Fatigue crack growth simulations of 3-D linear elastic cracks under thermal load by XFEM

摘要

This paper deals with the fatigue crack growth simulations of three-dimensional linear elastic cracks by XFEM under cyclic thermal load. Both temperature and displacement approximations are extrinsically enriched by Heaviside and crack front enrichment functions. Crack growth is modelled by successive linear extensions, and the end points of these linear extensions are joined by cubic spline segments to obtain a modified crack front. Different crack geometries such as planer, non-planer and arbitrary spline shape cracks are simulated under thermal shock, adiabatic and isothermal loads to reveal the sturdiness and versatility of the XFEM approach.