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laforzadiment
Feb16-11, 10:12 AM
I'm working on a crack propogation finite element analysis and will be using the Virtual Crack Closure Technique (*VCCT card). However, I have come across another card, Discrete Cohesive Zone Model (*DCZM) that seems to be commonly paired with VCCT to account for material softening.

My problem is I don't know what that means. Does material softening refer to deformation beyond the elastic limit? I'm not sure if this is applicable for composites because of their brittle nature.