Abaqus XFEM simulation of twisting of a chalk

During my college days in a mechanics of materials lecture, a professor vividly demonstrated the concept of stress transformation by twisting a piece of chalk until it broke, revealing a crack at a 45-degree angle. He used Mohr's circle to explain that pure shear stress could transform into tensile and compressive stress states. I found it captivating; it was moments like these that made the rigorous journey through engineering school rewarding.

Recently, a friend brought those memories back by sharing the photo below. Inspired, I created an Abaqus XFEM model to simulate crack propagation. The results were interesting, not only replicating the experimental crack direction but also visualizing the internal progression of the crack — a process that's challenging to observe in an experiment. I'm excited to share these insights and hope you find them as intriguing as I do.

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