An interactive approach to local remeshing around a propagating crack

Abstract

When performing a finite element analysis of a discrete crack propagating through a structure, one must modify the element mesh to reflect the current configuration of the crack. This can be a tedious and time consuming task if the analyst must create a new finite element mesh at each crack step manually. It is much more desirable to have a computer automatically remesh the problem every time the crack is lengthened. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to produce an algorithm which will produce a satisfactory mesh for all structures for all crack configurations. An approach to overcoming this difficulty is to allow the computer to make its best try at remeshing the problem and then, through the use of computer graphics, show those results to the analyst. At this point, the analyst can accept the mesh created by the computer or he can, through the use of interactive graphics, indicate to the computer the parts of the mesh that are unsatisfactory and allow the computer to try again. This process can be repeated until a satisfactory mesh is created. This strategy was implemented in the FRANC (FRacture ANalysis Code) program and is described by means of an example problem in this paper.