Publications

Cohesive Zone Modeling in Geomaterial

Provost, Rachel E.; Newell, Pania N.; Matteo, Edward N.

The purpose of the two projects discussed in this report is to use the cohesive zone method to evaluate fracture properties of geomaterials. Two experimental tests, the push-out test and the notched three-point bend test, were modeled computationally using finite element analysis and cohesive zone modeling to extract load and displacement information and ul- timately determine failure behavior. These results are to be compared with experimental tests when they are available. The first project used the push-out test to investigate the shear bond strength at the cement- shale interface. The second project explored the effects of scaling a notched three-point bend- ing specimen to study fracture toughness characteristics. The bond strength and fracture toughness of a material and its interfaces are important parameters to consider in subsurface applications so that zonal isolation can be achieved.