EXTENDED FINITE ELEMENT METHOD BASED ON ABAQUS

A virtual node method for coupling the eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM) with commercial finite element software ABAQUS is presented. The relationship between the subdomain integration and the Heaviside function is formulated, and a subtriangle integration algorithm is improved. The brittle fracture process of a 3-point bending beam was simulated. The computational results demonstrate the capacity of the presented method to simulate the moving discontinuities. Crack path is not necessary to coincide with element boundaries in XFEM and re-meshing can be avoided. The coupling with commercial finite element software proposes an efficient way for solving practical complex problem using XFEM.