A new mixed finite element for calculating viscoelastic flow

A new mixed finite element has allowed us to calculate flows of Maxwell-B and Oldroyd-B fluids at very high values of the Deborah number, De. The element is divided into several bilinear sub-elements for the stresses, while streamline-upwinding is used for discretizing the constitutive equation. The method is applied to the stick-slip problem, the flow through a tapered contraction and the flow through four-to-one abrupt plane and circular contractions. Important corner vortices develop at high values of De in the circular contraction. We have not encountered upper limits for the Deborah number in our calculations with Oldroyd-B fluids.     

A finite element investigation of the effect of crack tip constraint on hole growth under mode i and mixed mode loading

In this work, the effect of constraint on hole growth near a notch tip in a ductile material under mode I and mixed mode loading (involving modes I and II) is investigated. To this end, a 2-D plane strain, modified boundary layer formulation is employed in which the mixed mode elastic K–T field is prescribed as remote boundary conditions. A finite element procedure that accounts for finite deformations and rotations is used along with an appropriate version of J₂ flow theory of plasticity with small elastic strains. Several analyses are carried out corresponding to different values of T-stress and remote elastic mode-mixity. The interaction between the notch and hole is studied by examining the distribution of hydrostatic stress and equivalent plastic strain in the ligament between the notch tip and the hole, as well as the growth of the hole. The implications of the above results on ductile fracture initiation due to micro-void coalescence are discussed.     

A mixed finite element scheme for viscoelastic flows with XPP model

A mixed finite element formulation for viscoelastic flows is derived in this paper, in which the FIC （finite incremental calculus） pressure stabilization process and the DEVSS （discrete elastic viscous stress splitting） method using the Crank-Nicolson-based split are introduced within a general framework of the iterative version of the fractional step algorithm. The SU （streamline-upwind） method is particularly chosen to tackle the convective terms in constitutive equations of viscoelastic flows. Thanks to the proposed scheme the finite elements with equal low-order interpolation approximations for stress-velocity-pressure variables can be successfully used even for viscoelastic flows with high Weissenberg numbers. The XPP （extended Pom-Pom） constitutive model for describing viscoelastic behaviors is particularly integrated into the proposed scheme. The numerical results for the 4：1 sudden contraction flow problem demonstrate prominent stability, accuracy and convergence rate of the proposed scheme in both pressure and stress distributions over the flow domain within a wide range of the Weissenberg number, particularly the capability in reproducing the results, which can be used to explain the ＂die swell＂ phenomenon observed in the polymer injection molding process.     

A precise singular finite element for crack analysis

The multi-variable finite element algorithm based on the generalized Galerkin’smethod is more flexible to establish a finite element model in the continuum mechanies.Byusing this algorithm and numerical tests a new singular finite element for elasto-plasticfracture analysis has been formulated.The results of numerical tests show that the newelement possesses high accuracy and good performance.Some rules for formulating amulti-variable singular finite element are also discussed in this paper.     

A finite element study of the near crack tip deformation of a ductile material under mixed mode loading

In ductile fracture, voids near a crack tip play an important role. From this point of view, a large deformation finite element analysis has been made to study the deformation, stress and strain, and void ratio near the crack tip under mixed mode plane strain loading conditions, employing Gurson's constitutive equation which has taken into account the effects of void nucleation and growth. The results show that: (i) one corner of the crack tip sharpens while the other corner blunts, (ii) the stress and strain distributions except for the near crack tip region, can be superimposed by normalizing distance from the crack tip by a crack tip deformation length, i.e., a steady-state solution under a mixed mode condition has been obtained, (iii) the field near a crack tip can be divided into four characteristic fields (K field, HRR field, blunted crack tip field, and damaged region), and (iv) the strain and void volume fraction become concentrated in the sharpened part of a crack tip with increasing Mode II component.     

Growth of a mode II crack in an orthotropic plate made of a viscoelastic composite material

The growth of a straight mode II crack in a viscoelastic orthotropic plate is examined. The plate material is modeled by a viscoelastic anisotropic medium. The shear displacement in the fracture process zone is determined as a function of time using the corresponding elastic solution, the Volterra principle, and the method of operator continued functions. The time dependence of the crack length is constructed as integral equations of three phases of stable growth. The solution of these equations gives kinetic curves __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 42, No. 9, pp. 89–97, September 2006.     

A simple method for crack growth in mixed mode with X-FEM

In this paper, a new method for level set update is proposed, in the context of crack propagation modeling with the extended finite element method (X-FEM) and level sets. Compared with the existing methods, such as the resolution of the Hamilton–Jacobi equations, this new method is much simpler because it does not required complex manipulations of the level sets. This method, called the “projection” method, uses both a classical discretization of the surface of the crack (segments for 2d cracks and triangles for 3d cracks) and a level set representation of the crack. This discretization is updated with respect to the position of the new crack front. Then the level sets are re-computed using the true distance to the new crack, by an orthogonal projection of each node of the structure onto the new crack surface. Then, numerical illustrations are given on 2d and 3d academic examples. Finally, three illustrations are given on 3d industrial applications.     

A finite element procedure for viscoelastic flows

A finite element method for the simulation of viscoelastic flows has been developed. It uses a weak formulation of the method of characteristics to treat the viscoelastic constitutive law. Numerical results in a 4:1 contraction are presented and are discussed with respect to previous computations. New phenomena are put in evidence and new questions are opened in this already controversial problem.     

Eshelby tensor for a crack in an orthotropic elastic medium

In the present Note, we provide new analytical expressions of the components of Hill tensor $\mathbb{P}$ (or equivalently the Eshelby tensor $\mathbb{S}$) associated to an arbitrarily oriented crack in orthotropic elastic medium. The crack is modelled as an infinite cylinder along a symmetry axis of the matrix, with low aspect ratio. The three dimensional results obtained show explicitly the interaction between the primary (structural) anisotropy and the crack-induced anisotropy. They are validated by comparison with existing results in the case where the crack is in a symmetry plane. To cite this article: C. Gruescu et al., C. R. Mecanique 333 (2005).     

A numerical method for crack growth analysis in linearly viscoelastic materials

This paper presents a numerical method for the analysis of crack initiation and extension in linearly viscoelastic materials undergoing Mode I plane stress deformation. Plastic deformation near the crack tip is considered by a strip-yielding model. The crack initiation and growth are taken to follow a critical energy release rate fracture criterion, and the plastic work per unit crack extension is included in the calculation of the total energy release rate. The resulting numerical method is presented in algorithmic form and two example problems are solved to demonstrate its application. The two example problems represent unstable and stable crack propagations respectively. The results obtained lend insight into the effect of creep deformation on the initiation and growth of a crack.     

广义扩展有限元法及其在裂纹扩展分析中的应用

结合广义有限元法(GFEM)和扩展有限元法(XFEM)的特点,提出了一种新的数值方法——广义扩展有限元法(GXFEM)。阐述了广义扩展有限元法的基本原理,对相关公式进行推导,探讨数值实施中需注意的重要问题,给出利用广义扩展有限元法进行断裂分析时应力强度因子的计算方法,编写了广义扩展有限元法程序。通过算例进行了应力强度因子的计算,模拟了结构裂纹的扩展过程。算例结果表明,利用广义扩展有限元法计算裂纹扩展问题,不需要进行过密的网格划分,且网格在裂纹扩展后无需重新剖分,具有相当高的计算精度。     

Two-dimensional fractal-like finite element method for thermoelastic crack analysis

The fractal-like finite element method has been proved to be very efficient and accurate in two-dimensional static and dynamic crack problems. In this paper, we extend our previous study to include the thermal effect for two-dimensional isotropic thermal crack problems. Both the temperature intensity factor and thermal stress intensity factor can be calculated directly. The temperature distribution is first found, which is imposed thereafter as a thermal load in the elastic problem. The transformation function used in the study has been found analytically. The effects of different thermal loading on the thermal stress intensity factor are presented. The numerical examples are compared with the results from other methods and find to be in good agreement.     

Photoelastic modeling of the fracture of viscoelastic orthotropic plates with a crack

The well-known equations of photoelasticity of linear viscoelastic bodies are used to describe the photoelastic behavior of a viscoelastic orthotropic plate with a crack. Expressions for the stress intensity factors (SIFs) at the crack tip are obtained using photoelastic measurements. The time dependence of the SIFs is analyzed and shown to be determined by the angles between directions of the crack and tension