  This paper proposes a novel technique to reduce the computational burden
associated with the simulation of localised failure. The proposed methodology
affords the simulation of damage initiation and propagation whilst
concentrating the computational effort where it is most needed, i.e. in the
localisation zones. To do so, a local/global technique is devised where the
global (slave) problem (far from the zones undergoing severe damage and
cracking) is solved for in a reduced space computed by the classical Proper
Orthogonal Decomposition, while the local (master) degrees of freedom
(associated with the part of the structure where most of the damage is taking
place) are fully resolved. Both domains are coupled through a local/global
technique. This method circumvents the difficulties associated with model order
reduction for the simulation of highly non-linear mechanical failure and offers
an alternative or complementary approach to the development of multiscale
fracture simulators.
