Numerical modeling of crack propagation with dynamic insertion of cohesive elements

•Mesh-independent crack propagation under mixed-mode loading was achieved.•The method shows robustness and accuracy in terms of crack path.•The method allows an accurate modeling of the energy dissipation rate.•The methodology was implemented in a C++ in-house finite element library (CimLib). One of the most challenging issues in computational fracture mechanics is the propagation of a crack through a finite element mesh for arbitrary crack paths. In this work, this problem is approached by means of an advanced remeshing technique that propagates a crack using cohesive elements. The crack direction is computed using the maximal energy release rate criterion which is implemented using finite elements and the Gθ method. The remeshing procedure used here is composed of two stages. In the first step, a conforming mesh is obtained in the computed crack direction, ensuring that edges are placed over the sought direction. In the second stage, cohesive elements are dynamically inserted at the conforming edges previously remeshed. The combination of this remeshing technique with dynamic insertion of cohesive elements, leads to a mesh-independent crack propagation method. The effects of different numerical and physical parameters regarding the crack path and fracture energy is investigated.