ANALYSIS OF CRACK GROWTHS IN ABAQUS USING XFEM

Abstract

The purpose of this Thesis was to present a simulation modelling of a crack propagation trajectory by the extended finite element method (XFEM), in linear elastic material and investigate the effects of the existence of a hole on fatigue crack growth under constant amplitude loading on a compact tension (CT) specimen. CT specimen used is made of Aluminium 5086 which is tested for three cases, first the trajectory of the crack is studied in absence of any discontinuity (hole), then the specimen is modified with different hole positions to understand the effect on crack path. The experiments were conducted on MTS-810 100KN servo hydraulic fatigue testing machine, According to the hole position, the results demonstrate that the fatigue crack grows towards the hole due to the unbalanced stresses on the hole induced crack tip. The results of this simulation are verified in terms of crack growth paths with several fatigue crack growth experiments showing consistent results.