Three-dimensional fracture and fatigue crack propagation analysis in structures with multiple cracks

A methodology is presented for fracture and fatigue crack growth simulations of multiple cracks. Computed stress intensity factors and a crack growth law are used to predict incremented positions of crack front nodes. The procedure is repeated until failure criterion is reached. The cases presented in this study include structures containing two or more cracks which propagate, coalesce or grow as planar and non-planar cracks. Comparisons of results with literature data shows excellent agreement. Therefore, it is concluded that the presented procedure can be used to accurately to assess fatigue crack propagation behavior of structures with multiple three-dimensional cracks. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.