Automated Finite Element Simulation of Fatigue Crack Growth in Three-dimensional Structures with the Software System ProCrack

Abstract

The software system ProCrack, a Python-based tool for the automated finite element simulation of fatigue crack growth in arbitrarily loaded three-dimensional components is presented. The preprocessing and the finite element analysis of the cracked structure are done using the commercial software system Abaqus. The analysis of fatigue crack growth is carried out within the framework of the classical linear elastic fracture mechanics. A submodelling technique in combination with the interaction integral technique is used to calculate the range of the stress intensity factors. The application examples illustrate the capability and performance of the simulation tool ProCrack.