Energy release rates at two perpendicularly meeting cracks by use of the Scaled Boundary Finite Element Method

摘要

The recently developed enriched formulation of the Scaled Boundary Finite Element Method is employed for the analysis of the 3D structural situation of two perpendicularly meeting cracks in a homogeneous isotropic continuum. For simplicity, only symmetric deformations and loads are considered. This yields two stress singularities, one being stronger and one being weaker than the classical crack singularity. In both cases, a triangular crack extension shape is assumed as a conservative approximation for the determination of incremental energy release rates. The chosen method is found to show excellent convergence, accuracy and also computational efficiency and, consequently, to be appropriate for this purpose. These findings present a first step towards the comprehensive application of this new method to the analysis and evaluation of 3D fracture mechanics problems including stress singularities.