XFEM Crack Initiation &

Propagation ACT App

david.roche@ansys.com

1 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Copyright and Trademark Information

Copyright and Trademark Information

© 2018 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use, distribution or duplication is prohibited.

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2 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Xfem Crack Initiation And Propagation
- Overview

• Name of the app: XfemInitiationAndPropagation

• Target application: Mechanical
• Description: Expose XFEM solver capabilities in Mechanical
application

Copyright and Trademark Information

© 2018 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use, distribution or duplication is prohibited.

3 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 ACT App Store

• https://appstore.ansys.com/shop/ACTApps_act%20apps
• Great place to get started
− A library of helpful extensions available to any ANSYS customer
− New extensions added regularly
− Applications made available in either binary format (.wbex file) or binary
plus scripted format (Python and XML files)
− Scripted extensions are great examples
− Documentation and training materials available on the ANSYS Customer
Portal:
https://support.ansys.com/AnsysCustomerPortal/en_us/Downloa
ds/ACT+Resources

4 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Information

• Please pay attention to paragraph 9 of the CLICKWRAP SOFTWARE

LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR ACS EXTENSIONS regarding TECHNICAL
ENHANCEMENTS AND CUSTOMER SUPPORT (TECS): “TECS is not
included with the Program(s)”

• Report any issue or provide feedback related to this app please

contact:
david.roche@ansys.com

5 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Binary App Installation (1)
Installing from the ACT Start Page:
1. From the project page, select the
“ACT Start Page” option
2. Click on “Extension Manager”
3. Press “+” symbol in the top right corner
4. It will open a file dialog to select the
appropriate “*.wbex” binary file
5. The extension is installed

Loading the extension:

1. From the Extension Manager,
click on your extension and choose
‘Load Extension’
2. The extension is loaded

Notes:
• The extension to be installed will be stored in the following location: %AppData%\Ansys\[version]\ACT\extensions
• The installation will create a folder in this location, in addition to the .wbex file
• Example for [version]: v180

6 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Binary App Installation (2)

Installing from the Extensions menu:

1. From the Extensions menu, select the “Install
Extension…” option
2. It will open a file dialog to select the appropriate
“*.wbex” binary file
3. Click “Open” to install the extension

Loading the extension:

1. From the Extension Manager,
click on your extension and choose ‘Load Extension’
2. The extension is loaded

Notes:
• The extension to be installed will be stored in the following location: %AppData%\Ansys\[version]\ACT\extensions
• The installation will create a folder in this location, in addition to the .wbex file

7 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Binary App Installation (3)
• Once the binary extension is installed at default location, one can move the *.wbex and the folder to any
other location
– Default path: %AppData%\Ansys\[version]\ACT\extensions
– New path: Any location on your machine, shared drive etc.

• All users interested in using the extension need to include that path in their Workbench Options
– In the “Tools” menu, select the “Options…”
– Select “Extensions” in the pop up panel
– Add the path under “Additional Extensions Folder …”

3
2
Define additional folders in which ACT
will search for extensions in order to
expose them in the Extension Manager

1
Notes:
• During the scan of the available extensions, the folders will be analyzed according to the following order:
1. The application data folder(e.g. %AppData%\Ansys\[version]\ACT\extensions)
2. The additional folders defined in the “Additional Extension Folders” property
3. The installation folder
4. The “extensions” folder part of the current Workbench project (if the project was previously saved with the extension)
• If an extension is available in more than one of these locations, the 1st one according to the scan order is used
8 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018
 XFEM Crack Initiation & Propagation ACT

• The ACT App allows to:

• Find the location of crack initiation based on principal stresses
• Perform static crack propagation
• Perform static crack propagation at a calculated initiation location
• Perform fatigue crack propagation (2D only)
• Perform fatigue crack propagation at a calculated initiation location (2D only)

9 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Load XFEM Crack Initiation & Propagation App

A new toolbar is then displayed in Mechanical Application:.

Crack Initiation
Static Crack Propagation Fatigue Crack Propagation Result
Static Crack Propagation Fatigue Crack Propagation
Based On Initiation Based On Initiation
Fatigue Crack Propagation

NOTE: linear elements must be used for XFEM analysis

10 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Crack Initiation Location

“XFEM Initiation Location” post processing object used to find the

location of the maximum stress criterion on the outer boundaries
elements and the principal stress orientation to use it in a downstream
propagation analysis.

11 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Static Crack Propagation
To set up a static crack propagation the “XFEM Static Propagation”
object can be used to define the crack location and the propagation
parameters using cohesive zone model.
The user have to define:
• Crack Geometry: initially cut elements
• Crack Propagation Zone: region in which the crack can propagate
• Crack Front: cut elements corresponding to the crack front

12 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Static Crack Propagation Based On
Initiation
To set up a static crack propagation the “XFEM Static Propagation Based
On Initiation” object can be used to define the crack location and the
propagation parameters using cohesive zone model. The crack is at a
calculated initiation location and perpendicular to the principal stress.

13 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Fatigue Crack Propagation (2D)
To set up a fatigue crack propagation the “XFEM Fatigue Propagation”
object can be used to define the crack location and the propagation
parameters using Paris law.
The user have to define:
• Crack Geometry: initially cut elements
• Crack Propagation Zone: region in which the crack can propagate
• Crack Front: cut elements corresponding to the crack front

14 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Fatigue Crack Propagation Based On
Initiation (2D)
To set up a fatigue crack propagation the “XFEM Fatigue Propagation
Based On Initiation” object can be used to define the crack location and
the propagation parameters using Paris law. The crack is at a calculated
initiation location and perpendicular to the principal stress.

15 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Fatigue Crack Propagation Result

For a fatigue crack propagation analysis “XFEM Fatigue Propagation

Result” can be used to plot the crack extension or the equivalent stress
intensity factor function of the number of fatigue cycles.

16 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Loads & propagation procedure

• For fatigue crack propagation it is important to use step

loads. Because Mechanical uses tabular data loads, it is
important to change the value of the load at time = 0s:

• For each substep the crack will grow of one element

ahead of the crack front, so increasing the number of
substeps will result in increasing the number of fatigue
cycles at the end of the loads step.

17 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 eXtended Finite Element Method
(XFEM) - Theory

18 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM)
• The eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM) is used to model cracks
and other discontinuities by enriching the degrees of freedom in the
model with additional displacement functions that account for the jump
in displacements across the discontinuity. The method is a good
engineering approach to crack-growth simulation and eliminates the
necessity of (re)meshing crack tip regions.

• Offers a way to model the cracks without explicitly meshing the crack
surfaces
• Allows for arbitrary crack growth within the existing mesh. No
morphing or remeshing is needed.
• Initial crack(s) must be present in the model and can be modeled as
traction free or with cohesive zone behavior.

19 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 How XFEM works?

• How to introduce a discontinuity inside an element?

➢ Heaviside step functions

20 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Level Set

• Describe the discontinuity surface by the iso-zero of a

level set (crack not defined explicitly in the mesh):
• Φ refers to the crack face side
• Ψ locates the crack front position
• Intersection of Φ and Ψ is the crack front Ψ=0

Φ=0

21 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 XFEM Overview

• The techniques used in XFEM can be broadly classified into the

following:
• Singularity-Based Approach: Accounts for crack tip singularities as well
as the jumps in displacements across the crack surfaces. Cracks may
terminate inside a finite element → used for fatigue propagation
• Phantom Node Method: Accounts for jumps in displacements across the
crack surfaces. Crack tip singularity is not taken into account. The crack
terminates at the edge (or face) of a finite element → used for static
propagation

22 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Static Propagation

23 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Phantom Node Method

• The phantom node method considers only the displacement jump

across the crack faces and ignores the crack tip singularity
contributions. By introducing phantom nodes superposed on the
parent element nodes, the displacement function can be rewritten in
terms of the displacements of the real nodes and the phantom nodes
as:

24 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 XFEM Static Propagation in ANSYS

• An XFEM-based crack-growth simulation uses:

• PLANE182 and SOLID185 elements.

• The CINT command to calculate the maximum
circumferential stress criterion as the crack
propagation criterion.
• The CGROW command to define the crack-growth set,
fracture criterion, and solution control parameters.

25 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 XFEM Static Crack-Growth Simulation
Process
• An XFEM crack-growth simulation is assumed to be linear quasi-
static. Following is the general process for performing the simulation:

1. Create a Finite Element Model with an Initial Crack (enrichment)

2. Define the Crack-Growth Criterion
3. Define the Decay of Stresses on the Newly Created Crack Segments
4. Specify Cohesive Zone Behavior on Initial Crack
5. Perform the Crack-Growth Criterion Evaluation
6. Perform the Crack-Growth Calculation

26 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Enrichment

• Define an enrichment region in the model associated with possible crack

propagation. The enrichment region will be enhanced with the additional
internal nodes necessary to carry the enriching displacement functions as
required. Multiple initial cracks can be defined in the region.
• The enrichment region should be limited, as the addition of extra internal
nodes in the model requires extra computational time.
• The enriched region can be associated with a name for identification:
• XFENRICH,EnrichmentID
• Define an element component in which the initial cracks are defined and
will possibly propagate:
• XFENRICH,EnrichmentID,CompName

27 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Enrichment

• The initial cracks specified in the enrichment region can be traction-free or

can have an associated cohesive zone behavior if necessary. Specify a
material ID that describes the cohesive zone behavior of the initial crack:
• XFENRICH,EnrichmentID,CompName,MAT_ID
• where MAT_ID is the material ID number describing the cohesive zone
behavior. If the material ID is not specified, the crack faces are assumed to be
traction-free.

28 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Level Set

• The level set method is used to define the location of the crack
in the finite element model. The crack geometry in an element is
defined by specifying two signed distance functions at the nodes of
the element. The two signed distance functions at the nodes
represent the position of the nodes from the crack surface and
from the crack front.
• XFDATA,LSM,ELEMNUM,NODENUM,PHI

29 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Static Crack-Growth Criterion

• A crack-growth criterion must be specified for newly cracked

cohesive segments to initiate ahead of the existing cracks. When
the critical value of the crack-growth criterion is reached ahead
of the crack, new cohesive segments are introduced in the
elements ahead of the current crack front. The crack segments
are such that they fully cut the elements ahead of the crack. The
crack propagates at the rate of only one element at a time.

30 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Static Crack-Growth Criterion
• The available crack-growth criteria are (CINT definition):
• STTMAX - Maximum circumferential stress criterion:
• The maximum circumferential stress criterion is based on evaluating the
maximum value of the circumferential stress σθθ when sweeping around the
crack tip.
• PSMAX - Circumferential stress criterion based on σrθ=0
• An alternative to the maximum circumferential stress criterion is to
evaluate the circumferential stress at a point where σrθ=0.
• Ideally, the maximum circumferential stress criterion and the
circumferential stress criterion based on yield the same result. Due to finite
element discretization, however, they may yield slightly different results.

31 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Static Crack-Growth Criterion

32 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Decay of Stresses on the Newly Created
Crack Segments
• When the cohesive segments are initiated, the cohesive stresses in
the crack segments gradually decrease to zero as the deformation
progresses.
• To define the rigid linear law, issue the TB,CGCR,,,,RLIN command.

33 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Cohesive Zone Behavior on Initial Crack

• Initial cracks in the model may or may not have cohesive behavior.
• Issue the TB,CZM,,,,BILI command, then specify the material constants
via the TBDATA command.
• Specify the material ID (MatID on the XFENRICH command) to invoke
the cohesive behavior on the initial crack.

•By default, the interaction between the crack surfaces is taken into
account using a simple penalty contact formulation in the normal
direction. The contact behavior is activated only when the crack surfaces
are assumed to be closed or penetrating. The crack faces are assumed to
be in frictionless contact.

34 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Static Crack Growth Behavior

• Definition of the initial crack

• Crack front cohesive zone
• Crack propagates
• …

35 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Fatigue Propagation

36 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 XFEM Fatigue Crack Growth

• The XFEM-based crack-growth simulation technique can also be

used to simulate fatigue crack growth in engineering structures. The
method offers a convenient engineering approach to model cracks
and fatigue crack propagation without resorting to actual modeling of
the cracks or remeshing of the crack-tip regions as the crack
propagates.
• Following are characteristics of the XFEM-based approach to
simulating fatigue crack growth:
• Uses singularity-based XFEM.
• Based on Paris' Law [1].
• Supports 2-D fatigue crack-growth simulation and linear elastic
isotropic materials only.
• Ignores deflection/rotation effects, crack tip plasticity effects, and
crack tip closure or compression effects.
37 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018
 XFEM Fatigue Crack Growth

• The crack-growth rate (crack growth per cycle) is defined as :

• The current implementation of fatigue crack-growth simulation in

Mechanical APDL is restricted to region II in the following figure:

38 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 XFEM Fatigue Crack Growth

• The variation in region II is typically described by Paris' Law:

• where the maximum circumferential stress criterion [3] is used to

define:

39 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Loading Types

• Only cyclic loadings of constant amplitudes are allowed,

as shown below:

Life Cycle Cycle-by-Cycle

40 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Life Cycle Method (LC)

• The LC method is typically used with constant-

amplitude cyclic loads.
• One element is cut ahead of the crack front at each
step, and number of incremental cycles is calculated by
the program based on the fatigue crack-growth law.

• In XFEM-based fatigue crack growth, the crack-

extension increment is restricted to the length of the
crack in the element ahead of the current crack tip. Crack
extension using the LC method always propagates the
crack one element at a time.

41 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Cycle-by-Cycle Method (CBC)

• The CBC method is suitable for variable-amplitude

cyclic loadings and overload simulations.
• The incremental cycles are user-specified, and the
crack-extension increment is calculated by the program
based on the fatigue crack-growth law.

• In XFEM-based fatigue crack growth, the calculated

crack-increment can result in partially cut elements. The
program does not modify the crack-propagation angle
until the element is fully cut.

42 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Singularity-Based Method

• In the singularity-based method, the crack is allowed to terminate

inside an element. The displacement functions in the FEM formulation
are enhanced by introducing additional enrichment functions that
capture the jump in displacement across the crack surface and also the
crack-tip singularities:

43 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Singularity Enrichment

• The enhancement radius applies only to the singularity-based XFEM.

• By default, the singularity functions apply to the crack-tip element only.
The crack-tip singularity does not affect the neighboring uncracked elements
surrounding the crack tip.
• You can account for the effects of the crack-tip singularity in a region
around the crack tip by specifying a radius within which the program includes
the singularity functions in the element formulation:

44 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 Level Set

• The level set method is used to define the location of the crack
in the finite element model. The crack geometry in an element is
defined by specifying two signed distance functions at the nodes of
the element. The two signed distance functions at the nodes
represent the position of the nodes from the crack surface and
from the crack front.
• XFDATA,LSM,ELEMNUM,NODENUM,PHI,PSI

45 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 XFEM Fatigue Propagation in ANSYS

• An XFEM-based crack-growth simulation uses:

• PLANE182 and SOLID185 elements.

• The CINT command to calculate the maximum
circumferential stress criterion as the crack
propagation criterion.
• The CGROW command to define the crack-growth set,
fracture criterion, and solution control parameters.

46 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 XFEM Crack-Growth Simulation Process

• An XFEM crack-growth simulation is assumed to be linear quasi-

static (fatigue not yet supported). Following is the general process for
performing the simulation:

1. Create a Finite Element Model with an Initial Crack (enrichment)

2. Define the Crack-Growth Criterion (Paris law)
3. Perform the Crack-Growth Criterion Evaluation
4. Perform the Crack-Growth Calculation

47 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018

 XFEM Fatigue Crack-Growth Assumptions
• The following assumptions and restrictions apply to XFEM-based fatigue
crack-growth simulation:
• The singularity-based XFEM method must be used for fatigue crack growth.
• Material behavior is assumed to be linear elastic isotropic.
• Plasticity effects, nonlinear geometry effects, load-compression effects, and crack-tip-
closure effects are not considered.
• The maximum allowable crack increment is limited by the crack length in the element
ahead of the tip. The minimum allowable crack increment must be smaller than the crack
length in the element ahead of the tip; if it is larger, the crack increment is limited to the
length of the crack in the element ahead of the tip.
• Crack-path deviation can occur only at element edges (or faces). Crack propagation
within an element occurs along a constant direction (determined when the element
begins to crack).
• For cracks with short kinks, the SIFs may be only approximately path-independent
(due to the limited number of contours that properly encompass the crack tip). This
behavior may affect crack-direction prediction.
48 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018
 Thank you

• ANSYS Inc
• David Roche
• david.roche@ansys.com

Copyright and Trademark Information

© 2018 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use, distribution or duplication is prohibited.

49 © 2018 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2018