FINITE ELEMENT MODELLING OF COMPLEX 3D STATIC AND DYNAMIC CRACK PROPAGATION BY EMBEDDING COHESIVE ELEMENTS IN ABAQUS

T This study proposes an algorithm of embedding cohesive elements in Abaqus and develops the computer code to model 3D complex crack propagation in quasi-brittle materials in a relatively easy and efficient manner. The cohesive elements with softening traction-separation relations and damage initiation and evolution laws are embedded between solid elements in re-gions of interest in the initial mesh to model potential cracks. The initial mesh can consist of tetrahedrons, wedges, bricks or a mixture of these elements. Neither remeshing nor objective crack propagation criteria are needed. Four examples of concrete specimens, including a wedge-splitting test, a notched beam under torsion, a pull-out test of an anchored cylinder and a notched beam under impact, were modelled and analysed. The simulated crack propagation processes and load-displacement curves agreed well with test results or other numerical simulations for all the examples using initial meshes with reasonable densities. Making use of Abaqus's rich pre/post-processing functionalities and powerful standard/explicit solvers, the developed method offers a practical tool for engineering analysts to model complex 3D fracture problems.