Fatigue Analysis of an Inclined Crack Propagation Problem by the X-FEM Method

Abstract

The extended finite element method (X-FEM) has been used to solve fracture mechanics, problems in materials with various behavior laws (for example, isotropic, orthotropic or piezoelectric materials... For each type of material, it is necessary to obtain “enrichment functions” which model the behavior of the fields of displacement and stresses in the vicinity of the front of crack. In this paper, fatigue crack propagation analysis was modeled, by the extended finite element method X-FEM to evaluate the total energy and strain energy at the angled crack length, and to have the development of the increment time concerning the different values of α which is equal to 15°, 30° and 45, this development has been studied numerically by solving the problem of finite elements by the computer code ABAQUS. Quadratic 4-node elements (CPS4R) were used.