Numerical Solutions of Mixed Mode Dynamic Fracture in Concrete using Element-Free Galerkin Methods

The numerical computation of dynamic crack growth is a challenging problem which is of importance to the prediction of ultimate capacities and failure of structures. However, while substantial success has been achieved in modeling rectilinear crack growth by finite elements [1, 2], the solution of problems with arbitrary crack growth has proven very difficult. We have recently demonstrated that the element-free Galerkin method is well suited to the problem of modeling or simulating arbitrary dynamic crack propagation in two dimensions [3, 4].