Implementation of Crack Problem of Functionally Graded Materials with ABAQUS™

An implementation method of the virtual crack closure technique (VCCT) for fracture problems of non-homogeneous materials such as functionally graded materials (FGMs) with commercial finite element software ABAQUS (TM) is introduced in this paper. In order to avoid the complex post proceeding to extract fracture parameters, the interface crack element based on the VCCT is developed. The heterogeneity of FGMs is characterized though user subroutine UMAT and the interface crack element is implemented by user subroutine UEL. Several examples are analyzed to demonstrate the accuracy of the present method.