Polymer Processing in Engineering (PPE) Conference held every two years aims to gather academic researchers and industrial partners involved in the field of polymers. The conference will take place at Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, Romania http://www.mec.ugal.ro/ppe2009/

Based on the simulation results, in this paper, the prediction simulations of the formation of curved crack-fronts are investigated. The moving finite element method in conjunction with the critical fracture toughness KID criterion predicts the numerical fracture path in double cantilever beam specimen. The numerical results obtained for the shape of the crack-fronts are compared with experimental measurements.

In this paper a discontinuous Galerkin (dG) finite element method with interior penalties for fracture problems is presented. The formulation allows for discontinuities in the displacement field across the interfaces, and crack propagation is modeled using the cohesive-zone concept. An example of the application of the dG method to cohesive cracks is given to demonstrate the applicability of the dG method to such fracture problems.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, any fracture parameter such as the dynamic J integral for a naturally and dynamically propagating crack front has not been evaluated. In our previous experimental study, high-speed photographs of dynamically propagating crack fronts in DCB specimens were firstly recorded. In this paper, first, to overcome difficulties in three-dimensional dynamic fracture simulation, a three-dimensional moving finite element

In this paper we investigate the essentially unexplored area of three-dimensional dynamic fracture mechanics. The general objective sought by this investigation is the understanding of three-dimensional dynamic crack propagation and arrest, and, specifically, the effect that the specimen thickness has on the dynamic fracture mechanism. In particular, in the context of the present paper, it is intended to provide a summary of the achievements on the