A multiscale projection method for macro/microcrack simulations

We present a new multiscale method for crack simulations. This approach is based on a two-scale decomposition of the displacements and a projection to the coarse scale by using coarse scale test functions. The extended finite element method (XFEM) is used to take into account macrocracks as well as microcracks accurately. The transition of the field variables between the different scales and the role of the microfield in the coarse scale formulation are emphasized. The method is designed so that the fine scale computation can be done independently of the coarse scale computation, which is very efficient and ideal for parallelization. Several examples involving microcracks and macrocracks are given. It is shown that the effect of crack shielding and amplification for crack growth analyses can be captured efficiently. Copyright q 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.