A study about SIF estimation using XFEM

Resumo

The numerical approach to fracture mechanics has been a challenge in recent decades, especially for the
aeronautical and naval industry. In general, these problems involve discontinuities, singularities and high
gradients, becoming impracticable for being addressed by the classical finite element method (FEM) where one
faces significant precision losses and excessive remesh in the vicinity at the crack tip. In order to overcome these
difficulties, the eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM), has been developed to enhance the modeling of
discontinuities such as jumps, singularities and other non-smooth features. XFEM is a numerical technique that
extends the classic FEM, enriching the approximation space with information coming from asymptotic and other
solutions knowledge of the physics of the problem. The main objective of this work is to investigate the features
of the application of XFEM for LEFM problems in plane elasticity problems by numerical calculation the stress
intensity factor (SIF) using an approximate approach to obtain the J integral and then compare the stress intensity
factors with those available in the literature. For classic cases numerical results are close to the solutions available
in the literature.