3-D simulation of arbitrary crack growth using an energy-based formulation – Part I: Planar growth

•A new energy-based method for predicting 3-D, crack-shape evolution.•An influence function is used to account for interactions along the crack front.•Point-by-point crack front extensions are calculated, rather than prescribed.•A geometrically explicit crack front representation reduces mesh biased growth.

A finite-element-based simulation technique has been developed to predict arbitrary shape evolution of 3-D, geometrically explicit, planar cracks under stable growth conditions. Point-by-point extensions along a crack front are predicted using a new, energy-based growth formulation that relies on a first-order expansion of the energy release rate. The crack-growth formulation is incorporated into an incremental-iterative solution procedure that continually updates the crack configuration by re-meshing. The numerical technique allows crack shapes to evolve according to energy-based mechanics, while reducing the effects of computational artifacts, e.g. mesh bias. Three crack growth simulations are presented as verification of the new simulation technique.