A cracked element based on the compliance concept

Cracking releases the strain energy and decreases the stiffness of structures. From the force formulation standpoint, it is equivalent to an increase in flexibility. This fact, which is called compliance concept, is the base of many special cracked finite elements. In this paper, a new element of this type is proposed. The suggested element is applicable to the plane problems with internal or edge non-propagating cracks. General quadrilateral geometry and consideration of the inclined cracks are the two major improvement of the presented formulation in comparison to the existing ones. Authors' element is applicable to the static and dynamic analysis of cracked problems. In addition, it is possible to compute stress intensity factors of the cracked structures using this element. Various numerical examples prove capabilities of the presented formulation.