SIMULATION OF THE CONCRETE CRACK PROPAGATION PROCESS WITH THE EXTENDED FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

The extended finite element method (XFEM) provides an effective way for the numerical simulation of the crack propagation process of structures. The implementation method for the numerical simulation of the crack propagation process of concrete structures with the extended finite element method is introduced. The fictitious crack model is adopted to simulate the concrete nonlinear fracture behaviour. The detailed formulations of a two-dimensional quadrilateral element for the finite element analysis are derived. Three schemes are employed to solve the nonlinear system of equations and their implementation procedures are analyzed and summarized. The numerical simulation of an edge-cracked uniaxial tensile concrete plate is conducted and the corresponding results are analyzed.