Correction of incompleteness of XFEM approximation (2nd report: Application to fracture mechanics)

In the application of the XFEM to the fracture mechanics, the complex remeshing procedures can be avoided. It was however reported that the lack of accuracy is caused by the incompleteness of the XFEM approximation called as 'the problem of blending elements'. In order to solve the problem, the general form of the PU-XFEM was presented in our previous study by the redefinition of the XFEM approximation as the exact development of the PUFEM approximation. In the present paper, the PU-XFEM is applied to the two-dimensional linear fracture mechanics. The numerical accuracies are evaluated by using the models assuming the finite domains near the crack tip in the infinite plates. As the results of the evaluation, it is found that the incompleteness of the XFEM approximation in the application to the crack analyses is solved by the PU-XFEM.