Predicting crack initiation and growth through computer simulation is an important action for the design of safe structures or transportation devices. The POC “MATCRACK” did bring close to industry level the potentiality of a new technique called the Thick Level Set approach to fracture (TLS). This method coupled to the extended finite element method (XFEM) allows one to predict crack initiation and growth even for complex crack pattern scenarii.
Through the POC, technology transfer was done toward a research centre called CENAERO who has been searching and working with engineering companies to analyse practical cracking issues.
Regarding the socioeconomic impact, the code was released as open source under the name “eXlibris” facilitating collaboration with new actors to diversify the potentiality of the code application (as pavement cracking, the cracking under impact and the inclusion of anisotropic damage effects).
