A Revised Abaqus^® Procedure for Fracture Path Simulation Based on the Material Effort Criterion

Area of Science:

• Computational mechanics
• Materials science
• Geotechnical engineering

Background:

• Accurate simulation of material fracture is crucial for engineering design.
• Existing numerical methods may not fully capture complex crack propagation behaviors.
• Laboratory tests provide essential data for validating computational models.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of five distinct material failure criteria in simulating fracture.
• To implement and evaluate an enhanced extended finite element method (X-FEM) for crack propagation modeling.
• To assess the accuracy of simulated crack paths against experimental results.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Abaqus® finite element analysis (FEA) system.
• Implemented the Rankine, Coulomb-Mohr, Drucker-Prager, Ottosen-Podgórski, and Hoek-Brown failure criteria.
• Employed the extended finite element method (X-FEM) for modeling crack propagation in three laboratory tests: three-point bending of a notched beam, pull-out test of a self-undercutting anchor, and pull-out test of a bar in concrete.

Main Results:

• All five failure criteria produced comparable force-displacement relationships.
• The simulated crack path shapes were similar across the different criteria.
• The enhanced X-FEM procedure demonstrated significantly improved accuracy in predicting crack propagation paths compared to standard Abaqus® subroutines.
• Simulations closely matched real-world crack behaviors observed in the laboratory tests.

Conclusions:

• The study validates the use of multiple failure criteria within an X-FEM framework for fracture simulation.
• The enhanced X-FEM approach offers a more realistic and accurate method for modeling crack propagation in materials like sandstone and concrete.
• This improved simulation technique has significant implications for structural analysis and material design.