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Non‐planar 3D crack growth by the extended finite element and level sets—Part I: Mechanical model
Author(s) -
Moës N.,
Gravouil A.,
Belytschko T.
Publication year - 2002
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/nme.429
Subject(s) - heaviside step function , partition of unity , discontinuity (linguistics) , finite element method , planar , extended finite element method , mathematics , signed distance function , structural engineering , representation (politics) , mathematical analysis , geometry , computer science , engineering , algorithm , computer graphics (images) , politics , law , political science
A methodology for solving three‐dimensional crack problems with geometries that are independent of the mesh is described. The method is based on the extended finite element method, in which the crack discontinuity is introduced as a Heaviside step function via a partition of unity. In addition, branch functions are introduced for all elements containing the crack front. The branch functions include asymptotic near‐tip fields that improve the accuracy of the method. The crack geometry is described by two signed distance functions, which in turn can be defined by nodal values. Consequently, no explicit representation of the crack is needed. Examples for three‐dimensional elastostatic problems are given and compared to analytic and benchmark solutions. The method is readily extendable to inelastic fracture problems. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.