COMPUTATIONAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES TO DEMONSTRATE ACCURACY OF CRACK3D Delivery Order 0001: Stable Tearing Predictions Using Large Deformation Kinematics and General 3D Crack Growth Algorithms Under Mixed Mode Loading Conditions

An important task in mixed-mode fracture analysis and prediction is the simulation of crack growth under mixed-mode conditions. To complete such a task, one must have (a) a computer code capable of handling the kinematics of general crack growth and determining the stress and deformation states during crack growth, and (b) a fracture criterion that can properly predict the instant and direction of crack growth. A current challenge is the simulation of mixed-mode crack growth under threedimensional (3D) conditions, such as the growth of surface cracks, corner cracks, embedded cracks, and cracks with a curved crack surface and/or a curved crack front. This section addresses item (a) in the above discussion and describes the computational aspects of a simulation procedure and associated algorithms for simulating arbitrary 3D crack growth under general loading conditions, which have been developed and successfully implemented by the authors in a custom, finite element based, crack growth analysis and simulation code— CRACK3D. In particular, this paper will present strategies for automatic re-meshing of regions around growing crack fronts in a 3D body, and will discuss verification examples.