A Robust Adaptive Mesh Generation Algorithm: A Solution for Simulating 2D Crack Growth Problems

This paper introduces a robust algorithm that efficiently generates high-quality unstructured triangular meshes to model complex two-dimensional crack growth problems within the framework of linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM). The proposed Visual Fortran code aims to address key challenges in mesh generation including geometric complexity, required simulation accuracy, and computational resource constraints. The algorithm incorporates adaptive refinement and updates to the mesh structure near the crack tip, resulting in the formation of rosette elements that provide accurate approximations of stress intensity factors (SIFs). By utilizing the maximum circumferential stress theory, the algorithm predicts the new crack path based on these SIFs. Throughout the simulation of crack propagation, a node splitting approach was employed to represent the progression of the crack, while the crack growth path is determined by successive linear extensions for each crack growth increment. To compute stress intensity factors (SIFs) for each increment of crack extension, a displacement extrapolation method was used. The experimental and numerical results demonstrated the algorithm’s effectiveness in accurately predicting crack growth and facilitating reliable stress analysis for complex crack growth problems in two dimensions. The obtained results for the SIF were found to be consistent with other analytical solutions for standard geometries.