Structural Engineering and Mechanics
Volume 50, Number 5, 2014, pages 665-677
DOI: 10.12989/sem.2014.50.5.665
Energy release rate for kinking crack using mixed finite element
Bouziane Salah, Bouzerd Hamoudi, Boulares Noureddine and Guenfoud Mohamed
Abstract
A numerical method, using a special mixed finite element associated with the virtual crack extension technique, has been developed to evaluate the energy release rate for kinking cracks. The element is two dimensional 7-node mixed finite element with 5 displacement nodes and 2 stress nodes. The mixed finite element ensures the continuity of stress and displacement vectors on the coherent part and the free edge effect. This element has been formulated starting from a parent element in a natural plane with the aim to model different types of cracks with various orientations. Example problems with kinking cracks in a homogeneous material and bimaterial are presented to assess the computational accuracies.
Key Words
mixed finite element; kinking crack; energy release rate; virtual crack extension technique; bimaterial
Address
Bouziane Salah, Bouzerd Hamoudi, Boulares Noureddine : Department of Civil Engineering, University of 20 August 1955 Skikda, Skikda, Algeria
Guenfoud Mohamed : Laboratory of Civil Engineering and Hydraulics, University of Guelma, Guelma, Algeria