Presenting original results from both theoretical and numerical viewpoints, this text offers a detailed discussion of the variational approach to brittle fracture. The key to this approach is viewing crack growth as the result of a competition between bulk and surface energy. The variational approach that the authors champion provides an incisive picture of initiation and propagation whose features are detailed. It treats crack evolution from its initiation all the way to the failure of a sample. The authors set forth tested-and-proven models that you can use to gauge crack initiation, crack path, and crack extension for arbitrary geometries and loads. Although the material is mathematical in nature, the authors avoid unnecessary technicalities. They also connect the variational approach with more classical treatments of fracture, demonstrating the distinct results of each approach in simple test settings and via relevant numerical simulations.

Presenting original results from both theoretical and numerical viewpoints, this text offers a detailed discussion of the variational approach to brittle fracture. This approach views crack growth as the result of a competition between bulk and surface energy, treating crack evolution from its initiation all the way to the failure of a sample. The authors model crack initiation, crack path, and crack extension for arbitrary geometries and loads.