Parameters controlling fracture resistance in functionally graded materials under mode I loading

In this investigation the fracture behavior of functionally graded materials (FGMs) was studied by means of experiments carried out on model polymer-based FGMs. Model graded materials were manufactured by selective ultraviolet irradiation of ECO [poly(ethylene carbon monoxide)], a photo-sensitive ductile copolymer that becomes more brittle and stiffer under exposure to ultraviolet light. The mechanical response of the graded material was characterized using uniaxial tensile tests. Single edge notched tension graded ECO specimens possessing different spatial variations of Young’s modulus, failure stress and failure strain were tested under remote opening loading. A full-field digital image correlation technique was used to measure in real-time the displacement field around the crack tip while it propagated through the graded material. The measured displacement field was then used to extract fracture parameters such as stress intensity factor and T-stress, and thus construct resistance curves for crack growth in the FGMs. For this loading configuration it was found that the nonsingular T-stress term in the asymptotic expansion for stresses needs to be accounted for in order to accurately measure the fracture resistance in FGMs. In addition, the influence of local failure properties (i.e., failure stress and failure strain) on crack growth resistance was investigated in detail. It was found that depending on the combined effects of the spatial variation of these two failure parameters, regardless of the spatial variation of the Young’s modulus, the FGM fracture resistance can either increase, decrease or remain constant with continued crack growth.     

Effect of T-stress on crack growth under mixed mode I–III loading

For a crack subjected to combined mode I and III loading the influence of a T-stress is analyzed, with focus on crack growth. The solid is a ductile metal modelled as elastic–plastic, and the fracture process is represented in terms of a cohesive zone model. The analyzes are carried out for conditions of small scale yielding, with the elastic solution applied as boundary conditions on the outer edge of the region analyzed. For several combinations of the stress intensity factors K_I and K_III and the T-stress crack growth resistance curves are calculated numerically in order to determine the fracture toughness. In all situations it is found that a negative T-stress adds to the fracture toughness, whereas a positive T-stress has rather little effect. For given values of K_I and T the minimum fracture toughness corresponds to K_III = 0.     

Mixed Mode Dynamic Fracture in Particulate Reinforced Functionally Graded Materials

A detailed analytical and experimental investigation is presented to understand the dynamic fracture behavior of functionally graded materials (FGMs) under mode I and mixed mode loading conditions. Crack-tip stress, strain and displacement fields for a mixed mode crack propagating at an angle from the direction of property gradation were obtained through an asymptotic analysis coupled with a displacement potential approach. This was followed by a comprehensive series of experiments to gain further insight into the behavior of propagating cracks in FGMs. Dynamic photoelasticity coupled with high-speed photography was used to obtain crack tip velocities and dynamic stress fields around the propagating cracks. Birefringent coatings were used to conduct the photoelastic study due to the opaqueness of the FGMs. Dynamic fracture experiments were performed using different specimen geometries to develop a dynamic constitutive fracture relationship between the mode I dynamic stress intensity factor (K _ID ) and crack-tip velocity ( ) for FGMs with the crack moving in the direction of increasing fracture toughness. A similar -K _ID relation was also obtained for matrix material (polyester) for comparison purposes. The results obtained show that crack propagation velocities in FGMs were about 80% higher than the polyester matrix. Crack arrest toughness was found to be about 10% lower than the value of local fracture toughness in FGMs.     

Elastic stresses in bodies with elliptic,parabolic, and tunnel cracks

The paper gives explicit expressions of the elastic T-stress components T _I, T _II, and T _III for an elliptic crack in an unbounded body under uniform pressure and bending and expressions of all the T-stress components for parabolic and tunnel cracks under uniform loading. These formulas are derived by analyzing the asymptotic behavior of the stress components near the crack front using special harmonic functions. The dependence of the T-stresses on Poisson’s ratio, semiaxes and parametric angle of the elliptic crack is studied. The expressions of T _I, T _II, and T _III for a penny-shaped crack under arbitrary uniform pressure and bending follow as a special case from the respective expressions for an elliptic crack __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 43, No. 8, pp. 57–70, August 2007.     

A method for measuring mode I crack tip constraint under static and dynamic loading conditions

A novel experimental technique for measuring crack tipT-stress, and hence in-plane crack tip constraint, in elastic materials has been developed. The method exploits optimal positioning of stacked strain gage rosette near a mode I crack tip such that the influence of dominant singular strains is negated in order to determineT-stress accurately. The method is demonstrated for quasi-static and low-velocity impact loading conditions and two values of crack length to plate width ratios (a/W). By coupling this new method with the Dally-Sanford single strain gage method for measuring the mode I stress intensity factorK _I , the crack tip biaxiality parameter is also measured experimentally. Complementary small strain, static and dynamic finite element simulations are carried out under plane stress conditions. Time histories ofK _I andT-stress are computed by regression analysis of the displacement and stress fields, respectively. The experimental results are in good agreement with those obtained from numerical simulations. Preliminary data for critical values ofK _I and β for dynamic experiments involving epoxy specimens are reported. Dynamic crack initiation toughness shows an increasing trend as β becomes more negative at higher impact velocities.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis>-stress analysis for a Griffith crack in a magnetoelectroelastic solid

T-stress as an important parameter characterizing the stress field around a cracked tip has attracted much attention. This paper concerns the T-stress near a cracked tip in a magnetoelectroelastic solid. By applying the Fourier transform, we solve the associated mixed boundary-value problem. Adopting crack-faces electromagnetic boundary conditions nonlinearly dependent on the crack opening displacement, coupled dual integral equations are derived. Then, the closed-form solution for the T-stress is obtained. A comparison of the T stresses for a cracked magnetoelectroelastic solid and for a cracked purely elastic material is made. Obtained results reveal that in addition to applied mechanical loading, the T-stress is dependent on electric and magnetic loadings for a vacuum crack.     

Stress analysis of functionally graded rotating discs: analytical and numerical solutions

This study deals with stress analysis of annular rotating discs made of functionally graded materials(FGMs).Elasticity modulus and density of the discs are assumed to vary radially according to a power law function,but the material is of constant Poisson’s ratio.A gradient parameter n is chosen between 0 and 1.0.When n = 0,the disc becomes a homogeneous isotropic material.Tangential and radial stress distributions and displacements on the disc are investigated for various gradient parameters n by means of the diverse elasticity modulus and density by using analytical and numerical solutions.Finally,a homogenous tangential stress distribution and the lowest radial stresses along the radius of a rotating disc are approximately obtained for the gradient parameter n = 1.0 compared with the homogeneous,isotropic case n = 0.This means that a disc made of FGMs has the capability of higher angular rotations compared with the homogeneous isotropic disc.     

Kinking of a crack emanating from the free surface of a beam under pure bending

A perturbation technique developed by Karihaloo et al. is employed to obtain the stress intensity factors at the tip of a kinking crack that emanates from the free surface of a beam under pure bending. Under the condition that the kink extends in the direction of vanishing K₁₁ the crack path is obtained as well as a path stability condition. From conditions on K₁ a material parameter r^* akin to that of Ramulu and Kobayashi's r_c is obtained. By analysis of the slope of the kinking crack a stability condition is obtained corroborating the stability condition from consideration of vanishing K₁₁. It is shown that for a beam in pure bending the nonsingular remote stress term T must be greater than some positive critical value for kinking to occur confirming the results of Sayir and Schindler.     

Thermal fracture of a functionally graded/homogeneous bimaterial with system of cracks

The thermal fracture of a bimaterial consisting of a homogeneous material and a functionally graded material (FGM) with a system of internal cracks and an interface crack is investigated. The bimaterial is subjected to a heat flux. The thermal properties of FGM are assumed to be continues functions of the thickness coordinate, while the elastic properties are constants. The method of the solution is based on the singular integral equations. For a special case where the interface crack is much larger than the internal cracks in the FGM the asymptotic analytical solution of the problem is obtained as series in a small parameter (the ratio between sizes of the internal and interface crack) and the thermal stress intensity factors (TSIFs) are derived as functions of geometry of the problem and material characteristics. A parametric analysis of the effects of the location and orientation of the cracks and of the inhomogeneity parameter of FGM’s thermal conductivity on the TSIFs is performed. The results are applicable to such kinds FGMs as ceramic/ceramic FGMs, e.g., TiC/SiC, MoSi₂/Al₂O₃ and MoSi₂/SiC, and also some ceramic/metal FGMs.     

Computation of thermal fracture parameters for orthotropic functionally graded materials using Jk-integral

This article introduces a computational method based on the J_k-integral for mixed-mode fracture analysis of orthotropic functionally graded materials (FGMs) that are subjected to thermal stresses. The generalized definition of the J_k-integral is recast into a domain independent form composed of line and area integrals by utilizing the constitutive relations of plane orthotropic thermoelasticity. Implementation of the domain independent J_k-integral is realized through a numerical procedure developed by means of the finite element method. The outlined computational approach enables the evaluation of the modes I and II stress intensity factors, the energy release rate, and the T-stress. The developed technique is validated numerically by considering two different problems, the first of which is the problem of an embedded crack in an orthotropic FGM layer subjected to steady-state thermal stresses; and the second one is that of periodic cracks under transient thermal loading. Comparisons of the mixed-mode stress intensity factors evaluated by the J_k-integral based method to those calculated through the displacement correlation technique (DCT) and to those available in the literature point out that, the proposed form of the J_k-integral possesses the required domain independence and leads to numerical results of high accuracy. Further results are presented to illustrate the influences of the geometric and material constants on the thermal fracture parameters.     

Modeling method for a crack problem of functionally graded materials with arbitrary properties—piecewise-exponential model

A new model, piecewise-exponential model (PE model), is developed to investigate the crack problem of the functionally graded materials (FGMs) with arbitrary properties. In the PE model, the functionally graded material is divided into some nonhomogeneous layers along the gradient direction of the properties, with each layer’s properties varying exponentially. By this way, the real material properties can be approached by a series of exponential functions. Since the real material properties are used on both surfaces of each nonhomogeneous layer, the nature of continuously varying properties of FGMs can be approached accurately. The influences of the local nonhomogeneity on the crack-tip fields can be fully considered. By using the new model, the fracture problem of a functionally graded strip with arbitrary properties and a crack vertical to the free surfaces is studied. The integral transform method, the theory of residues and the theory of singular integral equation are applied. Some representative samples with different kinds of nonhomogeneous properties are analyzed and the corresponding stress intensity factors (SIFs) are presented. It is shown that the PE mode is effective for investigating the crack problems of the FGMs with arbitrary properties.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis>-stress estimation by the two-parameter approach for a specimen with a V-shaped notch

In the present research, T-stress solutions are provided for a V-shaped notch in the case of surface defects in a pressurised pipeline. The V-shaped notch is analyzed with the use of the finite element method by the Castem2000 commercial software to determine the stress distribution ahead of the notch tip. The notch aspect ratio is varied. In contrast to a crack, it is found that the T-stress is not constant and depends on the distance from the notch tip. To estimate the T-stress in the case of a notch, a novel method is developed, inspired by the volumetric method approach proposed by Pluvinage. The method is based on averaging the T-stress over the effective distance ahead of the notch tip. The effective distance is determined by the point with the minimum stress gradient in the fracture process zone. This approach is successfully used to quantify the constraints of the notch-tip fields for various geometries and loading conditions. Moreover, the proposed T-stress estimation creates a basis for analyzing the crack path under mixed-mode loading from the viewpoint of the two-parameter fracture mechanics.     

Numerical simulation of stress intensity factors via the thermoelastic technique

The purpose of this study is to investigate the accuracy of the least squares method for finding the in-plane stress intensity factorsK _I andK _II using thermoelastic data from isotropic materials. To fully understand the idealized condition ofK _I andK _II calculated from thermoelastic experiments, the total stress field calculated from finite element analysis is used to take the place of data obtained from real thermoelastic experiments. In the finite element analysis, theJ-integral is also calculated to compare with (K _I ² +K _II ² )/E evaluated by the least squares method. The stress fields near the crack tip are dominated by the two stress intensity factors; however, the edge effect will cause inaccuracy of the thermoelastic data near the crack tip. Furthermore, the scan area of thermoelastic experiments cannot be too small. Therefore, we suggest that three or four terms of stress function be included in the least squares method for evaluating stress intensity factors via the thermoelastic technique. In the idealized condition, the error can be smaller than 3 percent from our numerical simulations. If only ther ^–1/2 term (K _I andK _II ) is included in the least squares method, even in the idealized case the error can be up to 20 percent.     

A biaxial test specimen for crack arrest studies

A biaxially loaded, single edge notched (SEN) fracture specimen, with mixed modes I and II loading, was used to study the crack arrest capability of a bonded and riveted tear strap without and with simulated multiple site damage (MSD). MSD was modeled by a 50-percent groove without which the running crack would inevitably kink due to K_II loading. A total of thirty-one 2024-T3 aluminum specimens with various crack and MSD configurations were tested. The fracture parameters associated with straight and curved crack paths were determined by using the experimenta results to drive a dynamic finite element model of the specimen in its generation mode. The crack kinking and extension criteria were verified by the excellent agreement between the prediction based on these fracture parameters and the measured crack kinking angles. Comparison between the test results generated by the biaxial stress specimens and by those generated by small- and full-scale pressurized fuselage rupture experiments showed that this specimen can be used to prescreen the effectiveness of tear straps and crack arrestors in an airplane fuselage.     

功能梯度条共线Griffith裂纹反平面剪切冲击

研究正交各向异性功能梯度条中多个共线Griffith裂纹的反平面剪切冲击问题．材料两个方向的剪切模量假定按比例同时以特定的梯度变化．采用Laplace和Fourier变换及引进位错密度函数将问题化为求解Cauchy奇异积方程，进而化为代数方程数值求解．考查材料非均匀性、正交性和功能梯度条高度对裂尖动态断裂特性的影响．动应力强度因子的数值结果显示：增加剪切模量的梯度和(或)增加垂直于裂纹面方向的剪切模量，可以抑制动应力强度因子的幅度；若功能梯度条较薄，增大条形域的高度也可抑制裂纹扩展．     

Effect of local elastic softening on crack extension

Elastic softening materials are brittle materials such that crack extension is associated with a softening zone behind the crack tip, with the material elements within this zone exerting a restraining effect on the crack tip. Crack extension is sometimes characterised in terms of the stress intensity K_F, due to the applied loadings, at the front of the softening zone, i.e. the actual crack tip. This paper is concerned with the determination of the maximum load K_F value for a general positive geometrical configuration, for the case where the softening zone size is small compared with a solid's characteristic dimension. The resulting expression for K_F is compared with the maximum load stress intensity value K_T measured with regard to the initial crack position, i.e. the trailing edge of the softening zone.     

Study of pure and mixed-mode fracture of a brittle material

In order to study the behavior of a crack in a linear-elastic material in plane mixed mode (modes I+II), a specimen's shape and loading have been specially adapted. The specimens are first precracked in mode I and then subjected to monotonic loading until instability is reached by an original device which makes it possible to control the nature of the mixed mode applied and which is adjustable from pure mode I to pure mode II. After the specimens are fractured, the lengths of the initial cracks and the kinking angles were measured in the plane-strain area. Then the stress-intensity factorsK _I andK _II at the moment when crack instability appeared were calculated. This made it possible to apply two criteria: maximum principal stress and maximum stressintensity factorK ₁ ^* at the onset of kinking. From comparing the calculated values with the experimental values we may note that there is good agreement with respect to the crackkinking directions. However, for the limit load values considerable divergences have been recorded which are analyzed.     

An improved experimental method for the determination of the critical stress intensity factor KIc of brittle materials

The critical stress intensity factor K_Ic is determined by a simple and accurate method, using small test specimens and a simple procedure in this paper.Single edge V-notched tension specimens made of PMMA are subjected to a load which is slowly increased until the crack begins to move from the notch tip. During the crack propagation event shadow patterns at the tip of the crack are recorded in a video recorder. Under these loading conditions, the creating real crack propagate slowly until the crack propagation velocity take an abrupt increase and the entire fracture of the specimen takes place. The stress intensity factor which correspond to the transition from the slow to fast crack speed, is the critical stress intensity factor K_Ic and it can be the fracture toughness of the material.The results are accurate and in good agreement with those values of K_Ic which are calculated by approximate theoretical expressions.The purpose of this paper is to introduce an improved, simple and accurate experimental method for the determination of fracture toughness of brittle materials.     

Analysis of dynamic mixed-mode isochromatics

The mixed-mode, elastodynamic state of stress in the neighborhood of a constant-velocity crack tip is used to generate numerically unsymmetric isochromatics. Unsymmetry associated with the third-order terms of a mixed-mode stress field, with and without the Mode II singular stress term, is also investigated. In extractingK _I from an unsymmetric isochromatic pattern, errors in the Mode I fracture parameters due to the assumed presence ofK _II in aK _I stress field were found to be significant when data are taken more than 4 mm from the crack tip. Paper was presented at V International Congress on Experimental Mechanics held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on June 10–15, 1984.