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

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 approach which supports plastic material behavior.

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. This file is available on the ANSYS

Customer Portal; go tohttp://support.ansys.com/training.

d. Save the project in the desired directory.

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. Select the Structural Steel material and, in the Properties window, select the
Bilinear Isotropic Hardening law.
 c. Click on Return to Project on the main toolbar to go back to the project schematic.

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.

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.

d. On the Graphics toolbar, select the Edge button to toggle Edge selection mode.

e. In the Graphics window, select the edge in lower right-hand corner of the upper part.

f. In the Details view, for Master Geometry, click Apply.

g. In the Graphics window, select the corresponding edge belonging to the bottom part.

h. In the Details view, for Slave Geometry, click Apply.

 i. Repeat the last five steps two times to connect the edges couples that correspond to
the regions where the mesh needs to be connected.

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.

6. Create a coordinate system.

a. In the Details view, select Coordinate System.

b. Right-click and select Insert > Coordinate System, or from the Environment
Context toolbar, select Coordinate Systems> Coordinate System.

c. In the Graphics window, select the vertex in the middle of the left hand side of the
structure.

d. In the Details view, for Geometry, click Apply.

7. Create nodal named selections.

a. On the Graphics toolbar, select the Vertex button to toggle Vertex selection mode.
 b. In the Tree Outline, right-click Model and select Insert>Named Selection.

c. In the Graphics window, select the crack front extremity.

d. In the Details pane, for Geometry, click Apply.

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.

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.

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 Front (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 10.

e. Leave the Suppressed value set to No.

9. Apply loads.

a. From the Menu bar , choose Units> Metric (mm, kg, N, s, mV, mA).
b. In the Tree Outline, select Static Structural.

c. Right-click and select Insert>Displacement, or from the Environment Context

toolbar, select Supports > Displacement.

d. In the Graphics toolbar, select the Edge button.

e. In the Graphics window, select the bottom edge.

f. In the Details view, for Geometry, click Apply.

g. Select the Y Component and select Tabular.

h. In the Details view, change the Independent variable to X.

i. In the Tabular Data window, enter the evolution of Y Component against X

coordinates:

i. In the first row (1), for Y[mm], enter 0.4.

ii. In the second row (2), for X[mm], enter 10 and for Y[mm], enter 0.48.

j. In the Details view, change the X-Axis to Time.

k. In the Tabular Data window, enter the evolution of scale against time: In the first row
(1), for Scale, enter 0.

l. Repeat steps a through k to add an additional displacement:

Selected Independent Variable X: Tabular Data X-Axis Time: Tabular Data

Edge

Evolution of Y Component against X coordinates

Evolution of scale against time:

i. In the first row (1), forX[mm],
enter 0 and forY[mm], enter 0.7.
Top edge iii. In the first
row (1), forScale, enter 0.
ii. In the second row (2),
forX[mm], enter 10 and forY[mm],
enter 0.57.

b. In the Tree Outline, select Static Structural.

c. Right-click and select Insert>Displacement, or from the Environment Context

toolbar, select Supports > Displacement.

d. On the Graphics toolbar, select the Vertex button to toggle Vertex selection mode.

In the Graphics window, select the vertex in the middle of the right hand side of the
specimen.
 e. In the Details view, for Geometry, click Apply.

f. Select the X Component and select Tabular.

g. In the Details view, set X Component to 0.

Solve.

a. In the Tree Outline, under Static Structural, select Analysis Settings.

b. Under Step Controls, note that substeps have already been defined because due to
the plastic law the resolution will be nonlinear.

c. Under Solver Controls, set Fracture to On.

d. Click Solve.

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 Tool folder and, from the Fracture Tool toolbar, select J-Integral
(JINT).

d. In the Tree Outline, right-click the Fracture Tool object and select Evaluate All
Results.

View results.

a. Select the Equivalent Plastic Strain Results.

The plasticity is localized around the crack tip which is required for J-Integral
calculation.
 b. Select the J-Integral (JINT) result and view the results in the Graphics window.

c. View the Graph window and the tabular data for each result. The tabular data display
the J-Integral results at the crackfront node for each integration contour.

Note that the results converge after several contour integrations. J-Integral results
start converging when the integration contour is outside the plastic zone.

You have completed the fracture analysis and accomplished the overall objective for this tutorial.