Enhanced total Lagrangian smoothed particle hydrodynamics for fatigue crack growth analysis
Please login to view abstract download link
A mesh-free framework, such as smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH), offers an alternative to address the challenges posed by mesh-based methods in crack growth analysis. Total Lagrangian SPH (TLSPH) is known for its enhanced computational time efficiency and ability to overcome tensile instability. However, recent study indicates that TLSPH encounters another type of instability, and provides low accuracy in crack growth analysis. This research introduces an enhanced total Lagrangian SPH aimed at improving accuracy, convergence, and stability. The proposed SPH method adopts a mixed formulation involving the conservation of momentum and deformation gradient. It is further enhanced with first-order kernel gradient correction to ensure consistency, and frame of reference update when geometry changes occur during crack propagation. The JST stabilisation is implemented to prevent excessive dissipation of conventional artificial viscosity, which can reduce the convergence rate. Modifications are introduced for the discretised conservation of momentum and the JST stabilisation to guarantee linear momentum preservation. The stress intensity factor is calculated using the $J$-integral to ensure independence from particle distribution. The proposed method is validated through the analysis of various crack configurations, ranging from a single edge crack to multiple interacting crack propagation. The validation involves analysing crack growth direction, crack merging, and calculating the stress intensity factor at each crack tip. The results demonstrate that the proposed TLSPH agrees well with reference solutions, showcasing significant improvements in stability and accuracy.