Thermo-electro-structural coupled analyses of crack arrest by Joule heating

Using the finite element method, thermo-electro-structural coupled analyses of the cracked conducting plate under high electric current have been solved. The crack contact condition and temperature-dependent material properties are considered in this analysis. The crack tip temperature, electric current density factor, stress intensity factor and strain energy density factor are obtained for discussions. Due to high electric current density and Joule heating at the crack tip, a circular melting area may exist around the tip. After cooling, a circular void or hole may occur at the crack tip and the crack arrest is achieved. The crack tip temperature decreases when the crack contact area increases. The proper tensile load is necessary for making the crack open enough and causing high current density at the crack tip and associated crack arrest. On the other hand, the crack tip temperature increases with time by the increasing external current and Joule heating. The values of mode-I stress intensity factor and strain energy density factor decrease with time due to the thermal deformation around the crack tip. Because of the temperature-dependent resistivity, the variation of the electric current density factor is complicated. In addition, it is not easy to create a crack-arrest condition when the crack length relative to the plate width is too small.     

Electrothermal stress in conductive body with collinear cracks

The temperature and stress field in a thin plate with collinear cracks interrupting an electric current field are determined. This is accomplished by using a complex function method that allows a direct means of finding the distribution of the electric current, the temperature and stress field. Temperature dependency for the heat-transfer coefficient, coefficient of linear expansion and the elastic modulus are considered. As an example, temperature distribution is calculated for an alloy (No. GH2132) plate with two collinear cracks under high temperature. Relationships between the stress, temperature, electric density and crack length are obtained. Crack trajectories emanating from existing crack are predicted by application of the strain energy density criterion which can also be used for finding the load carrying capacity of the cracked plate.     

Higher-order crack tip fields for functionally graded material plate with transverse shear deformation

The crack tip fields are investigated for a cracked functionally graded material (FGM) plate by Reissner’s linear plate theory with the consideration of the transverse shear deformation generated by bending. The elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio of the functionally graded plates are assumed to vary continuously through the coordinate y, according to a linear law and a constant, respectively. The governing equations, i.e., the 6th-order partial differential equations with variable coefficients, are derived in the polar coordinate system based on Reissner’s plate theory. Furthermore, the generalized displacements are treated in a separation-of-variable form, and the higher-order crack tip fields of the cracked FGM plate are obtained by the eigen-expansion method. It is found that the analytic solutions degenerate to the corresponding fields of the isotropic homogeneous plate with Reissner’s effect when the in-homogeneity parameter approaches zero.     

Thermally induced fracture of a smart functionally graded composite structure

Discussed is the fracture behavior of a cracked smart actuator on a substrate under thermal load. The actuator is made of piezoelectric material with functionally graded material (FGM) properties. Integral transform method is used to reduce the problem to the solution of a set of singular integral equations and is solved numerically. This paper is completed by including graphical plots of the thermal flow, stress and electric displacement intensity factors around the crack for different crack positions and material gradients. Directions of crack initiation are also predicted by using the energy density criterion.     

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.     

一种随机裂纹结构的裂纹扩展路径分析方法

裂纹结构中存在大量不确定性因素,如裂纹长度、材料性质、外部载荷等,裂纹扩展路径的不确定性分析对研究随机裂纹结构损伤和断裂的力学特性并预测其性能及可靠性具有重要意义。本文提出了一种适应于混合载荷模式下随机裂纹结构的裂纹扩展路径分析方法。该方法考虑了裂纹长度、材料性质和外部载荷等的随机性,并通过蒙特卡洛方法对随机参数空间进行采样。采用比例边界有限元方法计算结构应力强度因子,进而模拟单次裂纹扩展路径。在此基础上,通过概率分析方法获得随机裂纹结构中裂纹扩展路径的统计特性。最后给出了两个数值算例验证了本文方法的有效性。     

Orthotropic semi-infinite medium with a crack under thermal shock

A cracked orthotropic semi-infinite plate under thermal shock is investigated. The thermal stresses are generated due to sudden cooling of the boundary by ramp function temperature change. The superposition technique is used to solve the problem. The crack problem is formulated by applying the thermal stresses obtained from the uncracked plate with opposite sign to be the only external loads on the crack surfaces as the crack surface tractions. The Fourier transform technique is used to solve the problem leading to a singular equation of the Cauchy type. The singular integral equation is solved numerically using the expansion method. The influence of the material orthotropy on the stress intensity factors is shown by comparing the results obtained for different orthotropic materials and isotropic materials in the case of plane stress. The numerical results of the stress intensity factors are demonstrated as a function of time, crack length, location of the crack and the duration of the cooling rate.     

Growth of crack caused by temperature gradients with change in surface insulation

This work is concerned with thermoelastic stress and failure analysis of a centrally cracked panel subjected to temperature gradients while the insulation on the crack surface is varied. The corresponding temperature and thermoelastic stress fields are obtained by application of the finite element method. According to the strain energy density criterion, the crack grows incrementally when the maximum of the minimum strain energy density function reaches a critical value for a given material. Crack growth resistance curves involving plots of the strain energy density factor S versus the half crack length a are developed for crack surfaces with varying degree of heat resistance. The resulting curves are straight lines satisfying the condition dS/da = const. and useful for determining combined influence of thermal loading and structural geometry that lead to global instability.     

Non-self-similar crack growth in elastic-plastic finite thickness plate

This work is concerned with non-self-similar crack growth in medium strength metal plates while the loading step, plate thickness and material properties are altered. The three-dimensional elastic-plastic finite element stress analysis is combined with the strain energy density criterion for modeling the material damage process from crack initiation to final global instability including the intervening stage of slow crack growth. Both inelastic deformation and crack growth are accounted for each increment of loading such that the redistribution of stresses and strains are made for each new crack profile. Numerical results are obtained for the center cracked plate configuration under uniform extension with twenty-seven (27) different combinations of specimen thickness, loading step and material type. The fracture toughness S_c being related to K_1c for three different materials are predicted analytically from the corresponding uniaxial tensile test data. Effective strain energy density factor and half crack length are defined so that the results can be compared with their two-dimensional counterparts. Crack growth resistance curves (R-curves) are constructed by plotting as a function of . The condition is found to prevail during slow crack growth. Translation and/or rotation of the lines can yield results other than those calculated and serve a useful purpose for scaling component size and test time. The minimum thickness requirement for the ASTM valid K_1c test is also discussed in connection with predictions based on the strain energy density criterion. The corresponding K_1c for smaller specimens that exhibit moderate ductility and nonlinearity can also be obtained analytically. In such cases, the influence of loading step can be significant and should not be neglected. Notwithstanding the shortcomings of the theory of plasticity, the qualitative features of non-self-similar crack growth are predicted by the strain energy density criterion. Any refinements on the analytical modeling of the material damage process would only affect the results qualitatively, a subject that is left for future investigation.     

On the driving force for crack growth during thermal actuation of shape memory alloys

The effect of thermomechanically induced phase transformation on the driving force for crack growth in polycrystalline shape memory alloys is analyzed in an infinite center-cracked plate subjected to a thermal actuation cycle under mechanical load in plain strain. Finite element calculations are carried out to determine the mechanical fields near the static crack and the crack-tip energy release rate using the virtual crack closure technique. A substantial increase of the energy release rate – an order of magnitude for some material systems – is observed during the thermal cycle due to the stress redistribution induced by large scale phase transformation. Thus, phase transformation occurring due to thermal variations under mechanical load may result in crack growth if the crack-tip energy release rate reaches a material specific critical value.     

Thermal effects on adhesively bonded composite repair of cracked aluminum panels

This study introduces the two-dimensional finite element analysis involving three layer technique to investigate the adhesively bonded composite repair of cracked metallic structure under thermo-mechanical loading. The thermal loading involves, in this study, the temperature drop such as seen during the bonding process. Three patch materials having different stiffnesses and coefficients of thermal expansion are investigated to analyze the thermal effects on the damage tolerance of the crack in the repaired structure and of the debond in the adhesive bondline. For the single sided repair, the patch material having the maximum mismatch in the coefficient of thermal expansion with that of the cracked aluminum plate provides the better damage tolerance capability for both the crack in the panel and the debond in the adhesive. On the other hand, for double sided repair, the patch material having the minimal mismatch in the coefficient of thermal expansion with that of the cracked plate provides the better damage tolerance capability.     

Analytical modeling for nonlinear vibration analysis of partially cracked thin magneto-electro-elastic plate coupled with fluid

A nonlinear analytical model for the transverse vibration of cracked magneto-electro-elastic (MEE) thin plate is presented using the classical plate theory (CPT). The MEE plate material selected is fiber-reinforced \(\hbox {BaTiO}_{3}\)–\(\hbox {CoFe}_{2}\hbox {O}_{4}\) composite, which contains a partial crack at the center. The CPT and the simplified line spring model for crack terms are modified to accommodate the effect of electric and magnetic field rigidities. The analysis considers in-plane forces for the MEE plate, which makes the model nonlinear. The derived governing equation is solved by expressing the transverse displacement in terms of modal coordinates. An approximate solution for forced vibration of cracked MEE plate is also obtained using a perturbation technique. The effect of part-through crack, volume fraction of the composite on the vibration frequencies and structure response is investigated. The frequency response curves presented shows the phenomenon of hard or soft spring. Furthermore, the devised model is extended to the case of cracked MEE plate submerged in fluid. Velocity potential function and Bernoulli’s equation are used to incorporate the inertia effect of surrounding fluid. Both partially and totally submerged plate configurations are considered. The validation of the present results is carried out for intact submerged plate as to the best of the author’s knowledge the literature lacks in results for submerged-cracked plates. New results for cracked MEE plate show that the vibration characteristics are affected by volume fraction, crack length, fluid level and depth of immersion.     

Stability and dynamic analysis of partially cracked thin orthotropic microplates under thermal environment: an analytical approach

Abstract

An analytical model is proposed to analyze the vibration and buckling problem of partially cracked thin orthotropic microplate in the presence of thermal environment. The differential governing equation for the cracked plate is derived using the classical plate theory in conjunction with the strain gradient theory of elasticity. The crack is modeled using appropriate crack compliance coefficients based on the simplified line spring model. The influence of thermal environment is incorporated in governing equation in form thermal moments and in-plane compressive forces. The governing equation for cracked plate has been solved analytically to get fundamental frequency and central deflection of plate. To demonstrate the accuracy of the present model, few comparison studies are carried out with the published literature. The stability and dynamic characteristics of the cracked plate are studied considering various parameters such as crack length, plate thickness, change in temperature, and internal length scale of microstructure. It has been concluded that the frequency and deflection are affected by crack length, temperature, and internal length scale of microstructure. Furthermore, to study the buckling behavior of cracked plate, the classical relations for critical buckling load and critical buckling temperature is also proposed considering the effect of crack length, temperature, and internal length scale of microstructure.     

Thermal/mechanical interaction of subcritical crack growth in tensile specimen

The mutually interacting thermal/mechanical effects are accounted for by retaining the rate of change of volume with surface dV/dA, in the surface/volume energy density theory. An exchange between surface and volume energy would thus prevail in accordance with the rates at which the loads are transmitted throughout the system. Obtained are results for a center-cracked specimen subjected to monotonically rising tensile load at the rate of . Eight load steps are taken with an even increment increase of 69 MPa starting from 276 MPa. The temperature is found to oscillate about the ambient condition as the crack grew incrementally in a stable fashion. What differed considerably from the plasticity theory are the local stress and strain distribution and the crack growth characteristics. This is particularly pronounced in regions close to the crack tip where the local strain rates and strain rate history change from element to element, an affect that is not accounted for in plasticity.     

Quantitative assessment of the surface crack density in thermal barrier coatings

In this paper, a modified shear-lag model is developed to calculate the surface crack density in thermal barrier coatings（TBCs）. The mechanical properties of TBCs are also measured to quantitatively assess their surface crack density. Acoustic emission（AE） and digital image correlation methods are applied to monitor the surface cracking in TBCs under tensile loading. The results show that the calculated surface crack density from the modified model is in agreement with that obtained from experiments. The surface cracking process of TBCs can be discriminated by their AE characteristics and strain evolution. Based on the correlation of energy released from cracking and its corresponding AE signals, a linear relationship is built up between the surface crack density and AE parameters, with the slope being dependent on the mechanical properties of TBCs.     

Growth of an arc-crack in bonded dissimilar materials

The problem of growth of a crack lying along the interface of a circular inclusion embedded in an infinite plate is studied within the framework of linear elasticity. The plate is subjected to a uniform uniaxial stress at infinity at any angle of inclination relatively to the crack. The critical load for unstable crack growth, the angle of initial crack extension and the subsequent crack path are investigated using the strain energy density fracture criterion. The combined effect of crack length and orientation on the fracture stress is considered for the case of an aluminum-epoxy composite.     

Influence of load amplitude and uniaxial tensile properties on fatigue crack growth

The rate at which energy is accumulated within a unit volume of material in fatigue is assumed to depend not only on load-time history but also on the specimen size and geometry in addition to material type. A threshold level for the hysteresis strain energy density function accumulated in the material is used for predicting macrocrack growth. This is accomplished by application of the incremental theory of plasticity for each increment of crack growth. The accumulated hysteresis strain energy density factor ΔS to crack growth increment Δa ratio is found to be constant for fixed specimen size and loading, i.e., . Results are obtained for the cylindrical bar specimens with a penny-shaped defect at the center subjected to a constant amplitude and frequency loading. The resistance curves in the ΔS versus Δa plot are parallel lines as specimen size is altered. This information provides a rational means for predicting the influence of specimen size on fatigue lifetime.The results are also compared with those found for geometrically similar plate specimens with line cracks. Cylinder bar specimens of the same material are found to sustain more load cycles prior to catastrophic failure.     

Rectangular tensile sheet with a center notch root crack

This paper deals with the rectangular tensile sheet with a center notch crack. Such a crack problem is called a center notch crack problem for short. By using a hybrid displacement discontinuity method (a boundary element method) proposed recently by Yan, two center notch models are analyzed in detail. By changing the geometrical forms and parameters of the center notch, and by comparing the SIFs of the center notch crack problem with those of the center cracked plate tension specimen (CCT), which is a model frequently used in fracture mechanics, the effect of the geometrical forms and parameters of the center notch on the stress intensity factors (SIFs) of the center cracked plate tension specimen, is revealed. Some geometric characterestic parameters are introduced here, which are used to formulate the notch length and the branch crack length, which are to be determined in mechanical machining of the center cracked plate tension specimen. So we can say that the geometric characterestic parameters and the formulae used to determine the notch length and the branch crack length presented in this paper perhaps have some guidance role for mechanical machining of the center cracked plate tension specimen. In addition, the numerical investigation proves that the conventional angular notched specimen is much less sensitive to the size of notch than is the circular notched specimen.     

Free torsional vibration of cracked nanobeams incorporating surface energy effects

This paper investigates surface energy effects, including the surface shear modulus, the surface stress, and the surface density, on the free torsional vibration of nanobeams with a circumferential crack and various boundary conditions. To formulate the problem, the surface elasticity theory is used. The cracked nanobeam is modeled by dividing it into two parts connected by a torsional linear spring in which its stiffness is related to the crack severity. Governing equations and corresponding boundary conditions are derived with the aid of Hamilton's principle. Then, natural frequencies are obtained analytically, and the influence of the crack severity and position, the surface energy, the boundary conditions, the mode number, and the dimensions of nanobeam on the free torsional vibration of nanobeams is studied in detail. Results of the present study reveal that the surface energy has completely different effects on the free torsional vibration of cracked nanobeams compared with its effects on the free transverse vibration of cracked nanobeams.     

Angle cracks in two bonded functionally graded piezoelectric material under anti-plane shear

Consider two bonded functionally graded piezoelectric material (FGPM) with finite height. Each material contains an arbitrary oriented crack. The material properties are assumed in exponential forms in the direction normal to the interface. The crack surface condition is assumed to be electrically impermeable or permeable. Using the Fourier transform technique, the problem can be reduced to a system of singular integral equations, which are then solved numerically by applying the Gauss-Chebyshev integration formula to obtain the stress intensity factors at the crack tips. Numerical calculations are carried out to obtain the energy density factor S and the energy release rate G. In impermeable case, the energy release rate has been shown to be negative as the electric loads are applied. The positive definite characteristic of the energy density factor makes it possible for predicting the fracture behavior of the cracked structure. The influences of the non-homogeneous parameters and crack orientation on the energy density factors at the crack tips are discussed in detail. The results show that the energy density factor at the crack tip will be increased when the crack tip is located within the softer material.