Quasistatic brittle fracture seen as an energy minimizing movement

Abstract This article presents an overview of the current state of the variational theory of quasistatic brittle fracture. It is shown that that theory, while departing only slightly from the classical theory of Griffith, alleviates many of the obstacles usually associated with quasistatic crack growth. The underlying mathematics are outlined, the various available results sketched, and the drawbacks discussed. Two numerical computations, well beyond the scope of the classical theory, are presented. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)