Fatigue crack growth simulation using the moving mesh technique

Abstract

This work proposes a finite element (FE)‐based numerical model that uses the moving mesh technique for simulating fatigue crack propagation phenomena inside material components subjected to cyclic loads. Precisely, the computational mesh is adjusted during the numerical simulation according to conditions dictated by the criteria of fracture mechanics. Unlike standard FE procedures, which perform remeshing for each increment of the crack length, the proposed model updates the computational mesh only when FEs are distorted excessively because of the mesh nodes' motion, thus reducing computational burdens considerably. The validity of the proposed method is assessed through comparisons with existing experimental and numerical results.

Investigating the Influence of Holes as Crack Arrestors in Simulating Crack Growth Behavior Using Finite Element Method

“…It is significant to emphasize that the absence of internal holes in the specimen contributes to higher von Mises stress levels compared to the same specimen with holes, as shown in Figures 6,8,13,and 16. This difference can be attributed to the fact that the presence of holes acts as stress concentrators, causing localized stress intensification.…”

“…Additionally, the ANSYS Workbench offers capabilities for adaptive meshing, which allows for automatic refinement of the mesh around the crack tip to accurately capture stress gradients and accurately predict crack growth. Furthermore, software packages like Abaqus [11,12], COMSOL [13,14], FRANC3D [15,16], Zencrack [17], AFGROW [18], NASGRO [19], and Nastran [17] also provide powerful computational tools for simulating crack growth and analyzing the behavior of structures subjected to crack propagation. Additionally, there exist various software options for simulating crack propagation, such as the advanced iterative-finite element method (AI-FEM) [20] and advanced finite element analysis (AFEA) [21].…”