A regularized interface model for simulating the response of adhesive joints

A regularized interface damage model is presented grounded on the cohesive-zone concept. This is obtained using a gradient-based formulation, which is equivalent to the introduction of the laplacian of a scalar damage field into the threshold function of the corresponding local model. Unlike the classical cohesive-zone formulations, damage is driven by a non-local energy release rate and the size of the process zone is controlled by an independent model parameter. The capabilities of the proposed approach are shown via a mode-I fracture problem for an adhesive joint. Numerical results illustrate the effects of the gradient dependence against the usual cohesive zone implementation.