An adaptive procedure for fracture simulation in extensive lattice networks

The potential for simulating fracture processes using lattice networks remains largely unrealized due to the computational expense associated with such approaches. The range of specimen sizes and mesh densities which can be practically explored is quite limited. This paper shows that, for localized Fracture processes, both computing time and storage requirements can be greatly reduced by modeling only the fracture process zone and its immediate vicinity with a lattice network. The material surrounding the lattice network is represented using boundary elements and is assumed to be linear elastic. The model layout is updated as the fracture process evolves; updates are guided by a conventional fuzzy control scheme. Effectiveness of this adaptive procedure is shown through examples involving concrete fracture. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.