Symmetric‐Galerkin BEM simulation of fracture with frictional contact

A symmetric‐Galerkin boundary element framework for fracture analysis with frictional contact (crack friction) on the crack surfaces is presented. The algorithm employs a continuous interpolation on the crack surface (utilizing quadratic boundary elements) and enables the determination of two important quantities for the problem, namely the local normal tractions and sliding displacements on the crack surfaces. An effective iterative scheme for solving this non‐linear boundary value problem is proposed. The results of test examples are compared with available analytical solutions or with those obtained from the displacement discontinuity method (DDM) using linear elements and internal collocation. The results demonstrate that the method works well for difficult kinked/junction crack problems.