Crack propagation using the continuum strong discontinuity approach by the BEM: some numerical remarks

Abstract

Some numerical remarks regarding the crack evolution in failure analysis by the BEM using cells with embedded strong discontinuities are addressed in this work. A comparative study between the generation of these cells at any iteration or only after a step convergence is firstly performed. Moreover, an analysis is carried out related to the cells size growth throughout the iterative-incremental process. As reference, some classical problems whose experimental results are available in the literature are used for the numerical analysis which is performed considering the implicit formulation of the boundary element method together with the continuum strong discontinuity approach. It was verified that the results are coincident for different numbers of steps considered in the simulations when cells are generated during any iteration, showing step size independence in this case, while the same is not true for the case of cells generated only after step convergence, in which a large number of steps are required for a good accuracy. Finally, it is shown that a small increase in cell size throughout the analysis contributes to the reduction in numerical processing time without significantly affecting the results accuracy.

An examination of the size effect in quasi-brittle materials using a bond-based peridynamic model

“…Interface elements are placed along the crack path, requiring pre-existing knowledge of the fracture behaviour and limiting this method to simplistic problems. Numerical results have also been reported by Feng and Wu [13], Mendonça et al [50] and Barbat et al [8]. The methods used in these works are more generally applicable and do not require pre-existing knowledge of the fracture path.…”

“…The methods used in these works are more generally applicable and do not require pre-existing knowledge of the fracture path. Mendonça et al [50] used the boundary element method to model the beam of depth 160 mm. Feng and Wu [13] and Barbat et al [8] modelled the full set of experiments using a phase-field regularised cohesive zone model and a smeared crack approach respectively.…”