Numerical Calibration of Cohesive Zone Energy for Plate Tearing

In a cohesive zone model, neighboring elements are connected by nonlinearsprings (instead of directly sharing a node) which are designed to i) absorb the fracture energy, ii) release the connection between elements in the fracture zone. Unfortunately ,it is often necessary to conduct lab tests combined with curve fitting in order to define the potential energy and the peak traction of the nonlinear springs.