Abstract
The scaled boundary finite element method (SBFEM) is able to calculate stress intensity factors directly because the singularity in stress solutions at a crack tip is analytically represented so that special treatments, such as using fine crack-tip meshes or singular elements, as often needed in the finite element method (FEM) and the boundary element method (BEM), are avoided. This advantage, together with the flexibility available in arranging the dimensions and shapes of subdomains, is used in this study to develop a very simple remeshing procedure for mixedmode crack propagation modelling based on the linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM). Fullyautomatic modelling of mixed-mode crack propagation is achieved by combining a LEFM-based crack propagation criterion and the remeshing procedure, which is as simple as one used in the BEM. The accuracy, effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method are demonstrated by modelling a benchmark concrete beam subjected to mixed-mode fracture loading.