Customer Training Material

Workshop: Fracture Mechanics

Fracture Analysis of a 2D Cracked Specimen using Pre-Meshed Crack

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

May 10, 2013

Problem Description
Problem Description
This tutorial illustrates a fracture analysis of a 2D cracked specimen
under a tensile load. The crack is modeled at the geometry
level and the appropriate mesh controls are already defined.
The fracture parameters are post-processed using a J-Integral
and Stress intensity factors and compare them for plane strain
model.

Features Illustrated
Restoring archive.
Engineering Data.
Nodal named selections.
Coordinate systems.
Crack definition.
Fracture Results.
Charting.

Procedure
1. Restore the project archive.
a. Start ANSYS Workbench.
b. Select File > Restore Archive.
c. Browse to open 2D Cracked Specimen.wbpz.
d. Save the project in the desired directory.

Procedure
2. Check the material properties in Engineering Data.
a. In the Static Structural schematic, right-click the Engineering Data cell and choose Edit.
The Engineering Data opens and displays the material windows.
b. Have a look on the defined material Test Material

b
5

Procedure
3. Prepare the analysis in the Mechanical Application.
a. In the Static Structural schematic, right-click the Model cell, and then choose Edit. The
Mechanical Application opens and displays the model.
b. For convenience, use the Rotate and Zoom toolbar buttons to manipulate the model
so it displays as shown below.

Note: Geometry and mesh controls have already been defined in the project. The geometry
consists of two parts that represent the two different sides of the crack.

Procedure
4. Create Mesh Connections.
a. Select the Connections object in the Tree Outline.
b. Insert a Connection Group object into the Tree by right-clicking the Connections object
and selecting Insert > Connection Group.
c. Insert a Mesh Connection object into the Tree by right-clicking the Connection Group
object and selecting Insert > Manual Mesh Connection.

a, b

Procedure
4. Create Mesh Connections.
Continued
d.On the Graphics toolbar, select the Edge button to toggle Edge selection mode.
e.In the Graphics window, select the edge in bottom right-hand corner of the upper
part.
(Toggle between the selection panes to select the edge for the correct part (outlined
in the circle), They are colour coded base on the part colour. The selection pane with
red outline is the current selection)
f. In the Details view, for Master Geometry, click Apply.

f
8

Procedure
4. Create Mesh Connections.

Continued

g. In the Graphics window, select the corresponding edge belonging to the bottom part.
h. In the Details view, for Slave Geometry, click Apply.

Procedure
4. Create Mesh Connections.

Continued

i. Repeat Procedure steps c to h, two times to connect the edges couples that
correspond to the regions B and C where the mesh needs to be connected.

Region C

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Region B

Note: You may want to Tolerance Value for Region C from default to 4.50 E-03.
This will actually not affect our model in any way but will create a display similar to the one shown above.

Procedure
5. Generate mesh.
a. Select the Mesh object in the Tree Outline. Note that some mesh controls are already
defined in the model.
b. Right-click the Mesh object and select Generate Mesh.

11

Procedure
6. Create a coordinate system.
a. In the Project Outline, select Coordinate System.
b. Right-click and select Insert > Coordinate System.
c. On the Graphics toolbar, select the Vertex button to toggle Vertex selection mode.
d. In the Graphics window, select the vertex in the middle of the left hand side of the
structure.
e. In the Details view, for Geometry, click Apply.

a, b

d
e

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Procedure
7. Create nodal named selections.
a. In the Tree Outline, right-click Model and select Insert>Named Selection.
b. In the Graphics window, select the crack front extremity.
c. In the Details pane, for Geometry, click Apply.
d. The named selection is created for the selected vertex.
e. In the Tree Outline, under Named Selections, right-click the new named selection and
select Rename.
f. Enter crack_front as the name.

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e, f

Procedure
7. Create nodal named selections.

Continued

g. Right-click the crack_front named selection and select Create Nodal Named Selection.
h. In the Tree Outline, under Named Selections, right-click the new named selection and
select Rename.
i. Enter crack_node as the name.

h, i

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Procedure
8. Define the crack.
a. Insert a Pre-Meshed Crack object into the Tree by right-clicking the Fracture object and
selecting Insert > Pre-Meshed Crack.
b. In the Details View, for Crack Tip (Named Selection), select the crack_node nodal
named selection.
c. For Coordinate System, select the coordinate system you previously defined.
d. For Solution Contours, set the value to 6.
e. Leave the Suppressed value set to No.

b
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Procedure
9. Apply loads.
a.From the main menu, choose Units> Metric (mm, kg, N, s, mV, mA).
b.In the Tree Outline, select Static Structural.
c.From the Environment Context toolbar, select Loads > Pressure.
d.In the Graphics toolbar, select the Edge button.
e.In the Graphics window, select the Top edge.
f.In the Details view, for Geometry, click Apply.
d
g.Apply Pressure in Y component as 100 MPa

f
g

16

9. Apply loads.
Similarly following the step in previous slide apply pressure of
100MPa on the bottom edge as shown

17

Procedure
10. Solve.
a. In the Tree Outline, under Static Structural, select Analysis Settings.
b. Under Solver Controls, set Fracture to On.
c. Click Solve.

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Procedure
11. Define J Integral results.
a. In the Tree Outline, right-click on Solution and select Insert > Fracture Tool.
b. In the Details view, for Crack Selection, select Pre-Meshed Crack.
c. Right-click the Fracture Tool folder and select J-Integral (JINT), or select the Fracture
d.

Tool folder and, from the Fracture Tool toolbar, select J-Integral (JINT).
In the Tree Outline, right-click the Fracture Tool object and select Evaluate All Results.

d
b

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Procedure
11. Define Stress Intensity Factors (SIFS).
a.
b.
c.
d.

In the Tree Outline, right-click on Solution and select Insert > Fracture Tool.
In the Details view, for Crack Selection, select Pre-Meshed Crack.
Right-click the Fracture Tool folder and select SIFS Results (SIFS K1)
In the Tree Outline, right-click the Fracture Tool object and select Evaluate All Results.

d
b

a
c

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Comparing SIFS and J- Integral

You can compare SIFS and J-integral values using the equation below.

K 2 (1 2 ) : for plane strain conditions near crack tip

J =G =
E
Where J= J-Integral
K= SIFS (Stress Intensity Factors)
E= 2e11 Mpa
= 0.3333

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End of tutorial
You have completed the fracture analysis for 2-d Premeshed crack
And accomplished the overall objective for this tutorial.

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