Numerical simulation of multiple crack growth in brittle materials with adaptive remeshing

• Published in: International journal for numerical methods in engineering Vol. 85; no. 8; pp. 1017 - 1048
• Main Authors: Azadi, H., Khoei, A. R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 25.02.2011; Wiley
• Subjects: adaptive remeshing; Algorithms; brittle material; Computer simulation; Crack propagation; crack propagation criteria; Cracks; error control; Errors; Exact sciences and technology; Fracture mechanics (crack, fatigue, damage...); Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); mixed-mode fracture; multiple cracks; Numerical analysis; Physics; Solid mechanics; Stability analysis; Structural and continuum mechanics; Trajectories; Crack array; Mode coupling; Error estimation; Rupture; Brittle material; N body system; Modeling; Adaptive method; Crack propagation; error control; mixed-mode fracture; multiple cracks; Numerical simulation; Robustness; adaptive remeshing; Numerical convergence; Mesh generation; crack propagation criteria; Crack
• ISSN: 0029-5981; 1097-0207; 1097-0207
• DOI: 10.1002/nme.3002

In this paper, an automated adaptive remeshing procedure is presented for simulation of arbitrary shape crack growth in multiple cracked bodies. The Zienkiewicz–Zhu error estimator is employed in conjunction with the modified superconvergent patch recovery (SPR) technique to obtain more accurate estimation of error. A stability analysis is performed to determine active cracks from a set of competitive cracks. Various crack growth criteria together with the respective crack trajectory prediction are compared. Several numerical examples are illustrated to demonstrate the efficiency, robustness and accuracy of computational algorithm in the simulation of multiple crack growth. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.