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Automatic 3‐D mode I crack propagation calculations with finite elements
Author(s) -
Dhondt Guido
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
international journal for numerical methods in engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.421
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1097-0207
pISSN - 0029-5981
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0207(19980228)41:4<739::aid-nme309>3.0.co;2-m
Subject(s) - finite element method , mode (computer interface) , fracture mechanics , structural engineering , materials science , mechanics , physics , computer science , engineering , operating system
An algorithm is presented which allows for fully automatic linear elastic low cycle fatigue (LCF) crack propagation calculations of mode I plane cracks in large structures by means of the finite element technique. The bulk of the algorithm consists of an automatic procedure to introduce the geometry of a plane crack with an arbitrary crack front in an existing three‐dimensional (3‐D) mesh. Once the K ‐distribution for the initial crack has been calculated, the use of the superelement technique reduces the computing time for the subsequent cycles by a factor of up to 40 or more. Two industrial examples illustrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the method. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.