SUMMARYA high-order generalized finite element method (GFEM) for non-planar three-dimensional crack surfaces is presented. Discontinuous p-hierarchical enrichment functions are applied to strongly graded tetrahedral meshes automatically created around crack fronts. The GFEM is able to model a crack arbitrarily located within a finite element (FE) mesh and thus the proposed method allows fully automated fracture analysis using an existing FE discretization without cracks. We also propose a crack surface representation that is independent of the underlying GFEM discretization and controlled only by the physics of the problem. The representation preserves continuity of the crack surface while being able to represent non-planar, non-smooth, crack surfaces inside of elements of any size. The proposed representation also provides support for the implementation of accurate, robust, and computationally efficient numerical integration of the weak form over elements cut by the crack surface. Numerical simulations using the proposed GFEM show high convergence rates of extracted stress intensity factors along non-planar curved crack fronts and the robustness of the method.
SUMMARYThis paper presents a generalized finite element method (GFEM) based on the solution of interdependent global (structural) and local (crack)-scale problems. The local problems focus on the resolution of fine-scale features of the solution in the vicinity of three-dimensional cracks, while the global problem addresses the macro-scale structural behavior. The local solutions are embedded into the solution space for the global problem using the partition of unity method. The local problems are accurately solved using an hp-GFEM and thus the proposed method does not rely on analytical solutions. The proposed methodology enables accurate modeling of three-dimensional cracks on meshes with elements that are orders of magnitude larger than the process zone along crack fronts. The boundary conditions for the local problems are provided by the coarse global mesh solution and can be of Dirichlet, Neumann or Cauchy type. The effect of the type of local boundary conditions on the performance of the proposed GFEM is analyzed. Several three-dimensional fracture mechanics problems aimed at investigating the accuracy of the method and its computational performance, both in terms of problem size and CPU time, are presented.
SUMMARYA mapping method is developed to integrate weak singularities, which result from enrichment functions in the generalized/extended finite element method. The integration scheme is applicable to 2D and 3D problems including arbitrarily shaped triangles and tetrahedra. Implementation of the proposed scheme in existing codes is straightforward. Numerical examples for 2D and 3D problems demonstrate the accuracy and convergence properties of the technique.
A coupling between the hp-version of the generalized finite element method (hp-GFEM) and the face offsetting method (FOM) for crack growth simulations is presented. In the proposed GFEM, adaptive surface meshes composed of triangles are utilized to explicitly represent complex three-dimensional (3-D) crack surfaces. By applying the hp-GFEM at each crack growth step, high-order approximations on locally refined meshes are automatically created in complex 3-D domains while preserving the aspect ratio of elements, regardless of crack geometry. The FOM is applied to track the evolution of the crack front in the explicit crack surface representation. The FOM provides geometrically feasible crack front descriptions based on hp-GFEM solutions. The coupling of hp-GFEM and FOM allows the simulation of arbitrary crack growth with concave crack fronts independent of the volume mesh. Numerical simulations illustrate the robustness and accuracy of the proposed methodology.Keywords Generalized finite element method · Extended finite element method · High-order approximations · Face offsetting method · Crack growth
This paper presents a study of generalized enrichment functions for 3D curved crack fronts. Two coordinate systems used in the definition of singular curved crack front enrichment functions are analyzed. In the first one, a set of Cartesian coordinate systems defined along the crack front is used. In the second case, the geometry of the crack front is approximated by a set of curvilinear coordinate systems. A description of the computation of derivatives of enrichment functions and curvilinear base vectors is presented. The coordinate systems are automatically defined using geometrical information provided by an explicit representation of the crack surface. A detailed procedure to accurately evaluate the surface normal, conormal and tangent vectors along curvilinear crack fronts in explicit crack surface representations is also presented. An accurate and robust definition of orthonormal vectors along crack fronts is crucial for the proper definition of enrichment functions. Numerical experiments illustrate the accuracy and robustness of the proposed approaches.
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