Exponential Softening

The Softening Law

A exponential softening law has the following form:

      [math]\displaystyle{ f(\delta,s) = e^{-k\delta} = e^{-\delta/(sG_c)} }[/math]

which follows from

      [math]\displaystyle{ sG_c = \int_0^{\delta_{max}} f(\delta,s) = {1\over k} \quad{\rm or}\quad k = {1\over sG_c} }[/math]

where s is the softening scaling term and G_c is toughness of the law (and the law's only property). The exponential decay rate, k, which depends on mesh size and crack orientation, is calculated above and is not a law property to be provided.

The area (or energy dissipation term) is

      [math]\displaystyle{ A(\delta,s) = sG_c - e^{-\delta/(sG_c)}\left(sG_c+{\delta\over2}\right) }[/math]

The stability condition is:

      [math]\displaystyle{ \max\bigl(-f'(\delta,s)\bigr) \lt k = {1\over sG_c} }[/math]

Softening Law Properties

Only one property is needed to define an exponential softening law:

Property	Description	Units	Default
Gc	The toughness associated with the this softening law	energy release units	none

Note that softening materials