Nonlocal damage mechanics

ABSTRACT This paper starts with an overview of models that can provide an objective description of highly localized inelastic deformation. Basic ideas behind the integral and differential formulations of nonlocal models are explained using a simple isotropic damage model as a typical example. Regularizing effect of nonlocal enhancements is documented by one-dimensional localization analysis. The paper then focuses in detail on integral-type nonlocal damage models. The main issues addressed here include the choice of the internal variable to be averaged, the influence of boundaries, and various computational aspects ranging from efficient implementation of nonlocal averaging to adaptive techniques.