Analysis of a bi-piezoelectric ceramic layer with an interfacial crack subjected to anti-plane shear and in-plane electric loading

The behaviour of a bi-piezoelectric ceramic layer with a centre interfacial crack subjected to anti-plane shear and in-plane electric loading has been studied. The dislocation density functions and the Fourier integral transform method have been employed to eliminate the problem of singular integral equations. The normalized energy release rate, stress and electrical displacement intensity factors, G/G₀,K_III/K_III0 and K_D/K_D0, respectively, were determined for different geometric and property parameters by use of two different crack surface electric boundary conditions, i.e. impermeable and permeable. It has been shown that the effects of the thickness and material constants of the piezoelectric layer on all the three parameters, i.e. G/G₀,K_III/K_III0 and K_D/K_D0 were significant.     

An experimental analysis of displacement field of mixed mode crack

In this paper, the characteristic properties ofv (y-direction displacement) field surrounding the tip of a mixed mode crack are studied. These properties can be used to evaluate the rigid body rotation of the crack tip, theK _I SIF and the ratio ofK _II SIF toK _I.The authors employ a film to record the displacement information based on the technique of moire interferometry with sticking films. By using the data taken from the moire pattern and treating them with the damping least square method, all of the parameters of the crack can be obtained accurately.     

A Zener-Stroh crack interacting with an edge dislocation

A Zener-Stroh crack interacting with an edge dislocation is studied. The crack faces are assumed to be traction free. The applied ‘generalized loading’ for crack is the initial displacement jump and the intervention of the edge dislocation. Through decomposing the problem into two sub-simple problems, using the superposition principle, its solution is obtained. To demonstrate both the validity of the solution and its potential application, two simple examples related to the crack stress intensity factors are presented on the basis of the solution. The application of the solution to model crack initiations arising from dislocation-pileup is discussed.     

Stress intensity factors of an oblique edge crack subjected to normal and shear tractions

Stress intensity factors (SIFs) were obtained for an oblique crack under normal and shear traction and remote extension loads. The oblique crack was modeled as the pseudodislocation. The stress field due to tractions was solved by the Flamant solution. The SIR of Mode I and Mode II (K_Iand K_II) were then obtained. Finite element analysis was performed with ABAQUS and compared with the analytical solutions. The analytical solutions were in good agreement with the results of FEM. From investigating SIFs and their ranges, the following results were obtained. The growth rate of an oblique edge crack decreased due to the reduction in the SIF ranges. The crack driving force depended on the obliquity, the normal traction and the ratio of crack to traction length. The peak value of shear traction was found as a key parameter to accelerate the crack growth.     

Anomalies associated with energy release parameters for cracks in piezoelectric materials

For a central crack in a piezoelectric plate, the mode-I stress intensity factor (K_I), electric displacement intensity factor (K_D), energy release rates (G, G_M) and energy density factor (S) are obtained from the finite element results. For the impermeable crack, the numerical results of K_I and K_D are coupled; this error is contrary to the uncoupled analytical solutions. The error has little effect on the total energy release rate G and energy density factor S, but in some cases, large errors in the mechanical energy release rate G_M are observed. G is global while SED is local. Also G is negative which defies physics where energy cannot be created while crack attempts to extend as implied by G. Computations should be made for the J-integral and also show that J becomes negative. What this shows is that the global fracture energy criterion is not suitable to address the local release of energy because it includes the overall energy which are irrelevant to fracture initiation being a local behavior. In addition, the case study shows that the energy density theory is the better fracture criterion for the piezoelectric material. According to the results of S, it retards the crack growth when the external electric field and piezoelectric poling are on opposite directions. This conclusion agrees with analytical and experimental evidence in the past references.     

The anti-plane shear field in an infinite slab of elasto-damaged material with a semi-infinite crack

This paper deals with an infinite slab with a semi-infinite crack, which is subjected to the anti-plane sheark _III field at infinity. The slab is made of an elasto-damaged material. Analytical solution is obtained by use of conformal mapping. The shape of damaged-zone, the dissipative energy, the shear opening displacement on the crack surface and several stress distribution curves are given. The far field condition is checked, The asymptotic behavior near the crack-tip is given. The project supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China     

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.     

Resolved shear stress intensity coefficient and fatigue crack growth in large crystals

Fatigue crack growth is caused primarily by shear decohesion due to dislocation motion in the crack tip region. The resolved shear stress, which drives dislocation in a crystal, is strongly orientation dependent, and therefore, the cyclic plastic deformation of the shear decohesion process is highly anisotropic.The crack planes are often inclined to the loading axis both in the inplane orientation and in the thickness direction. This inclination induces all three modes of the crack tip stress field, K_I, K_II, and K_III.Fatigue crack growth in large-grain Al 7029 aluminum alloy was studied. The crack tip stress fields of the test specimens are calculated with the finite element method. The values of K_I, K_II, and K_III are evaluated. The orientation of the crystal at a crack tip was determined with the Laue X-ray method. The crystal orientation and the calculated crack tip stress fields are used to compute the resolved shear stress intensity of each of the twelve slip systems of the crystal at the crack tip. The resolved shear stress field of a slip system is linearly proportional to the resolved shear stress intensity coefficient, RSSIC.The values of RSSIC thus evaluated are used to analyze the orientations of the crack plane and to correlate with the shear fatigue crack growth rate.     

Brittle fracture: Variation of fracture toughness with constraint and crack curving under mode I conditions

The effect of constraint on brittle fracture of solids under predominantly elastic deformation and mode I loading conditions is studied. Using different cracked specimen geometry, the variation of constraint is achieved in this work. Fracture tests of polymethyl methacrylate were performed using single edge notch, compact tension and double cantilever beam specimens to cover a bread range of constraint. The test data demonstrate that the apparent fracture toughness of the material varies with the specimen geometry or the constraint level. Theory is developed using the critical stress (strain) as the fracture criterion to show that this variation can be interpreted using the critical stress intensity factorK _Cand a second parameterT orA ₃,whereT andA ₃are the amplitudes of the second and the third term in the Williams series solution, respectively. The implication of this constraint effect to the ASTM fracture toughness value, crack tip opening displacement fracture criterion and energy release rateG _Cis discussed. Using the same critical stress (strain) as the fracture criterion, the theory further predicts crack curving or instability under mode I loading conditions. Experimental data are presented and compared with the theory.     

A closed form solution for stress intensity factors of shear modes for 3-D finite bodies with cracks by energy release rate method

In this paper, a new analytical-engineering method of closed form solution for stress intensity factors of shear modes for 3-D finite bodies with cracks is derived by the time saving energy release rate method. Hence a complete series of useful results of stress intensity factorsK _II andK _III can be obtained. And the results provided by this method are in good agreement with some obtained by other methods.     

A numerical analysis of flat internal cracks under mixed mode loading

A numerical/analytical approach is proposed to determine the stress intensity factors K_I, K_II, and K_III of a 3D internal crack. The main point of this approach is the meshing technique that can model very sharp crack fronts. The meshing technique is based on an elliptical coordinate transformation that starts from a circular crack. It allows the obtainment of a curved crack front with elements normal to the crack front. Remarkable accuracy can be obtained for elliptical crack fronts with axes ratio smaller that 0.01. Accuracy demonstration is provided for cylindrical element with an inclined internal crack subjected to uni-axial tension. This case corresponds to crack propagation for all three modes of loading, the solution of which can checked with references’ results.     

Penny-shaped crack in transversely isotropic piezoelectric materials

Using a method of potential functions introduced successively to integrate the field equations of three-dimensional problems for transversely isotropic piezoelectric materials, we obtain the so-called general solution in which the displacement components and electric potential functions are represented by a singular function satisfying some special partial differential equations of 6th order. In order to analyse the mechanical-electric coupling behaviour of penny-shaped crack for above materials, another form of the general solution is obtained under cylindrical coordinate system by introducing three quasi-harmonic functions into the general equations obtained above. It is shown that both the two forms of the general solutions are complete. Furthermore, the mechanical-electric coupling behaviour of penny-shaped crack in transversely isotropic piezoelectric media is analysed under axisymmetric tensile loading case, and the crack-tip stress field and electric displacement field are obtained. The results show that the stress and the electric displacement components near the crack tip have (r ^−1/2) singularity. The project supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province, China     

A study ofJ-integral of the orthotropic composite material

The relation between J-integral near model I crack tip in the orthotropic plate and displacement derivative is derived in this paper. Meanwhile, the relation between stress intensity factor K _I and displacement is also given in this paper. With sticking film moire interferometry method, the three-point bending beam is tested, thus the values of J-integral and K _I can be obtained from the displacement field, and then the truth of relation formula between J-integral and K _I in the orthotropic composite materials is experimentally verified.     

Mechanics and fracture of crack tip deformable bi-material interface

Novel interface deformable bi-layer beam theory is developed to account for local effects at crack tip of bi-material interface by modeling a bi-layer composite beam as two separate shear deformable sub-layers with consideration of crack tip deformation. Unlike the sub-layer model in the literature in which the crack tip deformations under the interface peel and shear stresses are ignored and thus a “rigid” joint is used, the present study introduces two interface compliances to account for the effect of interface stresses on the crack tip deformation which is referred to as the elastic foundation effect; thus a flexible condition along the interface is considered. Closed-form solutions of resultant forces, deformations, and interface stresses are obtained for each sub-layer in the bi-layer beam, of which the local effects at the crack tip are demonstrated. In this study, an elastic deformable crack tip model is presented for the first time which can improve the split beam solution. The present model is in excellent agreements with analytical 2-D continuum solutions and finite element analyses. The resulting crack tip rotation is then used to calculate the energy release rate (ERR) and stress intensity factor (SIF) of interface fracture in bi-layer materials. Explicit closed-form solutions for ERR and SIF are obtained for which both the transverse shear and crack tip deformation effects are accounted. Compared to the full continuum elasticity analysis, such as finite element analysis, the present solutions are much explicit, more applicable, while comparable in accuracy. Further, the concept of deformable crack tip model can be applied to other bi-layer beam analyses (e.g., delamination buckling and vibration, etc.).     

Stress intensity factor range and propagation mode of surface cracks under rolling–sliding contact

Finite element analyses were conducted in order to evaluate the mode I and mode II stress intensity factors for inclined edge cracks under cyclic contact load under rolling and rolling–sliding condition. The SIF range depends on crack orientation, crack length to Hertzian contact zone half-width ratio, friction between the crack faces and friction on the contact surface. The results were combined in two compact functions that determine the ΔK_I and ΔK_II values. The crack propagation mode and direction were investigated using both the maximum stress criterion and the minimum strain energy density criterion. The results are displayed in graph form, which allows a fast evaluation of the crack growth condition.     

Experimental analysis of an arbitrarily inclined semiinfinite crack terminated at the bimaterial interface

In this paper, the digital photoelastic technique was employed to investigate the effect of different material combinations and different crack inclination angles on the stress-intensity factors (SIFs). To produce a true bimaterial plate, the two component materials were naturally adhered together by a special casting procedure. The experimental results show that dimensionless combined SIF increases with increasingG ₁/G ₂ (or crack inclination angles) for different crack inclination angles (orG ₁/G ₂'s).     

Mode III effects on interface delamination

For crack growth along an interface between dissimilar materials the effect of combined modes I, II and III at the crack-tip is investigated. First, in order to highlight situations where crack growth is affected by a mode III contribution, examples of material configurations are discussed where mode III has an effect. Subsequently, the focus is on crack growth along an interface between an elastic-plastic solid and an elastic substrate. The analyses are carried out for conditions of small-scale yielding, with the fracture process at the interface represented by a cohesive zone model. Due to the mismatch of elastic properties across the interface the corresponding elastic solution has an oscillating stress singularity, and this solution is applied as boundary conditions on the outer edge of the region analyzed. For several combinations of modes I, II and III crack growth resistance curves are calculated numerically in order to determine the steady-state fracture toughness. For given values of K_I and K_II the minimum fracture toughness corresponds to K_III=0 in most of the range analyzed, but there is a range where the minimum occurs for a nonzero value of K_III.     

Direct Evaluation of Cohesive Law in Mode I of Pinus pinaster by Digital Image Correlation

The direct identification of the cohesive law in pure mode I of Pinus pinaster is addressed in this work. The approach couples the double cantilever beam (DCB) test with digital image correlation (DIC). Wooden beam specimens loaded in the radial-longitudinal (RL) fracture propagation system are used. The strain energy release rate in mode I (G _I) is uniquely determined from the load–displacement curve by means of the compliance-based beam method (CBBM). This method relies on the concept of equivalent elastic crack length (a _eq) and therefore does not require the monitoring of crack propagation during test. DIC measurements are processed with two different purposes. Firstly, the physical evidence of a _eq is discussed with regard to actual estimation of the crack length based on post-processing full-field displacement measurements. Secondly, the crack tip opening displacement in mode I (w _I) is determined from the displacements near the initial crack tip. The cohesive law in mode I (σ _I???w _I) is then identified by numerical differentiation of the G _I???w _I relationship. The methodology and accuracy on this reconstruction are addressed. Moreover, the proposed procedure is validated by finite element analyses including cohesive zone modelling. It is concluded that the proposed data reduction scheme is adequate for assessing the cohesive law in pure mode I of P. pinaster.     

Stress intensity factors for surface cracks in round bar under single and combined loadings

This paper numerically discusses stress intensity factor (SIF) calculations for surface cracks in round bars subjected to single and combined loadings. Different crack aspect ratios, a/b, ranging from 0.0 to 1.2 and the relative crack depth, a/D, in the range of 0.1 to 0.6 are considered. Since the torsion loading is non-symmetrical, the whole finite element model has been constructed, and the loadings have been remotely applied to the model. The equivalent SIF, F^*_EQF^{*}_{EQ} is then used to combine the individual SIF from the bending or tension with torsion loadings. Then, it is compared with the combined SIF, F^*_FEF^{*}_{FE} obtained numerically using the finite element analysis under similar loadings. It is found that the equivalent SIF method successfully predicts the combined SIF, F^*_EQF^{*}_{EQ} for Mode I when compared with F^*_FEF^{*}_{FE}. However, some discrepancies between the results, determined from the two different approaches, occur when F _III is involved. Meanwhile, it is also noted that the F^*_FEF^{*}_{FE} is higher than the F^*_EQF^{*}_{EQ} due to the difference in crack face interactions and deformations.     

Closed form solution for two unequal collinear semi-permeable straight cracks in a piezoelectric media

The problem of two unequal collinear straight cracks weakening a poled transversely isotropic piezoelectric ceramic is addressed under semi-permeable electric boundary conditions on the crack faces. The plate has been subjected to combined in-plane normal(to the faces of the cracks) mechanical and electric loads. Problem is formulated employing Stroh formalism and solved using complex variable technique. The elastic field, electric field and energy release rate are obtained in closed analytic form. A case study is presented for poled PZT-5H cracked plate to study the effect of prescribed mechanical load, electric load, inter-crack distance and crack lengths on crack arrest parameters stress intensity factor (SIF), electric displacement intensity factor (EDIF) and mechanical and total energy release rates (ERR). Moreover a comparative study is done of impermeable and semi-permeable crack face boundary conditions on SIF, EDIF and ERR, and results obtained is presented graphically. It is observed that the effect of dielectric medium in the crack gap cannot be ignored.