Voronoi cell finite element model to simulate crack propagation in porous materials

Voronoi cell finite element models (VCFEM) containing pores and various cracks were developed in this study to simulate crack propagation in porous materials. In addition to polynomial terms, singular items were inserted into the stress function to capture the stress concentration at the tip of the crack. During crack propagation, the Voronoi element type changes such that an element may contain an internal crack, an edge crack, a bridge crack,...