Computational Framework for 3D Nonlinear Discrete Crack Analysis
Under contract from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to investigate the applicability of fracture mechanics to concrete dams, the authors are involved in the development of a suite of specialized codes for the fracture analysis of 3D structures, Those codes include: 1) Mesh generator for massive concrete structures; 2) finite element analysis; 3) Post-processor; and 4) Automatic remeshing to accomodate discrete crack propagation. The finite element module, MERLIN, includes numerous extensions for fracture mechanics based analysis and is based on the standard displacement formulation of the finite element method but also incorporates an iterative solution strategy based on the Hu-Washizu variational principle known as the Mixed-Iterative method.