# Crack propagation analysis

 Crack propagation analysis: allows for six types of fracture criteria in Abaqus/Standard—critical stress at a certain distance ahead of the crack tip, critical crack opening displacement, crack length versus time, VCCT (the Virtual Crack Closure Technique), enhanced VCCT, and the low-cycle fatigue criterion based on the Paris law; allows for the VCCT fracture criterion in Abaqus/Explicit; in Abaqus/Standard models quasi-static crack growth in two dimensions (planar and axisymmetric) for all types of fracture criteria and in three dimensions (solid, shells, and continuum shells) for VCCT, enhanced VCCT, and the low-cycle fatigue criteria; and in Abaqus/Explicit models crack growth in three dimensions (solid, shells, and continuum shells) for VCCT criterion; and requires that you define two distinct initially bonded contact surfaces between which the crack will propagate. The following topics are discussed:
 Related Topics Defining an analysis About fracture mechanics Low-cycle fatigue analysis using the direct cyclic approach In Other Guides Contact cohesive behavior *COHESIVE BEHAVIOR *CONTACT CLEARANCE *DEBOND *DIRECT CYCLIC *FRACTURE CRITERION *NODAL ENERGY RATE Defining surface-to-surface contact in an Abaqus/Standard analysis

ProductsAbaqus/StandardAbaqus/ExplicitAbaqus/CAE