Simulation of time-dependent crack propagation in a quasi-brittle material under relative humidity variations based on cohesive zone approach : application to wood

摘要

This thesis is dedicated to the simulation of the fracture behavior of wood under long-termloading and variable relative humidity conditions. Indeed, wood is well-known to be a highlyhygroscopic material in so far as its mechanical and fracture properties are very dependenton moisture. Moreover, the stability of an existent crack in a structural element can bestrongly affected by the sudden variations of relative humidity (RH) and can lead tounexpected failure of the element.The thermodynamic approach proposed in this thesis includes the mechano-sorptive effect inthe analytical expression of the deformation, by operating a decoupling of the strain in amechanical part and a mechano-sorptive part in material. Moreover, the quasi-brittle fractureof wood is here simulated from a cohesive zone model whose cohesive parameters arefunctions of the moisture in order to mimic the moisture-dependent character of the fractureproperties. On this basis, an increment formulation allows the integration of the effect ofsudden RH variations on the fracture process zone (cohesive zone) by introducing anadditional stress field along this zone. As a function of the RH variation, this additional stressfield depends on not only the stress state and the crack opening along the cohesive zone butalso the material moisture ahead of the zone (undamaged material). In the finite elementanalysis, an algorithmic tangent operator is used to solve the non-linear problem combiningmechano-sorptive model and cohesive zone model including the effect of sudden RHvariations.The simulation of a notched structural element submitted to a constant load and cyclic RHvariations exhibits a strong coupling between the mechano-sorptive behavior and the effectof the RH variations on the fracture process zone (FPZ). This coupling results in an increaseof the crack propagation kinetic and leads to a precocious failure compared to those obtainedfrom the mechano-sorptive model or from the effect of sudden RH variations on the FPZ.Moreover, the coupling between the mechano-sorptive model and the effect of sudden RHvariations on the FPZ which cannot be predicted by a simple superposition of both effects,showing the interest of such a numerical approach in order to describe the complex behaviorof wood structural elements submitted to variable climatic conditions.