FE Analysis of Stationary and Propagating Cracks for the Determination of SIF and Crack Initiation Angle

Determination of the behaviour of a crack, both stationary as well as propagating, in many situations plays a vital role for satisfactory and non-catastrophic performance of components, especially in Aviation Industries, Automobile Industries, Power-Plant Industries etc. In many situations, it is very difficult to determine the crack behaviour analytically and hence cracks are analysed using Finite Elements Analysis. In the present work, both the stationary and propagating cracks are analysed using Finite Elements Analysis and results obtained from aforementioned methods are then compared with the analytical results. Stationary cracks are compared using Stress Intensity Factors and propagating cracks are compared for the crack propagation paths, both obtained from Finite Elements Analysis and Analytical calculations. ABAQUS analysis software tool is used for the Finite Elements Analysis and Analytical computations are done using MATLAB software tool.