Crack nucleation sensitivity analysis

Abstract

A simple analytical expression for crack nucleation sensitivity analysis is proposed relying on the concept of topological derivative and applied within a two-dimensional linear elastic fracture mechanics theory (LEFM). In particular, the topological asymptotic expansion of the total potential energy together with a Griffith-type energy of an elastic cracked body is calculated. As a main result, we derive a crack nucleation criterion based on the topological derivative and a criterion for determining the direction of crack growth based on the topological gradient. The proposed methodology leads to an axiomatic approach of crack nucleation sensitivity analysis. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.