Modelling of quasi-brittle behaviour: a discrete approach coupling anisotropic damage growth and frictional sliding

The paper provides development of the model of anisotropic damage by microcracking proposed by Bargellini et al. 2006. This model is based on a discrete approach, which introduces a finite set of microcrack densities associated with fixed directions. This approach avoids inconveniences encountered when using a single second order tensor damage variable D (non uniqueness of the free energy) and strain decomposition into positive and negative parts (spurious dissipation at crack closure). Frictional sliding on closed microcracks is introduced as an additional dissipative mechanism; it is represented by a second order sliding variable in each damage direction. Corresponding sliding criteria and non-associated sliding evolution laws, formulated in the strain space for the model coherence, permit to account for hysteretic phenomena. Unilateral effect is taken into account; Young's and shear moduli are correctly restored at microcrack closure. The crucial requirements of continuity of the energy and of stress–strain response are ensured through relevant conditions on parameters and sliding variables values at opening-closure. The discrete approach, associated with some hypotheses concerning damage evolution, permits to couple damage and dissipative sliding. The pertinence of the proposed theory is illustrated by simulating first elastic properties at constant damage, then by considering a specific loading path involving both damage and friction evolutions.     

Note on arc crack experiencing slip

Under certain loading conditions a crack surface may undergo partial sliding (slip). Such slip may be triggered by non-uniformity of frictional characteristics along the crack surface, variability of applied stresses or curvilinearity of a crack path. In the present work we study the influence of a curvilinear shape of a crack on slip evolution. The analysis is carried out for the case of a two-dimensional circular arc crack. Initiation and propagation of a slip zone is investigated based on the criterion that the shear stress intensity factor vanishes at endpoints of the slip zone. Two case scenarios are studied: first, when slip is attributed to the non-uniform distribution of a coefficient of friction and, second, when slip is initiated by the far field compressive loads. The curvilinear effects are estimated by comparing the obtained solutions with the ones for a straight crack. Analytical expressions for the stress intensity factors (SIFs) derived in this work may also present certain interest of their own.     

Frictional energy dissipation in materials containing cracks

Kachanov's simplified model of microcrack interaction is applied to an investigation of the behaviour of a cracked body under predominantly compressive periodic loading, so that the cracks experience periods of closure and slip, with frictional dissipation. The model is shown to be equivalent to a discrete elastic frictional system with each crack representing one node. Theorems and algorithms from such systems are applied to determine the conditions under which the system shakes down to a state with no slip and hence no energy dissipation in friction. For conditions not too far beyond the shakedown state, the dissipation is significantly affected by the initial conditions, but with larger oscillating loads, it becomes a unique and increasing function of load amplitude. The effect of crack interaction is assessed by comparison with an uncoupled model, for which the dissipation is obtained as a summation of closed form expressions over the crack population. For small numbers of cracks, the results are significantly dependent on the randomly chosen crack locations and sizes, but with larger populations, a statistically significant decrease in dissipation is observed with increasing interaction terms.     

Micromechanical analysis of damage in saturated quasi brittle materials

In this paper, we propose a micromechanical analysis of damage and related inelastic deformation in saturated porous quasi brittle materials. The materials are weakened by randomly distributed microcracks and saturated by interstitial fluid with drained and undrained conditions. The emphasis is put on the closed cracks under compression-dominated stresses. The material damage is related to the frictional sliding on crack surface and described by a local scalar variable. The effective properties of the materials are determined using a linear homogenization approach, based on the extension of Eshelby’s inclusion solution to penny shaped cracks. The inelastic behavior induced by microcracks is described in the framework of the irreversible thermodynamics. As an original contribution, the potential energy of the saturated materials weakened by closed frictional microcracks is determined and formulated as a sum of an elastic part and a plastic part, the latter entirely induced by frictional sliding of microcracks. The influence of fluid pressure is accounted for in the friction criterion through the concept of local effective stress at microcracks. We show that the Biot’s effective stress controls the evolution of total strain while the local Terzaghi’s effective stress controls the evolution of plastic strain. Further, the frictional sliding between crack lips generates volumetric dilatancy and reduction in fluid pressure. Applications of the proposed model to typical brittle rocks are presented with comparisons between numerical results and experimental data in both drained and undrained triaxial tests.     

连铸板坯热轧中角部裂纹变化的研究

采用有限元方法对轧件角部横向和纵向裂纹在多道次立-平轧制过程中变形行为进行了模拟,分析了裂纹的闭合与扩展行为．结果表明:采用平立辊,裂纹很好闭合,但变形程度大,可能延伸和往轧件顶面移动,对角部横向裂纹,裂纹尖端节点往外扩散,对三角形横向和纵向裂纹,裂纹可能发生折叠;采用孔型立辊,立轧后,轧件裂纹很好地闭合,平轧后,横向和侧面纵向裂纹可能被拉开,顶面纵向裂纹闭合较好,只有三角形横向裂纹可能发生折叠．     

Closed-form solution for two collinear mode-III cracks in an orthotropic elastic strip of finite width

The problem of an orthotropic strip containing two collinear cracks normal to the strip boundaries is considered. The Fourier series method is used to reduce the associated boundary value problem to triple series equations, then to a singular integral equation, which can be solved analytically. Under remote uniform antiplane shear loading, the stress field and the crack sliding displacement are determined analytically and stress intensity factors are also given in a closed form.     

Non-uniform frictional sliding under cyclic loading with frictional characteristics changing in the process of sliding

Frictional sliding on a crack with non-uniform frictional characteristics is considered. The present work continues the investigation of Gorbatikh et al. [Int. J. Solids Struct., in press] and focuses on the cyclic loading. The evolution of the sliding process in loading–reloading–unloading cycles is analyzed. We also extend the analysis to the important case when the frictional resistance changes in the process of sliding (such changes may model “degradation” of the sliding surface during sliding, as well as other physical factors, not necessarily related to the sliding itself).     

Micromechanical analysis of coupling between anisotropic damage and friction in quasi brittle materials: Role of the homogenization scheme

This paper deals with micromechanical analysis of anisotropic damage and its coupling with friction in quasi brittle materials. The anisotropic model is formulated in the framework of Eshelby-based homogenization methods. The emphasis is put on the study of effects of spatial distribution of microcracks and their interactions. Microcracks closure effects as well as coupling between damage evolution and frictional sliding on closed cracks lips are taken into account. The interaction of sliding and damage evolution is addressed by performing a global thermodynamic analysis on two macroscopic criteria established in the paper. The role of the homogenization scheme is discussed in detail through various applications.     

Analysis of crack moving and curving in anisotropic solids

The general equations for a dynamically curved crack in an anisotropic solid are derived, and the asymptotic fields of a moving crack under arbitrary distributed loading on the crack surface are calculated from them. For a moving crack under mixed-mode loading conditions a general Muskhelishvili type approach is proposed to calculate intensity factors due to crack surface loading in anisotropic materials. The kinking and curving caused by dynamic loading in anisotropic materials are calculated using the maximum normal stress ratio criterion. The results show that cracks in anisotropic solids may deviate from the straight path and approach a direction parallel to the stiff axis even under symmetric loading and that a crack will tend to deviate more from the crack path to the direction of the stiff axis as the crack speed becomes higher.     

Collinear periodical cracks with surface separation and frictional sliding

Using the method of Muskhelishvili, an exact solution is obtained for the problem of collinear, periodical cracks whose surface undergo separation and frictional sliding.     

An interacting micro-crack damage model for failure of brittle materials under compression

A model is developed for brittle failure under compressive loading with an explicit accounting of micro-crack interactions. The model incorporates a pre-existing flaw distribution in the material. The macroscopic inelastic deformation is assumed to be due to the nucleation and growth of tensile “wing” micro-cracks associated with frictional sliding on these flaws. Interactions among the cracks are modeled by means of a crack-matrix-effective-medium approach in which each crack experiences a stress field different from that acting on isolated cracks. This yields an effective stress intensity factor at the crack tips which is utilized in the formulation of the crack growth dynamics. Load-induced damage in the material is defined in terms of a scalar crack density parameter, the evolution of which is a function of the existing flaw distribution and the crack growth dynamics. This methodology is applied for the case of uniaxial compression under constant strain rate loading. The model provides a natural prediction of a peak stress (defined as the compressive strength of the material) and also of a transition strain rate, beyond which the compressive strength increases dramatically with the imposed strain rate. The influences of the crack growth dynamics, the initial flaw distribution, and the imposed strain rate on the constitutive response and the damage evolution are studied. It is shown that different characteristics of the flaw distribution are dominant at different imposed strain rates: at low rates the spread of the distribution is critical, while at high strain rates the total flaw density is critical.     

Analytical and numerical analysis of frictional damage in quasi brittle materials

Frictional sliding and crack growth are two main dissipation processes in quasi brittle materials. The frictional sliding along closed cracks is the origin of macroscopic plastic deformation while the crack growth induces a material damage. The main difficulty of modeling is to consider the inherent coupling between these two processes. Various models and associated numerical algorithms have been proposed. But there are so far no analytical solutions even for simple loading paths for the validation of such algorithms. In this paper, we first present a micro-mechanical model taking into account the damage-friction coupling for a large class of quasi brittle materials. The model is formulated by combining a linear homogenization procedure with the Mori–Tanaka scheme and the irreversible thermodynamics framework. As an original contribution, a series of analytical solutions of stress–strain relations are developed for various loading paths. Based on the micro-mechanical model, two numerical integration algorithms are exploited. The first one involves a coupled friction/damage correction scheme, which is consistent with the coupling nature of the constitutive model. The second one contains a friction/damage decoupling scheme with two consecutive steps: the friction correction followed by the damage correction. With the analytical solutions as reference results, the two algorithms are assessed through a series of numerical tests. It is found that the decoupling correction scheme is efficient to guarantee a systematic numerical convergence.     

Identification of multiple open and fatigue cracks in beam-like structures using wavelets on deflection signals

A novel method for damage detection of multi-cracked beam-like structures by analyzing the static deflection is presented. The damage incurred produces a change in the stiffness of the beam. This causes a localized singularity which can be identified by a wavelet analysis of the displacement response. The existence and location of the cracks can be revealed by positions of the peaks in the continuous wavelet transform (CWT). To achieve this, the static profile of beams is analyzed with Gauss2 wavelet to identify the cracks. Beams under some ideal boundary and prescribed load conditions are considered. The deflected shape of the beam with open and fatigue cracks has been simulated under static loading using lumped crack models adopted from fracture mechanics and involving various degrees of complexity. The deflection of cracked beam in closed form for several cases of loads, crack sizes, and crack locations is calculated, and an explicit expression for the damage index (DI), based on CWT, is developed; it is demonstrated that the proposed damage index does not depend on mechanical properties of a homogeneous beam, and that the DI of one crack does not depend on the size and location of other cracks in a multiple cracked beam. Hence, the obtained expression for the DI can be used to find the size of each crack independently. Numerical results show that the method can detect cracks of small depth and is also applicable under the presence of measurement noise.     

基于互补理论和扩展有限元法的摩擦接触裂纹应力强度因子计算

从虚功方程出发,结合扩展有限元离散技术与接触条件的非线性互补表述,建立了摩擦接触裂纹问题的扩展有限元非线性互补模型,将不等式接触条件转化为非线性互补类的非光滑方程组,并采用基于广义导数的非光滑阻尼牛顿法求解方程组,无需引入任何额外人工变量以及迭代求解。以含中心倾斜裂纹平板和边裂纹平板为例,运用相互作用积分法计算摩擦接触裂纹的应力强度因子,将其结果与理论解进行对比分析,该方法都能给出精确的计算结果;基于扩展有限元方法对单轴压缩作用下倾斜裂纹扩展过程进行了数值模拟,计算结果表明,受压裂纹数值结果与实验结果比较吻合,从而验证了本文方法的有效性与正确性。     

Influence of flaw inclination angle and loading condition on crack initiation and propagation

With reference to the experimental observation of crack initiation and propagation from pre-existing flaws in rock specimens under compression, the influences of pre-existing flaw inclination angle on the cracking processes were analyzed by means of finite element method (FEM) and non-linear dynamics method. FEM analysis on the stress field distribution induced by the presence of a pre-existing flaw provided better understanding for the influence of flaw inclination angle on the initiation position and initiation angle of the potential cracks. Numerical analysis based on the non-linear dynamics method was performed to simulate the cracking processes. The resultant crack types, crack initiation sequences and the overall crack pattern were different under different loading conditions. Under a relatively low loading rate or a small magnitude of maximum loading pressure, tensile cracks would tend to initiate prior to shear cracks. In contrast, under a relatively high loading rate and a large magnitude of maximum loading pressure, shear cracks would tend to initiate prior to tensile cracks instead.     

岩石材料动态破坏的近场动力学方法数值模拟

裂纹的聚集、扩展、分叉是岩石等脆性材料破坏失效的关键因素，本文在验证了近场动力学方法在研究岩石类材料裂纹动态扩展方面的有效性之后，采用近场动力学方法分别对冲击载荷作用下含有双裂纹岩石材料和单轴压缩作用下含单斜裂纹的岩石材料进行数值模拟．结果表明，对于双垂直裂纹，其裂纹扩展路径大致与预制裂纹成70°夹角；对于单裂纹，裂纹的扩展路径随裂纹倾角的变化而变化，最终导致构件的整体破坏．数值模拟结果表明近场动力学方法可以很好地模拟岩石等脆性材料的裂纹扩展直至破坏的过程，反映裂纹扩展的物理机理；其作为一种新的基于非局部理论的数值方法，在地下岩体工程方面及页岩气的开采方面会有很好的发展前景．     

Fatigue crack growth in high and low strength steel under torsional loading

During loading of a crack in mode III the crack surfaces in contact slide against each other giving rise to friction, abrasion and mutual support, thereby reducing the effective stress at the crack tip (“sliding mode crack closure”). This phenomenon was investigated in a high strength steel (AISI 4340) and in a low strength steel (AISI C1018) in circumferentially notched specimens under pure cyclic torsion and combined loading (cyclic torsion plus static axial load). The influence of sliding mode crack closure on fatigue crack propagation is shown and “true” crack growth values (without the sliding mode crack closure influence) are determined on the basis of an extrapolation procedure. Explanations are given for causes of the various fracture modes observed, such as “factory roof” fracture, macroscopically flat mode III fracture and “lamella” fracture. Finally the scientific and technical importance of sliding mode crack closure is demonstrated.     

A reexamination of plasticity-induced crack closure in fatigue crack propagation

The crack closure concept is often used to consider the R-ratio and overload effects on fatigue crack growth. The presumption is that when the crack is closed, the external load produces negligible fatigue damage in the cracked component. The current investigation provides a reassessment of the frequently used concept with an emphasis on the plasticity-induced crack closure. A center cracked specimen made of 1070 steel was investigated. The specimen was subjected to plane-stress mode I loading. An elastic–plastic stress analysis was conducted for the cracked specimens using the finite element method. By applying the commonly used one-node-per-cycle debonding scheme for the crack closure simulations, it was shown that the predicted crack opening load did not stabilize when the extended crack was less than four times of the plastic zone size. The predicted opening load was strongly influenced by the plasticity model used. When the elastic–perfectly plastic (EPP) stress–strain relationship was used together with the kinematic hardening plasticity theory, the predicted crack opening load was found to be critically dependent on the element size of the finite element mesh model. For R = 0, the predicted crack opening load was greatly reduced when the finite element size became very fine. The kinematic hardening rule with the bilinear (BL) stress–strain relationship predicted crack closure with less dependence on the element size. When a recently developed cyclic plasticity model was used, the element size effect on the predicted crack opening level was insignificant. While crack closure may occur, it was demonstrated that cyclic plasticity persisted in the material near the crack tip. The cyclic plasticity was reduced but not negligible when the crack was closed. The traditional approaches may have overestimated the effect of crack closure in fatigue crack growth predictions.     

A numerical simulation for effective elastic moduli of plates with various distributions and sizes of cracks

A fast convergent numerical model is developed to calculate the effective moduli of plates with various distributions and sizes of cracks, in which the crack line is divided into M parts to obtain the unknown traction on the crack line. When M=1, the model reduces to Kachanov's approximation method [Int. J. Solids Struct. 23 (1987) 23]. Six types of crack distributions and three kinds of crack sizes are considered, which are four regular (equilateral triangle, equilateral hexagon, rectangle, and diamond) and two random distributions (random location and orientation, and parallel orientation and random location), and one, two and random crack sizes. Some typical examples are also analyzed using the finite element method (FEM) to validate the present model. Then, the effective moduli associated with the crack distributions and sizes are calculated in detail. The present results for the regular distributions show some very interesting phenomena that have not been revealed before. And for the two random distributions, as the effective moduli depend on samples due to the randomness, the effect of the sample size and number are analyzed first. Then, effective moduli for plates with the three sizes of cracks are calculated. It is found that the effect of crack sizes on the effective moduli is significant for high crack densities, and small for low crack densities, and the random crack size leads to the lowest effective moduli. The present numerical results are compared with several popular micromechanics models to determine which one can provide the optimum estimation of the effective moduli of cracked plates with general crack densities. Furthermore, some existing numerical results are analyzed and discussed.     

Propriétés élastiques non linéaires d'un milieu mésofissuréNonlinear elastic properties of a mesocracked medium

It is shown that the influence of closed frictionless cracks on overall elasticity can be evaluated by estimates based on Eshelby's theory. The idea consists in replacing the closed cracks by a ficticious material with shear modulus equal to 0 and a bulk modulus identical to that of the solid. Progressive crack closure is responsible for the nonlinearity of the overall elasticity. From this phenomenon, the distribution of crack density as a function of the initial aspect ratio can be determined. To cite this article: V. Deudé et al., C. R. Mecanique 330 (2002) 587–592.