Finite strain fracture of plates and shells with configurational forces and edge rotations

SUMMARY We propose a simple and efficient algorithm for FEM‐based computational fracture of plates and shells with both brittle and ductile materials on the basis of edge rotation and load control. Rotation axes are the crack front nodes, and each crack front edge in surface discretizations affects the position of only one or two nodes. Modified positions of the entities maximize the modified mesh quality complying with the predicted crack path...