Examination of the Optimal Local Model Size in the Three-Dimensional Local Hybrid Method

The interior stress field of the surface crack specimen subjected to a uniform tensile load has been successfully analyzed by the 3-D local hybrid method. In this study, it was examined whether the 3-D local hybrid method was applicable to the specimen subjected to the bending load. It has been understood that the decision of the optimal size of the local model is indispensable in the improvement of accuracy from the previous research. Then, the width and thickness of the local model were changed widely, and analyses were carried out to find the optimal hybrid local model size. Moreover, it was examined how to decide the optimal size of the hybrid local model with various crack length and aspect ratio of the specimen. The optimal size of the hybrid local model was examined from the comparison with the J integral of the whole model.