Crack Initiation and Propagation using SMART Crack Growth. During a 3D Static Structural analysis, the Fracture analysis now provides a new object: Crack Initiation. You use this new object to specify a criterion for determining when the application initiates a crack in a specific region (or zone) of the geometry. You can also specify the location, orientation, and the size of the crack to be initiated. You apply this object and its definitions to a SMART Crack Growth object using the Initial Crack property in order to study the crack growth.

SMART Crack Growth. For 3D Static Structural analyses, you can now scope a Pressure load to a SMART Crack Growth object. This enables you to apply the pressure to only the new crack faces the application generates during the smart crack growth process or to both the new and the initial crack faces of the crack associated with the SMART Crack Growth object.