A comparative study on finite elements for capturing strong discontinuities: E-FEM vs X-FEM

A comparative study on finite elements for capturing strong discontinuities by means of elemental (E-FEM) or nodal enrichments (XFEM) is presented. Based on the same constitutive model (continuum damage) and linear elements (triangles and tetrahedra) optimized implementations of both types of enrich...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Oliver, J., Huespe, Alfredo Edmundo, Sánchez, Pablo Javier
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2006
País:Argentina
Recursos:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/26356
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/26356
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Finite Elements with Embedded Discontinuities
E-Fem
X-Fem
Computational Material Failure
Strong Discontinuities
Descrição
Resumo:A comparative study on finite elements for capturing strong discontinuities by means of elemental (E-FEM) or nodal enrichments (XFEM) is presented. Based on the same constitutive model (continuum damage) and linear elements (triangles and tetrahedra) optimized implementations of both types of enrichments in the same non-linear code are tested for a representative set of 2D and 3D crack propagation examples. It is shown that both methods provide the same qualitative and quantitative results for enough refined meshes. For the performed tests, E-FEM exhibited, in general, a higher accuracy, mostly for coarse meshes, whereas, convergence rate with mesh refinement, which is super-linear, showed slightly higher for X-FEM. As for the computational costs for single crack modelling X-FEM showed, depending on the case, from 1.1 to about 2.5 times more expensive than E-FEM. For multiple cracks, the computational cost of E-FEM keeps constant, whereas the cost associated to X-FEM increases linearly with the number of modelled cracks.