Boundary element analysis of crack problems in polycrystalline materials

This work analyses the mechanical behaviour of polycrystalline structures with intergranular cracks, leading to a reduction of stiffness and material strength. The 2D polycrystalline structure is generated using an average grain size through the Voronoi tes- sellation method and simulated with random crystalline orientation. Polycrystalline materials demand fracture mechanics analysis in the grain interfaces. This paper presents this analysis using the multi-domain Boundary Element Method (BEM) with anisotropic fundamental solution and applying the Multiscale Cohesive Zone Model (MCZM) to characterize the onset and growth of cracks in the grain interfaces, considering the atomistic behaviour inside the interfaces. Comparisons of the results of BEM are performed through simulations in ABAQUS in order to validate the response of the method and comparisons of results with the literature are made to validate the present technique.