Modelling of dynamical crack propagation using time-domain boundary integral equations (Q1205418)

The paper deals with dynamic antiplane cracks using time-domain boundary element method formulation. Traction boundary integral equations (BIE) are employed, in order to avoid the well-known degeneracy of the displacement BIE. These BIE allow also the study of kinking, since they are applicable to cracks of arbitrary shape. The authors regularize the hypersingular traction BIE into quite nonsingular form in two steps. The derived collocation BIE require continuity of the tangential derivative of the crack opening displacement at collocation points. These BIE are implemented using \(C^ 0\)-continuous linear space-time elements and collocation at element midpoints. This leads to an overdetermination of the discrete problem which is solved by least-squares method. The spatial oscillations of the numerical solution of the BIE, collocated at regularly spaced points, are suppressed using the stabilizing functional. The present numerical examples concern both the crack moving at prescribed velocity and spontaneously propagating crack including kinking. The paper is a valuable contribution to the development of numerical methods for solving dynamical crack-growth problems with applications to seismology and metallurgy.