surfaces of a crack

Pc , Pt overlapping points belonging to the contactor and target, respectively.

~x coordinate vector in the current frame

z heuristic parameter depended on both the material and the seperation

components

α material parameter determined by the shape of stress-displacement

curve

2
~δ separation vector at any point on the surfaces of a crack

δn , δt magnitude of the components of ~δ

δcn , δct normalized crack displacements

ε, η coordination in the nature frame

σ the normal stress at any point on the surfaces of a crack

τ tangential stresse any point on the surfaces of a crack

ϕ potential functions defined for the contact objects

Γβt T βc boundary of the overlapping area

1. Introduction

As one of indispensable part to automobile, the importance of automo-

bile glass is attracting more and more attention. Firstly, a great number
of traffic accidents have shown that the mechanical property of automobile
glass is very important to the safety of both passenger and pedestrian. Ac-
cording to the statistics, more than 800 000 people dead of traffic accidents
from 2001 to 2009 in China[1], among them, almost half of the deaths were
resulted from the impact between human head and windshield[2]. Moreover,
the damage pattern contains much information about accidents, which can
be used to reconstruct some aspects of accidents[3]. So, the study on impact
fracture mechanism of automobile glass is of theoretical and practical impor-
tance in the field of pedestrian protection, passive safety and traffic accident
reconstruction.

3
 Currently, experiment is still the main method for studying the impact
fracture behaviors of automobile glass[4]. In experimental process, impact
fracture behaviors of many glass samples with different factors are observed
and compared to reveal the relationships between those factors and safety
performances. Experimental study has made important contribution to re-
veal the mechanical mechanism of impact fracture behaviors for automobile
glass. However, because of the complexity of the fracture process, any varia-
tion in the manufacturing process and materials can cause significant effects
on the safety of the automobile glass. Particularly, those safety factors re-
lated to glass failure during impact processes can neither be gained nor be
trusted from only a limited number of experimental investigations. Recently,
with the rapid development of computer technology and continuous innova-
tion and improvement of computational mechanics, many scholars have tried
to solve these problems by using numerical methods[4, 5, 6, 7, 8].
So far, the traditional Finite Element Method (FEM) is adpoted as the
main numerical method to analyze the mechanical properties of glass under
dynamic/impact load[5, 6, 7]. However, the analyses based on FEM were
limited to a certain range, due to the fact that the essence of the dynamic
damage and failure processes of glass lies in the transferring of materials from
continuum to non-continuum, which is difficult to catch by FEM based on
the continuum theory[4, 8]. In this case, other numerical methods, especially
the methods based on non-continuum theory, might be the good choices. In
this paper, the combined Finite-Discrete Element method is used[9, 10, 11].
The combined finite-discrete element method, which merges the finite
element-based analysis of continua with discrete element-based transient dy-

4
namics, contact detection, and contact interaction solutions, has already
proven its efficiency and reliability as a computational tool to solve the prob-
lems involving transient dynamics of systems in which deformation and con-
tact play important roles[10, 11]. Now, this approach is a fast developing
area of computational mechanics of discontinua involving researchers and
engineers from various disciplines[11].
One of the key advantages of the combined finite-discrete element method
(FEM-DEM or FDEM) is that it is capable of simulating large-scale multi-
fracture problems. The robust fracture algorithm called combined single and
smeared crack model was proposed for such problems by Munjiza[12, 13].
However, the combined single and smeared crack model was aimed at mode
I loaded cracks only in its original form and it has been implemented in 2D.
In this work, the combined single and smeared crack model is extended to
three dimension (3D) and is used to simulate the impact fracture process of
glass. After briefly introducing the combined finite-discrete elemet method,
algorithmic issues concerning the combined single and smeared crack model
in the context of the 3D combined finite-discrete element method are pre-
sented. Upon that, the extended Y-code is used to simulate the impact
fracture of glass, and the simulation results are compared with that of cor-
responding experiments.

2. The combined finite-discrete element method

The basic idea of the FDEM is that the non-continuum mechanical be-
haviours of the materials are solved by using the discrete element method,
while the continuum mechanical behaviours are solved by using the finite

5
element method[10]. In actual implementation, the research objects are dis-
cretized to the assembling of discrete elements, then each discrete element
is further divided into one or several finite elements; and the physical quan-
tities of the discrete elements, such as the contact detection and contact
interaction, motion and displacement, are solved by using the discrete ele-
ment method, while the deformations of each discrete element is calculated
by using the finite element method. As a result, after using the proper frac-
ture models, the FDEM is an important method in computational mechanics
of discontinua, which is suitable for the solving of highly nonlinear mechanics
containing large displacement, multi-contact and multi-fracture[10].
From an algorithmic point of view, FDEM includes: deformability of ma-
terial, explicit solvers, contact detection and interaction, and crack model[14].
Since the first two aspects are similar to that of any standard FEM, the last
two aspects will be briefly introduced in the coming sections.

2.1. Contact detection and interaction

In the context of FDEM, there are two steps for contact enforcement, says
contact detection and contact interaction[10]. The goal of contact detection
is to confirm the statuses of all the adjacent elements of each target element
to make preparations for the contact interaction. For the reason that the
number of discrete elements in the simulation system is always very large
and relative position between discrete elements change along with the time
processes, the contact detection algorithms are required not only to be good
robustness but also to be high efficiency and low memory occupancy. To
meet those requirements, the contact detection algorithm NBS [15] is used in
the present work. Since NBS algorithm is based on the space decomposition

6
approach, it has the calculation efficiency of O(N ); moreover, the Linked-list
memory technology was used, which guarantee that the RAM for the NBS
algorithm is almos direct proportional to the number of elements in system.
So, NBS algorithm is linear in both CPU time and RAM[15].
Once elements in contact are detected, contact interaction algorithm is
employed to evaluate contact forces between discrete bodies. There are many
algorithms for such a task, in which the algorithm based on the penalty
function method along with potential function proposed by Munjiza is a dis-
tributed contact force algorithm which preserves energy balance[16]. This
method assumes that a penetration numerically exists between two bodies
which generates the distributed contact forces by means of penalty mecha-
nism with a potential function, and the penetration will gradually reduce to
zero by the action of contact forces. One kind of contact force belonging to
the contactor at any elemental area dA in the penetration region is defined

df~ = [gradϕc (Pc ) − gradϕt (Pt )] dA (1)

where ϕc and ϕt are potential functions defined for the contactor and tar-
get elements, respectively. And df~ is the infinitesimal contact force due to
infinitesimal overlap dA defined by overlapping points Pc belonging to the
contactor and Pt belonging to the target, as shown in Fig. 1.

[Figure 1 about here.]

Through integrating Eq. (1) over the whole penetration domain, the total
contact force between the two contact objects is obtained
I
f~c = ~nΓ (ϕc − ϕt ) dA (2)
Γβt T βc

7
where, Γβt T βc is the boundary of the overlapping area, and ~nΓ is the outward
unit normal to Γβt T βc .
It is obvious that the contact force as given by Eq. (2) preserves the
energy balance regardless of the geometry or shape of contactor and target
discrete elements, the size of the penalty term or the size of overlap during
in contact, when the values of potential functions on the boundary of both
the contactor and target are constant[16].

2.2. Crack model

The transition from continua to discontinua is done through fracture

and fragmentation processes. A so called combined single/smeared crack
model[12] is used in this work. The crack model is based on actual rep-
resentation of experimental stress-strain curves. It divides the stress-strain
curve into two parts: the strain-hardening part and the strain-softening part
(Fig. 2a). In the strain-hardening part, no failure occurs in the material
and the standard continuum constitutive law dominates the system perfor-
mance; while in the strain-softening part, a single-crack model is used and
the bonding stresses are taken to be a function of the separation vector (Fig.
2b).

[Figure 2 about here.]

In actual implementation, the cracks are assumed to coincide with the

finite element boundary; the separation of adjacent element surfaces is as-
sumed in advance through the topology of the finite elements. A so-called
joint element in the context of the combined finite-discrete element method
is inserted in advance between two adjacent elements to connect those two

8
originally adjacent elements. Thus no two original finite elements share any
nodes at the beginning of calculation-the continuity between elements is en-
forced through the penalty function method[12, 13].
In the coming section, the detailed description of the implementation of
combined single and smeared crack model in 3D will be introduced.

3. Fracture in 3D

3.1. Combined single/smeared crack model in 3D

As aforementioned, the bonding stresses along a crack in strain-softening
stage are taken to be a function of the separation vector ~δ.
As shown in Fig. 3a, the separation vector ~δ at any point on the surfaces
of a crack can be divided into two components
~δ = δn~n + δt~t (3)

where ~n and ~t are the unit vectors in the normal and tangential direction of
the surface at such a point, δn and δt are the magnitudes of the components
of ~δ, respectively.

[Figure 3 about here.]

Accordingly, the traction vector p~ in the strain-softening stage is divided

into two components in the direction of ~n and ~t (Fig. 3b),

p~ = σ~n + τ ~t (4)

where, σ and τ are the normal and tangential stresses, and can be calculated
by

σ = zft (5)

τ = zfs (6)

9
here, ft and fs are the tensile and shear strengths of material. z is a heuristic
parameter depended on both the material and the seperation components[12],
 
a + b − 1 d(a+cb/((a+b)(1−a−b)))
z = 1− e × [a(1 − d) + b(1 − d)c ] (7)
a+b

where a, b, c are material parameters chosen to fit a particular experimen-

tal curve, and d is therefore parameter calculated through the separation
components s 2  2
δn δt
d= + (8)
δcn δct
here, δcn and δct are the normalized crack opening and sliding displacements
determined by the energy release rate Gf and the strengths. Due to the
complexity of fracture mechanism, the shape of strain-stress curve of mode
II loaded cracks is simply assumed the same as that of mode I loaded cracks,
thus δcn and δct are

δcn = αGI /ft (9)

δct = αGII /fs (10)

here, GI and GII are the energy release rates of mode I and mode II loaded
cracks; α is a material parameter determined by the shape of stress-displacement
curve shown in Fig. 2b.
It should be noted that d obtained through Eq. (8) should less than
1.0; d ≥ 1.0 means that the material is failure and no resistance exists; to
represent such a truth, d is therefore set to 1.0 as long as d ≥ 1.0, thus z as
well as σ and τ are zero (see Eqs. (5)-(7)).

10
3.2. Numerical implementation

As afore-mentioned, the separation of adjacent element surfaces is as-

sumed in advance and the joint elements are inserted to connect the original
adjacent elements. In Y-code, there are two types of tetrahedron elements,
namely linear (6-node) and nonlinear (10-node) elements[17]. Fig. 4 shows
the topology of the joint element and the corresponding finite elements in
both linear and nonlinear analyses. Since the formulas for the nonlinear
element is more general, it will be used to introduce the implementation.

[Figure 4 about here.]

As described in the last section, the bonding stresses at any point on

the preset crack surfaces can be calculated by the separation vector. Here,
one surface of the joint element defined by the nodes 1 to 6 is named as the
upper surface while the opposite one defined by the nodes 7 to 12 is the lower
surface (Fig. 5). The coordinates of the point on both the upper surface and
the lower surface in the current frame can be interpolated by the coordinates
of the nodes on such surface. Thus, the coordinate vector ~xu of any point on
the upper surface is
6
X
~xu = Ni~xi (11)
i=1

and the coordinate vector ~xl of any point on the lower surface is
12
X
l
~x = Ni~xi (12)
i=7

where ~xi is the coordinate vector of node i; Ni , which is a function of the

coordination (ζ, η) in the nature frame, is the standard shape function of

11
each node

N1 = (1 − 2ζ − 2η)(1 − ζ − η)

N2 = (2ζ − 1)ζ

N3 = (2η − 1)η
(13)
N4 = 4ζ(1 − ζ − η)

N5 = 4ζη

N6 = 4η(1 − ζ − η)

and Ni = N(i−6) when i > 6.

[Figure 5 about here.]

To calculate the seperation vector, another surface named the base surface
is defined
6
1 1X
~x = (~xu + ~xl ) =
b
Ni (~xi + ~xi+6 ) (14)
2 2 i=1
the unit vector normal to the base surface at any point is

~v1 × ~v2
~n = (15)
|~v1 × ~v2 |

where,
6
∂~xb 1 X ∂Ni
~v1 = = (~xi + ~x(i+6) ) (16)
∂ζ 2 i=1 ∂ζ
6
∂~xb 1 X ∂Ni
~v2 = = (~xi + ~x(i+6) ) (17)
∂η 2 i=1 ∂η

The separation vector ~δ at any point is

6
X
~δ = ~xu − ~xl = Ni (~xi − ~x(i+6) ) (18)
i=1

12
and the magnitudes of the normal and tangential components are

δn = ~δ · ~n (19)

δt = |~δ − δn~n| (20)

then, the bonding stresses and tractions can be calculated through Eqs. (4)-
(6).
The equivalent nodal forces in the joint element are
Z
~
fi = − p~Ni |~v1 × ~v2 |ds (1 ≤ i ≤ 6) (21)
Z s

~
fj = p~Nj |~v1 × ~v2 |ds (7 ≤ j ≤ 12) (22)
s

and can be achieved through the Gauss rule. In Y-code, 3- and 7-point
integral rules have been implemented.

4. Numerical verification: fracture process of a brittle beam

To verify the implemented fracture model and the extended Y-code, a

model as same as that described in Ref. [12] is established; and the simulation
results are compared with that reported in Ref. [12].
As shown in Fig. 6, a beam, whose size is 580 mm×70 mm×30 mm,
is supported by 3 supports moving in opposite directions (in direction z)
with constant velocity of 0.1 m/s. The material properties of the beam are:
Youngs modulus E = 26 GPa, Positions ratio ν = 0.18, density ρ = 2340
kg/m3 , tensile strength ft = 3.15 MPa, and strain energy release rate GI =
10 N/m. To compare with the corresponding example shown in Ref. [12],
the shear strength of beam is set large enough to make sure the cracks to be
the mode I type.

13
 [Figure 6 about here.]

The displacements of the nodes, the initial positions of which are at points
A and B in Fig. 6, are taken into consideration. In Fig. 7a, the displacements
of all 8 nodes at point A are the same, which represents that the continuity
between finite elements is enforced through the penalty function method;
while Fig. 7b shows that the material at point B undergoes both the strain-
hardening stage (before 0.62 ms) and strain-softening stage (from 0.62 ms
until to failure).

[Figure 7 about here.]

The progressive collapse of the beam is shown in Fig. 8. To facilitate

observation, all figures are observed in front view. Fig. 9 shows the fracture
pattern at 30 ms. The fracture process presents that the first crack appears
at the bottom midspan point and propagates towards the top until the beam
eventually breaks into two. The process satisfies well with that reported by
Munjiza[12].

[Figure 8 about here.]

[Figure 9 about here.]

5. Impact fracture process of laminated glass

5.1. Experimental work

To study the fracture occurrence and propagation of automotive glass

under impact conditions, the impact fracture test of automotive glass has
been done by Zang et al [18]. In the experimental test, to clearly catch

14
the fracture process, a custom made glass specimen, whose thickness is four
times bigger than that of the general automotive glass (Fig. 10), was used.
The glass specimen was impacted by a impactor at the mid-side. And the
fracture occurrence and propagation phenomenon near by the impact point
was recorded by a device for photoelastic test.

[Figure 10 about here.]

The photos of impact fracture process of automotive glass are shown in

Fig. 11, which are two test results. In Fig. 11a, the interval for taking photos
is 20 µs and the fracture occurrence and propagation of the glass of impact
side are clearly observed and the stress distribution can also be determined.
Due to the volume limit of the high speed camera, only the fracture process
on the impact side of glass is got. However, the interval for taking photos
in Fig. 11b is 100 µs and the whole processes of fracture occurrence and
propagation of both the upper and lower glass surfaces are recorded.

[Figure 11 about here.]

Those photos implicate that the fracture phenomena are the same al-
though there are some differences at the time of fracture process. That is to
say, at the early stage, only the upper glass stands the load and then bends
until the fracture occurs, when the stress in the lower glass is tiny. The lower
glass starts to bend and then fracture only when the PVB is fully compressed
and the impact load reaches to the lower glass. This phenomenon will be
used to qualitatively verify the numerical results.

15
5.2. Simulation work

The extended Y-code is used to simulate the impact fracture process

described above, and the corresponding numerical model is shown in Fig. 12.
In this model, the laminated glass is supported by four supports, and both
the upper surface of upper support and the lower surface of lower support
body are with full constraints. The weight of impactor is 1 kg with an initial
velocity of 3.13 m/s (the same as that in experiment).

[Figure 12 about here.]

On account of the low impact velocity, all the materials used in the model
are assumed to be linear elastic materials. The parameters of each material
are shown in Table 1.

[Table 1 about here.]

The impact fracture process of automotive glass is shown in Fig. 13: all
the pictures are front views, which are in accordance with the observation
angle in the experimental work; a perspective technology is used in the post
processor to present the transparency of glass materials, which enables to
observe the fracture states in the interior of glass: the black lines in the pic-
tures indicate the cracks observed directly from the surface of glass through
the observation angle, and the shading areas show the fracture surfaces in
the interior of glass.
The simulation results show that the first crack that can be clearly ob-
served occurs at the time of 23 µs, and the crack occurs on the interface of
upper glass and PVB vertically below the impactor (as shown in Fig. 13a).
Afterwards, the cracks expand towards the upper surface in a very short time

16
(about 12 µs); at 35 µs, the cracks have already penetrated the whole upper
glass (see Fig. 13b), however, the lower glass has no obvious cracks at this
time and also a relatively long time after that (until 200 µs, in Fig. 13c).
This is because that the velocity of the stress wave in the PVB is relatively
slow, which takes a longer time to reach the lower glass. The cracks occur on
the free surface of lower glass until the tension exceeds the fracture strength.
Once there are cracks occurring on the lower glass, the cracks will penetrate
the whole glass at a very fast speed, which is the same as that on the upper
glass (as shown in Figs. 13d-13e).

[Figure 13 about here.]

After comparing the test results shown in Fig. 11, we can find that the
positions and sequencing of cracks occurring obtained by numerical simula-
tion are all in accordance with the test results, which implicates that the
combined finite-disrete element method can be used to study the fracture
mechanism of automotive glass.
It should be noted that the main purpose of this example is to qual-
itatively verify the numerical method, thus the parameter identification of
materials and the related application researchs are outside of the scope of this
work. In order to guarantee the objectivity of the simulation results, large
amounts of simulation analyses are done to investigate the influence of the
fracture parameters of glass and elastic parameters of PVB within a certain
range on the simulation results. The numerical tests show that although the
material parameters have an influence on the occurring time of cracks, the
sequences of propagation of cracks and the relevant positions in the majority
of simulation results are in accordance with that in the test results, which

17
proves the validity of the numerical method further.

6. Impact fracture pattern of glass plane

Researchers from various disciplines have done lots of experimental inves-

tigations on the impact fracture mechanism of glass plate. According to the
experimental observations, we can acquire that there are two main cracks
observed when a glass plate is impacted by objects, namely the radial crack
and circular crack[19, 20], among which the radial crack is the crack spread-
ing radially outwards from around the impact point, while the circular crack
is cyclic crack centering on the impact point[19], as shown in Fig. 14. Re-
searches show that the radial and circular cracks are all generated by tensile
stress. Here, the circular cracks occur mainly on the surfaces of impact side,
while the radial cracks occur mainly on the surfaces of the free side (opposite
to the impact side)[20], as shown in Fig. 15.

[Figure 14 about here.]

[Figure 15 about here.]

Here, the impact fracture process of glass plate is simulated by using

Y-code. As shown in Fig. 16, a glass plate with both ends constrained is
impacted by a cylindrical impactor with a mass of 50 g at the center of upper
surface. The size of the glass plate is 300 mm×50 mm×4.76 mm; and the ra-
dius of the bottom surface of the impactor is 5 mm. The material parameters
of glass are the same as that described in the last section. The supporters
and the impactor, whose Young’s modulus is 750 GPa and Poisson’s ratio is
0.2, are all linear elastic materials without considering failure.

18
 [Figure 16 about here.]

The fracture processes of glass plate is shown in Fig. 17. Here, the
perspective technology is used again to present the transparency of glass
materials, which enables to observe the fracture states in the interior of glass.
It is shown that both the radial and circular cracks can be observed clearly,
in which the radial cracks occur mainly on the free surface, while the circular
cracks are observed on the impact side (Fig. 17d). The above phenomenon
agrees well with the experimental observation reported by Bennett[19] and
Bertino[20] et al.

[Figure 17 about here.]

7. Conclusios

Conclusions drawn from the present work can be summarized as follows:

(1) The combined single and smeared crack model is implemented in 3D,
which enables both single and multiple cracks to be modelled in 3D by
using Y-code. Thus it is promising to use the 3D model to analyze
progressive fracturing and fragmentation involving a large number of
cracks.
(2) The impact fracture processes of laminated glass and monolithic glass
plates are simulated by using Y-code. The positions and sequencing of
cracks occurring in the laminated glass plate and the fracture pattern
in the monolithic one obtained by numerical simulation are all in accor-
dance with the corresponding experiment results; hence, the validation
of the present method is preliminarily verified.

19
However, The influence of mesh on the simulation results in 3D will be com-
prehensively studied next stage. Moreover, the fracture parameters of glass
with more precise need to be obtained through experiments, thus a more
adequate FDEM model of automotive glass could be established.

References

[1] Traffic management bureau of Police Ministry. Road traffic accident an-
nual census report of China. Beijing; 2001-2009.

[2] Xu J, Li YB. Crack analysis in PVB laminated windshield impacted by

pedestrian head in traffic accident. Int J Crashworthiness 2009;14(1):63-
71.

[3] Xu J, Li YB, Lu GQ, Zhou W. Reconstruction model of vehicle impact

speed in pedestrian-vehicle accident. Int J Impact Engng 2009;36(6):783-
788.

[4] Zang MY, Lei Z, Wang SF. Investigation of impact fracture behavior
of automobile laminated glass by 3D discrete element method. Comput
Mech 2007;41(1):73-83.

[5] Flocker FW, Dharani LR. Modelling fracture in laminated architectural

glass subject to low velocity impact. J Mater Sci 1997;32(10):2587-2594.

[6] Timmel M, Kolling S, Osterrieder P, Du Bois PA. A finite element

model for impact simulation with laminated glass. Int J Impact Engng
2007;34(8):1465-1478.

20
 [7] Pyttel T, Liebertz H, Cai J. Failure criterion for laminated glass under
impact loading and its application in finite element simulation. Int J
Impact Engng 2011;38(4):252-263.

[8] Xu J, Li YB, Chen X, Yan Y, Ge DY, Zhu MY, Liu BH. Characteris-
tics of windshield cracking upon low-speed impact: Numerical simula-
tion based on the extended finite element method. Comput Mater Sci
2010;48(3):582-588.

[9] Munjiza A, Owen DRJ, Bicanic N. A combined finite-discrete ele-

ment method in transient dynamics of fracturing solids. Engng Comput
1995;12(2):145-174.

[10] Munjiza A. The combined finite-discrete element method. England:

John Wiley & Sons Ltd; 2004.

[11] Munjiza A, Knight EE, Rougier E. Computational mechanics of discon-

tinua. England: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd; 2011.

[12] Munjiza A, Andrews KRF, White JK. Combined single and smeared
crack model in combined finite-discrete element analysis. Int J Numer
Methods Engng 1999;44(1):41-57.

[13] Munjiza A, John NWM. Mesh size sensitivity of the combined

FEM/DEM fracture and fragmentation algorithms. Engng Fracture
Mech 2002;69(2):281-295.

[14] Munjiza A, Latham JP. Some computational and algorithmic develop-

ments in computational mechanics of discontinua. Phil Trans R Soc
Lond A 2004;362:1817-1833.

21
[15] Munjiza A, Andrews KRF. NBS contact detection algorithm for bodies
of similar size. Int J Numer Methods Engng 1998;43(1):131-149.

[16] Munjiza A, Andrews KRF. Penalty function method for combined finite-
discrete element systems comprising large number of separate bodies. Int
J Numer Methods Engng 2000;49(11):1377-1396.

[17] Xiang JS, Munjiza A, Latham JP. Finite strain, finite rotation quadratic
tetrahedral element for the combined finite-discrete element method. Int
J Numer Methods Engng 2009;79(8):946-978.

[18] Zang MY, Lei Z, Oda J. Study on static characteristic and impact frac-
ture behavior of automobile glass. Chin J Mech Engng 2009; 45(2):268-
272. (in Chinese)

[19] Bennett WW, Hess KM. Criminal investigation. 8th ed. Thomson Learn-
ing Inc; 2007.

[20] Bertino AJ, Bertino PN. Forensic science: fundamentals and investiga-
tions. South-Western Pub; 2008.

22
List of Figures
1 Contact force due to an infinitesimal overlap around points Pc
and Pt [16]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2 (a) stress-strain curve divided into the hardening and softening
parts, (b) strain softening defined in terms of displacements[10]. 25
3 Separation and traction at a point on the surfaces of a crack;
(a) separation vector divided into two components, (b) trac-
tion vector divided into two components. . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4 The joint elements are inserted to connect the original adja-
cent elements; (a) with linear tetrahedron element, (b) with
nonlinear tetrahedron element. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5 Arrangement of the nodes, the upper surface, lower surface
and the base surface of the joint element. . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6 Diagram and initial finite element mesh of the simply sup-
ported beam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
7 Displacements of the nodes: (a) at point A, (b) at point B. . . 30
8 Progressive collapse of the beam: (a) t=2.5 ms, (b) t=3.0 ms,
(c) t=3.5 ms, (d) t=4.0 ms, (e) t=4.5 ms. . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
9 Fracture pattern at t =30 ms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
10 Diagrammatic drawing for the section of the laminated glass
specimen (dimensions are in mm)[18]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
11 Cracks occurrence and propagation of laminated glass[18]; (a)
interval for taking photos is 20 µs, (b) interval for taking pho-
tos is 100 µs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
12 FDEM model for the impact fracture test. . . . . . . . . . . . 35
13 Impact fracture process of laminated glass: (a) t=23 µs, (b)
t=35 µs, (c) t=200 µs, (d) t=203 µs, (e) t=208 µs. . . . . . . 36
14 Key fracture patterns: concentric fracture and raidial fracture,
after [19]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
15 How radial and concentric circle fractures form when glass is
hit[20]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
16 Model of the impact fracture simulation (dimensions are in mm). 39
17 Impact fracture process of glass plate: (a) t=10 µs, (b) t=20
µs, (c) t=30 µs, (d) top view at t=30 µs (left: perspective,
centre: fracture pattern on the surface of impact side and
right: fracture pattern on the surface of free side.) . . . . . . . 40

23
 Target

Contactor

Γβ t ∩ β c Pt, Pc
dA
βt ∩ βc df Γc
Γt

Figure 1: Contact force due to an infinitesimal overlap around points Pc and Pt [16].

24
(a) s (b) s
ft Strain hardening ft

Strain softening Strain softening

A B

et e δ t =0 δ

Figure 2: (a) stress-strain curve divided into the hardening and softening parts, (b) strain
softening defined in terms of displacements[10].

25
 (a) (b)

δt t τt

δ p
δn n σn

Figure 3: Separation and traction at a point on the surfaces of a crack; (a) separation
vector divided into two components, (b) traction vector divided into two components.

26
 (a) Tetrahedron element (b) Tetrahedron element

Joint element Joint element

Tetrahedron element Tetrahedron element

Figure 4: The joint elements are inserted to connect the original adjacent elements; (a)
with linear tetrahedron element, (b) with nonlinear tetrahedron element.

27
 Joint element 6
n 3 Upper surface
v2
1 4 5
v1 Base surface
12 2 9

Lower surface
7 11
10
8

Figure 5: Arrangement of the nodes, the upper surface, lower surface and the base surface
of the joint element.

28
 v=0.1 m/s
70 mm 30 mm

v=0.1 m/s
A B
v=0.1 m/s 560 mm
580 mm z
y x

Figure 6: Diagram and initial finite element mesh of the simply supported beam.

29
(a) 0
N7705
N8855
−0.5 N9349
N9738
X−Displacement/mm

N10519
−1 N10569
N11558
N11662
−1.5

−2

−2.5
0 2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15
Time/ms
(b) 2.5

2 N8349
1.5 N9029
N10052
X−Displacement/mm

1 N10192
0.5 N10798
N11370
0
N14972
−0.5 N16225
N16818
−1
N16867
−1.5 N16870
N17358
−2

−2.5
0 2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15
Time/ms

Figure 7: Displacements of the nodes: (a) at point A, (b) at point B.

30
 (a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Figure 8: Progressive collapse of the beam: (a) t=2.5 ms, (b) t=3.0 ms, (c) t=3.5 ms, (d)
t=4.0 ms, (e) t=4.5 ms.

31
Figure 9: Fracture pattern at t =30 ms.

32
 Impactor
Glass PVB Width: 10
10
24
10

200

Figure 10: Diagrammatic drawing for the section of the laminated glass specimen (dimen-
sions are in mm)[18].

33
 (a)

(b)

Figure 11: Cracks occurrence and propagation of laminated glass[18]; (a) interval for
taking photos is 20 µs, (b) interval for taking photos is 100 µs.

34
 Impactor
10mm 10mm Support Glass PVB
24mm

200 mm
10mm

Figure 12: FDEM model for the impact fracture test.

35
 (a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Figure 13: Impact fracture process of laminated glass: (a) t=23 µs, (b) t=35 µs, (c) t=200
µs, (d) t=203 µs, (e) t=208 µs.

36
 Radial

Radial
n tric
Po Conce
int
of Im
pac

Concentric
t

ce ntric
Con Radial

Figure 14: Key fracture patterns: concentric fracture and raidial fracture, after [19].

37
 Tension Concentric
fracture

Impact Tension Radial

Compression fracture

Tension Concentric
fracture

Unbroken glass

Figure 15: How radial and concentric circle fractures form when glass is hit[20].

38
 m=50 g
b t=4.76 ; b=5
t
8
300
8
50

Figure 16: Model of the impact fracture simulation (dimensions are in mm).

39
 (a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Figure 17: Impact fracture process of glass plate: (a) t=10 µs, (b) t=20 µs, (c) t=30
µs, (d) top view at t=30 µs (left: perspective, centre: fracture pattern on the surface of
impact side and right: fracture pattern on the surface of free side.)

40
List of Tables
1 Material parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

41
 Table 1: Material parameters
Parameter Glass PVB Support Impactor
Density ρ(kg/m3 ) 2456.0 100.0 2400.0 -
Young’s modulus E(GPa) 75.0 0.5 5.0 200.0
Poisson’s ratio ν 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.27
Tensile strength σt (MPa) 100.0 - - -
Energy release rate Gf (N/m) 10.0 - - -

42

View publication stats