Analysis of Multi-Crack Growth in Asphalt Pavement Based on Extended Finite Element Method

An extended finite element method (XFEM) for multiple crack growth in asphalt pavement is described. A discontinuous function and the two-dimensional asymptotic crack-tip displacement fields are added to the finite element approximation to account for the crack using the notion of partition of unity. This enables the domain to be modeled by finite element with no explicit meshing of the crack surfaces. Computational geometry issues associated with the representation of the crack and the enrichment of the finite element approximation are discussed. Finally, the propagation path of the cracks in asphalt pavement under different load conditions is presented.