Combined Extended Finite Element Method and Cohesive Element for Fracture Analysis

Extended finite element method (XFEM) is a versatile tool for fracture mechanics. Due to its excellent property, XFEM is widely used in research and engineering. On the other hand, cohesive element is a good option for interface delamination in composite materials. In order to take advantage of these two methods, combined XFEM and cohesive element method is developed for fracture analysis in composite materials in two-dimension. In this method, XFEM is used to simulate matrix fracture, and cohesive element is used to simulate delamination between layers. Due to the differences in the construction of these two methods, special attention is paid to the intersection of these two methods. The new method is applied to the fracture analysis of composite materials. The results show this method has excellent property as expected. This method shows potential application in fracture analysis of composite materials.