An elliptic approximation for phase separation in a fractured material

Abstract

We consider a free-boundary and free-discontinuity energy connecting phase separation and fracture in an elastic material. The energy excludes the contribution of phase boundaries in the cracked region, providing a heuristic approximation of the interfacial energy in the current material configuration. Our primary result shows that the sharp energy may be recovered via Gamma-convergence from a modified Cahn-Hilliard energy coupled with an Ambrosio-Tortorelli-type approximation of the (linear) elastic and fracture energy.