3D MODELING OF DAMAGE GROWTH AND DUCTILE CRACK PROPAGATION USING ADAPTIVE FEM TECHNIQUE

In this paper, the continuum damage mechanics model originally proposed by Lemaitre [1] is presented through an adaptive finite element method for three-dimensional ductile materials. The macro-crack initiation-propagation criterion is used based on the distribution of damage variable in the continuum damage model. The micro-crack closure effect is incorporated to simulate the damage evolution more realistic. The Zienkiewicz-Zhu posteriori error estimator is employed in conjunction with a weighted superconvergence patch recovery (SPR) technique at each patch to improve the accuracy of error estimation and data transfer process. Finally, the robustness and accuracy of proposed computational algorithm is demonstrated by a 3D numerical example.