An efficient dual boundary element technique for a two-dimensional fracture problem with multiple cracks

An efficient dual boundary element technique for the analysis of a two-dimensional finite body with multiple cracks is established. In addition to the displacement integral equation derived for the outer boundary, since the relative displacement of the crack surfaces is adopted in the formulation, only the traction integral equation is established on one of the crack surfaces. For each crack, a virtual boundary is devised and connected to one of the crack surfaces to construct a closed integral path. The rigid body translation for the domain enclosed by the closed integral path is then employed for evaluating the hypersingular integral. To solve the dual displacement/traction integral equations simultaneously, the constant and quadratic isoparametric elements are taken to discretize the closed integral paths/crack surfaces and the outer boundary, respectively. The present method has distinct computational advantages in solving a fracture problem which has arbitrary numbers, distributions, orientations and shapes of cracks by a few boundary elements. Several examples are analysed and the computed results are in excellent agreement with other analytical or numerical solutions.     

A three-dimensional boundary element formulation for the elastoplastic analysis of cracked bodies

In this paper a general boundary element formulation for the three-dimensional elastoplastic analysis of cracked bodies is presented. The non-linear formulation is based on the Dual Boundary Element Method. The continuity requirements of the field variables are fulfilled by a discretization strategy that incorporates continuous, semi-discontinuous and discontinuous boundary elements as well as continuous and semi-discontinuous domain cells. Suitable integration procedures are used for the accurate integration of the Cauchy surface and volume integrals. The explicit version of the initial strain formulation is used to satisfy the non-linearity. Several examples are presented to demonstrate the application of the proposed method. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An indirect boundary element method for three-dimensional dynamic fracture mechanics

Indirect boundary element methods (fictitious load and displacement discontinuity) have been developed for the analysis of three-dimensional elastostatic and elastodynamic fracture mechanics problems. A set of boundary integral equations for fictitious loads and displacement discontinuities have been derived. The stress intensity factors were obtained by the stress equivalent method for static loading. For dynamic loading the problem was studied in Laplace transform space where the numerical calculation procedure, for the stress intensity factor K_I(p), is the same: as that for the static problem. The Durbin inversion method for Laplace transforms was used to obtain the stress intensity factors in the time domain K_I(t). Results of this analysis are presented for a square bar, with either a rectangular or a circular crack, under static and dynamic loads.     

Dual boundary element method for anisotropic dynamic fracture mechanics

In this work, the dual boundary element method formulation is developed for effective modelling of dynamic crack problems. The static fundamental solutions are used and the domain integral, which comes from the inertial term, is transformed into boundary integrals using the dual reciprocity technique. Dynamic stress intensity factors are computed from crack opening displacements. Comparisons are made with quasi‐isotropic as well as anisotropic results, using the sub‐region technique. Several examples are presented to assess the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A variational technique for boundary element analysis of 3D fracture mechanics weight functions: static

The dual boundary element method coupled with the weight function technique is developed for the analysis of three-dimensional elastostatic fracture mechanics mixed-mode problems. The weight functions used to calculate the stress intensity factors are defined by the derivatives of traction and displacement for a reference problem. A knowledge of the weight functions allows the stress intensity factors for any loading on the boundary to be calculated by means of a simple boundary integration without singularities. Values of mixed-mode stress intensity factors are presented for an edge crack in a rectangular bar and a slant circular crack embedded in a cylindrical bar, for both uniform tensile and pure bending loads applied to the ends of the bars. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hyper-singular boundary element method for elastoplastic fracture mechanics analysis with large deformation

In this paper a two-dimensional hyper-singular boundary element method for elastoplastic fracture mechanics analysis with large deformation is presented. The proposed approach incorporates displacement and the traction boundary integral equations as well as finite deformation stress measures, and general crack problems can be solved with single-region formulations. Efficient regularization techniques are applied to the corresponding singular terms in displacement, displacement derivatives and traction boundary integral equations, according to the degree of singularity of the kernel functions. Within the numerical implementation of the hyper-singular boundary element formulation, crack tip and corners are modelled with discontinuous elements. Fracture measures are evaluated at each load increment, using the J-integral. Several cases studies with different boundary and loading conditions have been analysed. It has been shown that the new singularity removal technique and the non-linear elastoplastic formulation lead to accurate solutions.     

The perturbation method and the extended finite element method. An application to fracture mechanics problems

The extended finite element method has been successful in the numerical simulation of fracture mechanics problems. With this methodology, different to the conventional finite element method, discretization of the domain with a mesh adapted to the geometry of the discontinuity is not required. On the other hand, in traditional fracture mechanics all variables have been considered to be deterministic (uniquely defined by a given numerical value). However, the uncertainty associated with these variables (external loads, geometry and material properties, among others) it is well known. This paper presents a novel application of the perturbation method along with the extended finite element method to treat these uncertainties. The methodology has been implemented in a commercial software and results are compared with those obtained by means of a Monte Carlo simulation.     

Dual boundary element analysis of closed cracks

A two-dimensional boundary element method for analysis of closed or partially closed cracks under normal and frictional forces is developed. The single domain dual formulation is used. As a contact problem is non-linear due to the friction phenomena at the crack interface and also because of the boundary conditions which may change during the loading, it is formulated in an incremental and iterative fashion. The stress intensity factors are calculated with the J-integral method. Also crack growth is considered. Several benchmark cases have been analysed to verify the results given by the method. The stress intensity factors and crack paths calculated are similar to those given in the literature. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A time‐dependent formulation of dual boundary element method for 3D dynamic crack problems

In this paper, the dual boundary element method in time domain is developed for three‐dimensional dynamic crack problems. The boundary integral equations for displacement and traction in time domain are presented. By using the displacement equation and traction equation on crack surfaces, the discontinuity displacement on the crack can be determined. The integral equations are solved numerically by a time‐stepping technique with quadratic boundary elements. The dynamic stress intensity factors are calculated from the crack opening displacement. Several examples are presented to demonstrate the accuracy of this method. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd     

A semi-analytic boundary element method for parabolic problems

A new semi-analytic solution method is proposed for solving linear parabolic problems using the boundary element method. This method constructs a solution as an eigenfunction expansion using separation of variables. The eigenfunctions are determined using the dual reciprocity boundary element method. This separation of variables-dual reciprocity method (SOV-DRM) allows a solution to be determined without requiring either time-stepping or domain discretisation. The accuracy and computational efficiency of the SOV-DRM is found to improve as time increases. These properties make the SOV-DRM an attractive technique for solving parabolic problems.     

Stiffened cracked plates analysis by dual boundary element method

In this paper a boundary element formulation for analysis of shear deformable stiffened cracked plates is presented. By coupling boundary element formulation of shear deformable plate and two dimensional plane stress elasticity, dual boundary integral equations are presented. The interaction forces between stiffeners and the plate are treated as line distributed body forces along the attachment. Both concentric and eccentric stiffeners have been considered. Rectangular stiffened plate containing a single crack and double cracks subjected to uniform distributed moment on the crack surface and uniform shear load on the plate are analysed by the proposed method. Good agreement has been achieved compared with analytical solutions.     

Stress analysis with arbitrary body force by boundary element method

Linear stress analysis without body force can be easily carried out by means of the boundary element method. Some cases of linear stress analysis with body force can also be solved without the domain integral. However domain integrals are generally necessary to solve the linear stress problems with complicated body forces. This paper shows that the linear stress problems with complicated body forces can be solved approximately without the domain integral. In order to solve these problems, the domain is divided into small areas using contour lines of body force. In these areas, the distributions of body force are assumed approximately to satisfy the Laplace equation.     

Design sensitivity analysis in large deformation elasto‐plastic and elasto‐viscoplastic problems

Implicit time integration algorithm derived by Simo for his large‐deformation elasto‐plastic constitutive model is generalized, for the case of isotropy and associative flow rule, towards viscoplastic material behaviour and consistently differentiated with respect to its input parameters. Combining it with the general formulation of design sensitivity analysis (DSA) for non‐linear finite element transient equilibrium problem, we come at a numerically efficient, closed‐form finite element formulation of DSA for large deformation elasto‐plastic and elasto‐viscoplastic problems, with various types of design variables (material constants, shape parameters). The paper handles several specific issues, like the use of a non‐algorithmic coefficient matrix or sensitivity discontinuities at points of instantaneous structural stiffness change. Computational examples demonstrate abilities of the formulation and quality of results. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using the boundary element method to solve rolling contact problems

A new approach to steady-state rolling, with and without force transmission, based on the boundary element method is presented. The proposed formulation solves the problem in a more general way than semi-analytical methods, with which it shares some approximations. The robustness and accuracy of the proposed method is reflected in the comparative analysis of the results obtained for three different types of rolling problems involving identical, dissimilar and tyred cylinders, respectively.     

A boundary element method for analysis of thermoelastic deformations in materials with temperature dependent properties

In this paper, the boundary element method (BEM) for solving quasi‐static uncoupled thermoelasticity problems in materials with temperature dependent properties is presented. The domain integral term, in the integral representation of the governing equation, is transformed to an equivalent boundary integral by means of the dual reciprocity method (DRM). The required particular solutions are derived and outlined. The method ensures numerically efficient analysis of thermoelastic deformations in an arbitrary geometry and loading conditions. The validity and the high accuracy of the formulation is demonstrated considering a series of examples. In all numerical tests, calculation results are compared with analytical and/or finite element method (FEM) solutions. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new generation of boundary element methods in fracture mechanics

In this paper the dual boundary element methods for the analysis of crack problems in fracture mechanics is presented. The formulations described include: elastostatic, thermoelastic, elastoplastic and elastodynamic. Also presented are formulations relating to anisotropic and concrete materials. Particular attention is given to crack growth modelling. Examples are presented to demonstrate the capability and robustness of this new generation of boundary element methods. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Iterative coupling algorithms for large multidomain problems with the boundary element method

A new parallel Robin-Robin adaptive iterative coupling algorithm with dynamic relaxation parameters is proposed for the boundary element method (BEM), and relaxation parameters are derived for other existing iterative coupling algorithms. The performances of the new algorithm and of the modified existing algorithms are investigated in terms of convergence properties with respect to the number of subdomains, mesh density, interface mesh conformity, and BEM element types. Results show that the number of subdomains and the refinement level of the mesh are the two dominant factors affecting the performances of the considered algorithms. The proposed parallel Robin-Robin algorithm shows the best overall convergence behavior for the tested large problems, thanks to its effectiveness in handling complex boundary conditions and large number of subdomains, thus resulting to be very promising for efficient parallel BEM computing and large coupling problems. Source code is available at https://github.com/BinWang0213/PyBEM2D .     

Stochastic spline fictitious boundary element method in elastostatic problems with random fields

Mathematical formulation and computational implementation of the stochastic spline fictitious boundary element method (SFBEM) are presented for the analysis of plane elasticity problems with material parameters modeled with random fields. Two sets of governing differential equations with respect to the means and deviations of structural responses are derived by including the first order terms of deviations. These equations, being in similar forms to those of deterministic elastostatic problems, can be solved using deterministic fundamental solutions. The calculation is conducted with SFBEM, a modified indirect boundary element method (IBEM), resulting in the means and covariances of responses. The proposed method is validated by comparing the solutions obtained with Monte Carlo simulation for a number of example problems and a good agreement of results is observed.     

Dual boundary element method for three-dimensional thermoelastic crack problems

This paper describes the formulation and numerical implementation of the three-dimensional dual boundary element method (DBEM) for the thermoelastic analysis of mixed-mode crack problems in linear elastic fracture mechanics. The DBEM incorporates two pairs of independent boundary integral equations; namely the temperature and displacement, and the flux and traction equations. In this technique, one pair is applied on one of the crack faces and the other pair on the opposite one. On non-crack boundaries, the temperature and displacement equations are applied. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A fast dual boundary element method for 3D anisotropic crack problems

In the present paper a fast solver for dual boundary element analysis of 3D anisotropic crack problems is formulated, implemented and tested. The fast solver is based on the use of hierarchical matrices for the representation of the collocation matrix. The admissible low rank blocks are computed by adaptive cross approximation (ACA). The performance of ACA against the accuracy of the adopted computational scheme for the evaluation of the anisotropic kernels is investigated, focusing on the balance between the kernel representation accuracy and the accuracy required for ACA. The system solution is computed by a preconditioned GMRES and the preconditioner is built exploiting the hierarchical arithmetic and taking full advantage of the hierarchical format. The effectiveness of the proposed technique for anisotropic crack problems has been numerically demonstrated, highlighting the accuracy as well as the significant reduction in memory storage and analysis time. In particular, it has been numerically shown that the computational cost grows almost linearly with the number of degrees of freedom, obtaining up to solution speedups of order 10 for systems of order 10⁴. Moreover, the sensitivity of the performance of the numerical scheme to materials with different degrees of anisotropy has been assessed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.