Hello All,

As you know, engineers are under increasing pressure to improve and extend the operating life of structural components. Abaqus FEA provides proven robust capabilities for modeling bulk fracture and crack propagation in many materials. One of the newest techniques available in Abaqus is the eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM) whose advantages over alternative approaches include mesh independent crack definition, improved convergence rates for stationary cracks, simplified mesh refinement studies and more!

Even though a crack modeled using XFEM is independent of the finite element mesh, Abaqus/Viewer enables cracks to be visualized as shown above. Recently, SIMULIA hosted an eSeminar that focused on basic concepts of XFEM in Abaqus, damage modeling and the creation of an XFEM fracture model. If you were unable to watch the live eSeminar, please visit the SIMULIA Resource Center to view the recording or check out my previous blog post: XFEM Analysis of a Plate with an Edge Crack for more information.