Cohesive crack propagation simulated by different SGFEM strategies

Resumo

The present work aims to evaluate the performance of the Stable Generalized Finite Element Method
(SGFEM), a relatively new approach that derives from a simple modification of enrichment functions used in
Generalized/eXtended Finite Element Method (G/XFEM), in the analysis of a three-point bending test. For this,

different crack propagation simulations are performed using the standard Heaviside Function, its linear modifica-
tion as proposed by Gupta et al. [1] and a version that employs a stabilization parameter, presented in Wu and

Li [2]. A cohesive crack model is considered and linear elastic material is assumed for the numerical experi-
ments. Equilibrium paths, as well as the scaled condition numbers (SCNs), calculated at each step, are evaluated

by SGFEM and compared with the results obtained by G/XFEM. This work is related to a proposal of expan-
sion of the INSANE (INteractive Structural ANalysis Environment) system, an open source project developed at

the Structural Engineering Department of the Federal University of Minas Gerais. This platform has enabled the
resources that allowed the analysis and discussions carried out in this work.