Product: Abaqus/Standard
Benefits: The extended finite element method (XFEM) allows you to model discontinuities, such as cracks, along an arbitrary, solution-dependent path during an analysis. This method can now be extended to support axisymmetric elements and frictional contact between the cracked element surfaces. To reduce run time for large analyses, full parallel execution of the element operations is now available.
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. The XFEM method is extended to support first-order axisymmetric elements. Up to 100 enrichment definitions can be specified in a model. The frictional stresses can be included in the cracked element surfaces of an enriched element.
Parallel execution of the element operations is available through thread-based parallelization for analyses with XFEM.
References: