Three-dimensional BEM analysis to assess delamination cracks between two transversely isotropic materials

Beyond the inherent attribute of reducing the dimensionality of the problem, the attraction of the boundary element method (BEM) for dealing with fracture mechanic problems is its accuracy in solving strong geometrical discontinuities. Within this context, a three-dimensional implementation of the energy domain integral (EDI) for the analysis of interface cracks in transversely isotropic bimaterials is presented in this paper. The EDI allows extending the two-dimensional J -integral to three dimensions by means of a domain representation naturally compatible with the BEM, in which the required stresses, strains, and derivatives of displacements are evaluated using their appropriate boundary integral equations. To this end, the BEM implementation uses a set of recently introduced fundamental solutions for transversely isotropic materials. Several examples are solved in order to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the implementation for solving straight and curved crack-front problems.