An elastoplastic cracked-beam finite element for structural analysis

A finite element model has been developed in this paper to analyse statically indeterminate skeletal cracked structures. The model is based on elastic-plastic fracture mechanics techniques in order to consider the crack tip plasticity in the analysis. Stiffness matrices for single-edge and double-edge cracked structural elements have been derived using transfer matrix theory. These matrices take into account the effects of axial, flexural and shear deformations due to crack presence. The present model has been applied to investigate the effects of crack size, structure cross-section depth and crack tip plasticity on the redistribution of internal forces in structures. Hence, this analysis can be employed to identify the overstressed regions in cracked structures.