A GPU-Accelerated Three-Dimensional Crack Element Method for Transient Dynamic Fracture Simulation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a GPU-accelerated 3D Crack Element Method for efficient and accurate simulation of transient crack propagation and branching in quasi-brittle materials, with novel element-splitting and energy computation techniques.

Contribution

It presents a new 3D Crack Element Method with an advanced element-splitting algorithm and a novel fracture energy calculation, optimized for GPU acceleration.

Findings

Accurately simulates crack propagation and branching

Achieves high computational efficiency with GPU acceleration

Demonstrates effectiveness through benchmark examples

Abstract

This work presents a novel three-dimensional Crack Element Method (CEM) designed to model transient dynamic crack propagation in quasi-brittle materials efficiently. CEM introduces an advanced element-splitting algorithm that enables element-wise crack growth, including crack branching. Based on the evolving topology of split elements, an original formulation for computing the fracture energy release rate in three dimensions is derived. A series of benchmark examples is conducted to demonstrate that the proposed 3D CEM accurately simulates both single crack propagation and complex crack branching scenarios. Furthermore, all three-dimensional simulations are GPU-accelerated, achieving high levels of computational efficiency, consistency, and accuracy.