Efficient finite element simulation of crack propagation using adaptive iterative solvers

This paper delivers an efficient solution technique for the numerical simulation of crack propagation of 2D linear elastic formulations based on finite elements together with the conjugate gradient method in order to solve the corresponding linear equation systems. The developed iterative numerical approach using hierarchical preconditioners has the interesting feature that the hierarchical data structure will not be destroyed during crack propagation. Thus, it is possible to simulate crack advance in a very effective numerical manner, including adaptive mesh refinement and mesh coarsening. Test examples are presented to illustrate the efficiency of the given approach. Numerical simulations of crack propagation are compared with experimental data. Copyright (C) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.