Numerical simulation of large strain fracture problems using X-FEM

摘要

Fracture of rubber-like materials is still an open problem. Indeed, it deals with issues related to the fracture itself (crack growth law, stress singularity around the crack tip), and also issues related to the bulk material behaviour (non-linear elasticity, large strain, incompressibility). The present study focuses on the application of the extended Finite Element Method (X-FEM) to the large strain fracture mechanics, under plane stress conditions. Two important aspects of this problem are investigated: the formulation used to solve the problem and the determination of suitable enrichment functions. The method is compared with Abaqus to demonstrate its robustness and capabilities for large strain problems.