On the application of the method of difference potentials to linear elastic fracture mechanics

The Difference Potential Method (DPM) proved to be a very efficient tool for solving boundary value problems (BVPs) in the case of complex geometries. It allows BVPs to be reduced to a boundary equation without the knowledge of Green's functions. The method has been successfully used for solving very different problems related to the solution of partial differential equations. However, it has mostly been considered in regular (Lipschitz) domains. In the current paper, for the first time, the method has been applied to a problem of linear elastic fracture mechanics. This problem requires solving BVPs in domains containing cracks. For the first time, DPM technology has been combined with the finite element method. Singular enrichment functions, such as those used within the extended finite element formulations, are introduced into the system in order to improve the approximation of the crack tip singularity. Near-optimal convergence rates are achieved with the application of these enrichment functions. For the DPM, the reduction of the BVP to a boundary equation is based on generalised surface projections. The projection is fully determined by the clear trace. In the current paper, for the first time, the minimal clear trace for such problems has been numerically realised for a domain with a cut.