Cohesive crack propagation simulated by different SGFEM strategies

The present work aims to evaluate the performance of the Stable Generalized Finite Element Method (SGFEM), a relatively new approach that derives from a simple modification of enrichment functions used in Generalized/eXtended Finite Element Method (G/XFEM), in the analysis of a three-point bending test. For this, different crack propagation simulations are performed using the standard Heaviside Function, its linear modification as proposed by Gupta et al. [1] and a version that employs a stabilization parameter, presented in Wu and Li [2]. A cohesive crack model is considered and linear elastic material is assumed for the numerical experiments. Equilibrium paths, as well as the scaled condition numbers (SCNs), calculated at each step, are evaluated by SGFEM and compared with the results obtained by G/XFEM. This work is related to a proposal of expansion of the INSANE (INteractive Structural ANalysis Environment) system, an open source project developed at the Structural Engineering Department of the Federal University of Minas Gerais. This platform has enabled the resources that allowed the analysis and discussions carried out in this work.