Parallel parametric analysis approach based on an s-version FEM for fracture mechanics analysis in designing hole positions

Abstract

This study proposes a parallel parametric analysis approach, in which parametric analysis for a local shape, such as a hole, is automated and parallelized. For the automation, the present approach is based on an s-version FEM, namely, the coupling-matrix-free iterative s-version FEM. In this method, the hole can be detached from the mesh of the global structure. This feature overcomes a difficulty in generating a mesh with a hole, particularly together with a crack for fracture mechanics analysis. Moreover, the parallelization is implemented by Message Passing Interface (MPI). In the present approach, a large number of analyses for different hole positions are performed in parallel. In each analysis, the hole position is changed using the s-version FEM. Then, this approach was applied to numerical examples of stationary crack problems, namely, a plate with an edge crack and a V-bending die with a circular surface crack. Both examples had a hole, the position of which was the parameter of the parametric analysis. In each numerical example, changes in stress intensity factor of the crack for different hole positions were investigated. It was numerically demonstrated that some hole positions decreased the stress intensity factor of the crack. Moreover, our approach achieved high speedup and parallel efficiency in a strong scaling test.