Abstract:

To overcome the shortcoming of traditional finite element method(FEM) in the numerical calculation of fracture parameters of the complex structure, a new virtual crack closure technique was proposed based on wavelet FEM in the numerical calculation of the fracture mechanics. In this method, the dummy node fracture elements are embedded in the wavelet finite element model with cracks, the energy release rates and the stress intensity factors are calculated by the virtual crack closure technique. The calculated results were compared with those by the traditional FEM and software ANSYS.The comparison results show that two calculations by wavelet FEM are consistent with those by the traditional FEM and ANSYS with a relative error less than 3%. The proposed method is characterized by higher accuracy and less calculation elements, provides a new way for engineering fracture analysis of the complex structure.

Key words: solid mechanics, wavelet finite element method, dummy node fracture element, crack, virtual crack closure technique