Automated Multiple-Scale Fracture Analysis

Abstract

Abstract. This paper discusses a system for automated analysis of crack propagation in heterogeneous materials. The system uses a multiscale analysis technique to account for the effect of the microstructure on the propagation of the crack. The multiscale analysis allows the microstructure of the composite to be explicitly represented in the vicinity of the crack front while using homogenized material properties elsewhere. Procedures for automatic construction and update of the models and meshes used in the analysis are described.