This study assesses the combined in-plane tensile/shear failure of aluminum plates containing notches. With this aim, a numerical method, i.e., the so-called equivalent material concept (EMC) in association with the extended finite element method (XFEM), is introduced to simulate the fracture phenomenon. The predicted failure load, initiation angle, and growth path are compared to experimental results reported for aluminum alloys in the literature to evaluate the functionality of the proposed method. Also, the accuracy of the EMC-XFEM model was compared to the conventional Ductile Damage method. The EMC-XFEM combined model is found to be fast and robust with appropriate accuracy in fracture predictions of ductile samples in comparison with the elastoplastic damage model and experimental data.