Simulation of the Effects of Filament Orientation on Crack Propagation Using Extended Finite Element Method

This paper investigates the cracks propagation by the use of the extended finite element method (XFEM) to simulate uniaxial tensile tests performed on 3D printing samples in the form of single-edge notched tension specimens (SENT) made on ABS. The mean objective of this study is to methodically study how behaves with different filament orientations - specifically 0°, 90° and 45°, while the direction of the filament in each layers maintaining a uniform direction of the layers, they affect the behavior of cracks during the uniaxial tensile testing process. Through XFEM simulations specifically adapted to reproduce these tensile tests, the study aims to provide accurate results of the languor of the crack whose filament orientation influences the initiation and propagation of cracks within 3D printed materials. In particular, the simulation results indicate that cracks tend to follow filament orientation, with particular emphasis on the structural characteristics of inter-filament areas (weak-zones).