Description: XFEM allows you to model crack growth without remeshing the crack surfaces since it does not require the mesh to match the geometry of the crack. Several new damage initiation criteria based on the quadratic nominal stress/strain or based on the maximum nominal stress/strain are supported. You can specify if the newly introduced crack will be orthogonal to the element local 1- or 2-direction in the enriched elements. The XFEM capability can be performed by using the implicit dynamic procedure to simulate the fracture and failure in a structure under high-speed impact loading. The XFEM-based crack propagation simulated in an implicit dynamic procedure can also be followed or preceded by a static procedure to model the damage and failure throughout the loading history.

In addition to the existing XFEM-based cohesive segments method, which is a very general interaction modeling capability for brittle or ductile fracture, an alternative approach to modeling crack propagation is available based on the principles of linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) within the framework of XFEM. This approach is more appropriate for brittle fracture problems.

Parallel execution of element operations is available through MPI-based parallelization for analyses with XFEM.

Property module: 
    Material editor: MechanicalDamage for Traction Separation Laws: 
    Quade Damage, Maxpe Damage, Quads Damage, or Maxps Damage
Interaction module:
    Contact interaction property editor: MechanicalFracture Criterion: 
    Direction of crack growth relative to local 1-direction