PSI - Issue 79

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

ScienceDirect

Procedia Structural Integrity 79 (2026) 467–474

© 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of IGF28 - MedFract3 organizers Keywords: Finite element modeling; Moving Mesh; Dynamic fracture; Crack Branching; Brittle fracture. Abstract This work presents a robust and efficient numerical approach for simulating dynamic crack propagation processes in brittle materials. The proposed approach couples a standard Finite Element (FE) framework with a Moving Mesh (MM) technique based on the Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) formulation. The MM technique allows the computational mesh to dynamically adapt to the evolving geometry caused by growing cracks, specifically by repositioning mesh nodes around the crack tip. In this context, the ALE formulation guarantees mesh regularity by limiting unwarranted element distortion and minimizing the need for frequent global remeshing. Besides, fracture-mechanics-based criteria govern crack initiation, propagation, and direction. The accuracy and reliability of the proposed model have been thoroughly assessed through various benchmark cases, with results consistently validated against experimental and numerical data from the literature. 28th International Conference on Fracture and Structural Integrity - 3rd Mediterranean Conference on Fracture and Structural Integrity Numerical simulation of dynamic crack propagation in brittle materials using a moving mesh technique Domenico Ammendolea a , Francesco Fabbrocino b , Fabrizio Greco a , Paolo Lonetti a , Arturo Pascuzzo b * a Department of Civil Engineeting, University of Calabria, Via Ponte Pietro Bucci, Rende 87036, Italy b Department of Engineering, Pegaso University, Centro Direzionale di Napoli, Isola F2, Napoli 80132, Italy

* Corresponding author. E-mail address: arturo.pascuzzo@unipegaso.it

2452-3216 © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of IGF28 - MedFract3 organizers 10.1016/j.prostr.2025.12.358