A finite element method for linear elastic fracture mechanics using enriched quadratic interpolations is presented. The quadratic finite elements are enriched with the asymptotic near tip displacement solutions and the Heaviside function so that the finite element approximation is capable of resolving the singular stress field at the crack tip as well as the jump in the displacement field across the crack face without any significant mesh refinement. The geometry of the crack is represented by a level set function which is interpolated on the same quadratic finite element discretization. Due to the higher-order approximation for the crack description we are able to represent a crack with curvature. The method is verified on several examples and comparisons are made to similar formulations using linear interpolants.

SUMMARYA method for modelling the growth of multiple cracks in linear elastic media is presented. Both homogeneous and inhomogeneous materials are considered. The method uses the extended finite element method for arbitrary discontinuities and does not require remeshing as the cracks grow; the method also treats the junction of cracks. The crack geometries are arbitrary with respect to the mesh and are described by vector level sets. The overall response of the structure is obtained until complete failure. A stability analysis of competitive cracks tips is performed. The method is applied to bodies in plane strain or plane stress and to unit cells with 2-10 growing cracks (although the method does not limit the number of cracks). It is shown to be efficient and accurate for crack coalescence and percolation problems.

SUMMARYA new level set method is developed for describing surfaces that are frozen behind a moving front, such as cracks. In this formulation, the level set is described in two dimensions by a three-tuple: the sign of the level set function and the components of the closest point projection to the surface. The update of the level set is constructed by geometric formulas, which are easily implemented. Results are given for growth of lines in two dimensions that show the method is very accurate. The method combines very naturally with the extended ÿnite element method (XFEM) where the discontinuous enrichment for cracks is best described in terms of level set functions. Examples of crack growth simulations obtained by combining this level set method with the extended ÿnite element method are given.

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A numerical model to analyse the growth and the coalescence of cracks in a quasibrittle cell containing multiple cracks is presented. The method is based on the extended finite element method in which discontinuous enrichment functions are added to the finite element approximation to take into account the presence of the cracks, so that it requires no remeshing. In order to describe the discontinuities only the tip enrichment and the step enrichment are used. The method does not require a special enrichment for the junction of two cracks and the junction is automatically captured by the combination of the step enrichments. The geometry of the cracks which is described implicitly by the level set method is independent of the finite element mesh. In the numerical example, linear elastic fracture mechanics is adopted to describe the behaviour of the cracks along with the Paris fatigue law and the intact bulk material is assumed to be elastic. The numerical results show that cracks can grow and interconnect with each other without remeshing as fatigue progresses and that the pattern of fatigue crack development converges with mesh refinement.