Crack growth resistance of shape memory alloys by means of a cohesive zone model

Crack growth resistance of shape memory alloys (SMAs) is dominated by the transformation zone in the vicinity of the crack tip. In this study, the transformation toughening behavior of a slowly propagating crack in an SMA under plane strain conditions and mode I deformation is numerically investigated. A small-scale transformation zone is assumed. A cohesive zone model is implemented to simulate crack growth within a finite element scheme. Resistance curves are obtained for a range of parameters that specify the cohesive traction-separation constitutive law. It is found that the choice of the cohesive strength t₀ has a great influence on the toughening behavior of the material. Moreover, the reversibility of the transformation can significantly reduce the toughening of the alloy. The shape of the initial transformation zone, as well as that of a growing crack is determined. The effect of the Young's moduli ratio of the martensite and austenite phases is examined.     

Rice Local Phase Angle Study for a Delamination Problem Between a Shape Memory Alloy and an Elastic Material

The present study is an extension of a recent paper of Freed et al. (J Mech Phys Solids 56:3003–3020, 2008). The final aim is to describe the transformation toughening behavior of a static crack along an interface between a shape memory alloy (SMA) and a linear elastic isotropic material. With an SMA as an equivalent Huber–Von Mises stress model (hypothesis of symmetric behavior between tension and compression), Freed et al. determine the initiation (ending) phase transformation yield surfaces in terms of the local phase angle introduced by Rice et al. (Metal ceramic interfaces, Pergamon Press, New York, pp 269–294, 1990). In this paper we give the general framework to determine this angle for a model integrating the asymmetry between tension and compression (experimentally measured: Vacher and Lexcellent in Proc ICM 6:231–236, 1991; Orgéas and Favier in Acta Mater 46(15):5579–5591, 2000), the Huber–Von Mises model being only a particular case. We demonstrate the local phase angle existence in an appropriate framing domain and give a sufficient hypothesis for its uniqueness and an algorithm to obtain it. Estimates are obtained in terms of physical quantities such as the Young modulus ratio, the bimaterial Poisson modulus values and also the choice of the yield loading functions. Finally, we illustrate this theoretical study by an application linking the asymmetry intensity on the width and the shape on predicted phase transformation surfaces and by a comparison with the symmetric case.     

NiTi形状记忆合金裂纹尖端热力耦合行为研究

本文对NiTi形状记忆合金I型裂纹尖端热力耦合行为进行了数值仿真分析和实验验证。建立了包含相变和热力耦合的本构模型,通过有限元计算得到了裂纹尖端附近的纵向应变、马氏体体积分数和温度场分布,依据马氏体相变情况对裂纹尖端有效应力强度因子进行了修正,揭示了加载速率对形状记忆合金裂纹尖端有效应力强度影子的影响规律。参数研究表明,随着加载频率的增加,裂纹尖端附近温度逐渐升高,马氏体相变区域逐渐缩小,有效应力强度因子呈下降趋势,形状记忆合金表现出增韧效应,有助于减缓裂纹扩展。本研究结果对于揭示热力耦合作用下超弹性形状记忆合金疲劳裂纹扩展规律具有重要参考意义。     

纤维复合材料界面横向拉伸分析

以单纤维十字型横向拉伸试验为研究对象,对纤维/基体界面采用弹性-软化双线性内聚力模型,建立了纤维复合材料在横向拉伸作用下界面法向失效过程的解析模型。得到了沿纤维/基体圆周界面的法向应力分布,纤维/基体界面的状态与界面承载力和单纤维复合材料承载力的关系,以及内聚力参数和试件几何尺寸对它们的影响。结果表明:纤维/基体圆周界面在脱粘前经历全部弹性及弹性+软化两种状态;当界面为弹性状态时,界面法向应力随界面强度线性增加;当界面为弹性+软化状态时,界面软化范围随界面裂纹萌生位移的增加而增大;界面初始脱粘位置与拉伸荷载方向重合;界面初始脱粘时的界面承载力随界面强度及界面裂纹萌生位移的增加而增加,随界面裂纹生成位移的增加而降低;单纤维复合材料的脱粘荷载受基体截面尺寸的影响,当纤维体积含量相同时,沿荷载方向截面尺寸的增大对提高脱粘荷载更显著。     

Nonlinear interface shear fracture of end notched flexure specimens

The nonlinear analytical solutions of an end notched flexure adhesive joint or fracture test specimen with identical or dissimilar adherends are investigated. In the current study, a cohesive zone model (with arbitrary nonlinear cohesive laws) based analytical solution is obtained for the interface shear fracture of an end notched flexure (ENF) specimen with sufficiently long bond length. It is found that the scatter and inconsistency in calculating Mode II toughness may be significantly reduced by this model. The present work indicates that the Mode II toughness G_IIc under pure shear cracking condition is indeed very weakly dependent on the initial crack length. And this conclusion is well supported by the experimental results found in the literature. The parametric studies show that the interface shear strength is the most dominant parameter on the critical load. It is also interesting to note that with very short initial crack length and identical interface shear strength, higher Mode II toughness indeed cannot increase the critical load. Unlike the high insensitivity of critical load to the detailed shape of the cohesive law for Mode I peel fracture, the shape of the cohesive law becomes relatively important for the critical load of joints under pure Mode II fracture conditions, especially for joints with short initial crack length. The current study may help researchers deepen the understanding of interface shear fracture and clarify some previous concepts on this fracture mode.     

Analysis of crack growth and crack-tip plasticity in ductile materials using cohesive zone models

Crack initiation and crack growth resistance in elastic plastic materials, dominated by crack-tip plasticity are analyzed with the crack modeled as a cohesive zone. Two different types (exponential and bilinear) of cohesive zone models (CZMs) have been used to represent the mechanical behavior of the cohesive zones. In this work, it is suggested that different forms of CZMs (e.g., exponential, bilinear) are the manifestations of different micromechanisms-based inelastic processes that participate in dissipating energy during the fracture process and each form is specific to each material system. It is postulated that the total energy release rate comprises the plastic dissipation rate in the bounding material and the separation energy rate within the fracture process zone, the latter is determined by CZMs. The total energy release rate then becomes a function of the material properties (e.g., yield strength, strain hardening exponent) and cohesive properties of the fracture process zone (e.g., cohesive strength and cohesive energy), and the form of cohesive zone model (CZM) that determines the rate of energy dissipation in the forward and wake regions of the crack. The effects of material parameters, cohesive zone parameters as well as the form/shape of CZMs in predicting the crack growth resistance and the size of plastic zone (SPZ) surrounding the crack tip are systematically examined. It is found that in addition to the cohesive strength and cohesive energy, the form (shape) of the traction–separation law of CZM plays a very critical role in determining the crack growth resistance (R-curve) of a given material. It is further observed that the shape of the CZM corresponds to inelastic processes active in the forward and wake regions of the crack, and has a profound influence on the R-curve and SPZ.     

Asymptotic fields around an interfacial crack with a cohesive zone ahead of the crack tip

This paper considers an interfacial crack with a cohesive zone ahead of the crack tip in a linearly elastic isotropic bi-material and derives the mixed-mode asymptotic stress and displacement fields around the crack and cohesive zone under plane deformation conditions (plane stress or plane strain). The field solution is obtained using elliptic coordinates and complex functions and can be represented in terms of a complete set of complex eigenfunction terms. The imaginary portion of the eigenvalues is characterized by a bi-material mismatch parameter ε = arctanh(β)/π, where β is a Dundurs parameter, and the resulting fields do not contain stress singularity. The behaviors of “Mode I” type and “Mode II” type fields based on dominant eigenfunction terms are discussed in detail. For completeness, the counterpart for the Mode III solution is included in an appendix.     

Dislocation shielding of a cohesive crack

Dislocation interaction with a cohesive crack is of increasing importance to computational modelling of crack nucleation/growth and related toughening mechanisms in confined structures and under cyclic fatigue conditions. Here, dislocation shielding of a Dugdale cohesive crack described by a rectangular traction-separation law is studied. The shielding is completely characterized by three non-dimensional parameters representing the effective fracture toughness, the cohesive strength, and the distance between the dislocations and the crack tip. A closed form analytical solution shows that, while the classical singular crack model predicts that a dislocation can shield or anti-shield a crack depending on the sign of its Burgers vector, at low cohesive strengths a dislocation always shields the cohesive crack irrespective of the Burgers vector. A numerical study shows the transition in shielding from the classical solution of Lin and Thomson (1986) in the high strength limit to the solution in the low strength limit. An asymptotic analysis yields an approximate analytical model for the shielding over the full range of cohesive strengths. A discrete dislocation (DD) simulation of a large (>10³) number of edge dislocations interacting with a cohesive crack described by a trapezoidal traction-separation law confirms the transition in shielding, showing that the cohesive crack does behave like a singular crack at very high cohesive strengths (∼7 GPa), but that significant deviations in shielding between singular and cohesive crack predictions arise at cohesive strengths around 1GPa, consistent with the analytic models. Both analytical and numerical studies indicate that an appropriate crack tip model is essential for accurately quantifying dislocation shielding for cohesive strengths in the GPa range.     

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.     

Cohesive zone finite element analysis of crack initiation from a butt joint’s interface corner

Cohesive zone (CZ) fracture analysis techniques are used to predict the initiation of crack growth from the interface corner of an adhesively bonded butt joint. In this plane strain analysis, a thin linear elastic adhesive layer is sandwiched between rigid adherends. There is no preexisting crack in the problem analyzed, and the focus is on how the shape of the traction–separation (T–U) relationship affects the predicted joint strength. Unlike the case of a preexisting interfacial crack, the calculated results clearly indicate that the predicted joint strength depends on the shape of the T–U relationship. Most of the calculations used a rectangular T–U relationship whose shape (aspect ratio) is defined by two parameters: the interfacial strength σ¹ and the work of separation/unit area Γ. The principal finding of this study is that for a specified adhesive layer thickness, there is any number of σ¹, Γ combinations that generate the same predicted joint strength. Each combination corresponds to a different CZ length. An approximate CZ-like elasticity solution was developed to show how such combinations arise and their connection with the CZ length.     

Stability of frictional slipping at an anisotropic/isotropic interface

The stability of steady, quasi-static slip at a planar interface between an anisotropic elastic solid and an isotropic elastic solid is studied. The paper begins with an analysis of anti-plane sliding at an orthotropic/isotropic interface. Friction at the interface is assumed to follow a rate- and state-dependent law. The stability to spatial perturbations of the form exp(ikx₁), where k is the wavenumber and x₁ is the coordinate along which the interface is studied. An expression is derived for the critical wavenumber ∣k∣_cr above which there is stability. In-plane sliding at an anisotropic/isotropic interface is subsequently studied. In this case, slip couples with normal stress changes and a constitutive law for dynamic normal stress changes is adopted. Again a formula for ∣k∣_cr is derived and the results are specialized to the case of an orthotropic/isotropic interface. Numerical plots of the dependence of ∣k∣_cr on the orientation of the orthotropic solid, as well as on the material parameters are provided.     

The non-uniform transformation strain problem for an anisotropic ellipsoidal inclusion

The problem of an anisotropic ellipsoidal inclusion which undergoes a stress-free transformation strain (in the sense of J.D. Eshelby) is considered, and the following theorem is proved: If an ellipsoidal region in an infinite anisotropic linear elastic medium undergoes, in the absence of its surroundings, a stress-free transformation strain which is a polynomial of degree M in the position coordinates x_t, then the final stress and strain state in the transformed inclusion, when constrained by its surroundings, is also a polynomial of degree M in x_t.     

Analysis method of planar interface cracks of arbitrary shape in three-dimensional transversely isotropic magnetoelectroelastic bimaterials

Using the fundamental solutions for three-dimensional transversely isotropic magnetoelectroelastic bimaterials, the extended displacements at any point for an internal crack parallel to the interface in a magnetoelectroelastic bimaterial are expressed in terms of the extended displacement discontinuities across the crack surfaces. The hyper-singular boundary integral–differential equations of the extended displacement discontinuities are obtained for planar interface cracks of arbitrary shape under impermeable and permeable boundary conditions in three-dimensional transversely isotropic magnetoelectroelastic bimaterials. An analysis method is proposed based on the analogy between the obtained boundary integral–differential equations and those for interface cracks in purely elastic media. The singular indexes and the singular behaviors of near crack-tip fields are studied. Three new extended stress intensity factors at crack tip related to the extended stresses are defined for interface cracks in three-dimensional transversely isotropic magnetoelectroelastic bimaterials. A penny-shaped interface crack in magnetoelectroelastic bimaterials is studied by using the proposed method.The results show that the extended stresses near the border of an impermeable interface crack possess the well-known oscillating singularity r^?1/2±iε or the non-oscillating singularity r^?1/2±κ. Three-dimensional transversely isotropic magnetoelectroelastic bimaterials are categorized into two groups, i.e., ε-group with non-zero value of ε and κ-group with non-zero value of κ. The two indexes ε and κ do not coexist for one bimaterial. However, the extended stresses near the border of a permeable interface crack have only oscillating singularity and depend only on the mechanical loadings.     

Crack propagation in an elastic solid subjected to general loading—III. Stress wave loading

The stress intensity factor of a half-plane crack extending non-uniformly in an isotropic elastic solid subjected to stress wave loading is determined. A plane stress pulse strikes the crack at time t = 0, the wavefront being parallel to the plane of the crack. At some arbitrary later time t = τ, the crack begins to extend at a non-uniform rate. It is found that the stress intensity factor is a universal function of instantaneous crack-tip velocity times the stress intensity factor for an equivalent stationary crack. An energy rate balance fracture criterion is applied to obtain an equation of motion for the crack tip. The delay time between the arrival of the incident pulse and the onset of fracture is also calculated for this fracture criterion.     

Subsonic and intersonic mode II crack propagation with a rate-dependent cohesive zone

A recent experimental study has demonstrated the attainability of intersonic shear crack growth along weak planes in otherwise homogeneous, isotropic, linear elastic solids subjected to remote loading conditions (Rosakis et al., Science 284 (5418) (1999) 1337). The relevant experimental observations are summarized briefly here and the conditions governing the attainment of intersonic crack speeds are examined. Motivated by experimental observations, subsonic and intersonic mode II crack propagation with a rate-dependent cohesive zone is subsequently analyzed. A cohesive law is assumed, wherein the cohesive shear traction is either a constant or varies linearly with the local sliding rate. Complete decohesion is assumed to occur when the crack tip sliding displacement reaches a material-specific critical value. Closed form expressions are obtained for the near-tip fields. With a cohesive zone of finite size, it is found that the dynamic energy release rate is finite through out the intersonic regime. Crack tip stability issues are addressed and favorable speed regimes are identified. The influence of shear strength of the crack plane and of a rate parameter on crack propagation behavior is also investigated. The isochromatic fringe patterns predicted by the analytical solution are compared with the experimental observations of Rosakis et al. (1999) and comments are made on the validity of the proposed model.     

Modelling of laminated microstructures in stress-induced martensitic transformations

This paper is concerned with micromechanical modelling of stress-induced martensitic transformations in crystalline solids, with the focus on distinct elastic anisotropy of the phases and the associated redistribution of internal stresses. Micro-macro transition in stresses and strains is analysed for a laminated microstructure of austenite and martensite phases. Propagation of a phase transformation front is governed by a time-independent thermodynamic criterion. Plasticity-like macroscopic constitutive rate equations are derived in which the transformed volume fraction is incrementally related to the overall strain or stress. As an application, numerical simulations are performed for cubic β₁ (austenite) to orthorhombic γ₁′ (martensite) phase transformation in a single crystal of Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloy. The pseudoelasticity effect in tension and compression is investigated along with the corresponding evolution of internal stresses and microstructure.     

Solutions exactes de fissure d'interface sous contact frottant avec un milieu indéformableExact solutions of the interface crack between elastic and rigid bodies under contact with friction

One considers an interface crack between an elastic half-plane and a rigid half-plane, in the presence of Coulomb's friction. There exists two singular solutions at the semi-infinite crack tip, which correspond physically to the push-in and the pull-out of a rigid fiber in an elastic matrix. The exact solutions show that only the mode II is present and there is no oscillatory behavior of the stress and the displacement near the crack tip, but an oscillatory behavior is observed at the transition point with the stress free zone. There exists four types of singular solutions for finite crack in bounded medium, but only one in an infinite medium. To cite this article: H.D. Bui, A. Oueslati, C. R. Mecanique 332 (2004).     

Effect of strain hardening in elastic–plastic transition behavior in a hemisphere in contact with a rigid flat

An axisymmetrical hemispherical asperity in contact with a rigid flat is modeled for an elastic–plastic material on the lines of the Kogut–Etsion Model (KE Model) and the Jackson–Green Model (JG Model). The present work extends the previous KE and JG works, accounting for the effect of realistic material behavior in terms of the varying yield strengths and the isotropic strain hardening behavior. The predicted results show that the transition behavior of the materials from the elastic–plastic to the fully plastic case is influenced by the yield strength and the tangent modulus (E_t) and such transition do not take place at specific values of interference ratios as suggested by the KE model. New empirical relations are proposed to determine the contact load and the contact area based on the analysis. Numerical results from the finite element modeling are also validated with an experimental ball on flat configuration approach.     

Matched asymptotic expansions in nonlinear fracture mechanics—II. Longitudinal shear of an elastic work-hardening plastic specimen

Earlier analysis given by T.M. Edmunds and J.R. Willis (1976) is extended to deal with cracks in elastic work-hardening plastic specimens subjected to longitudinal shear loads. Solutions are expressed in terms of a set of parameters that are determined from linear elastic solutions alone. It is proved, for any specimen geometry and any loading symmetric about the plane of the crack, that a ‘plastic-zone correction’, obtained by solving a linear elastic problem for a crack which is a length r_y longer than the actual crack, provides a two-term asymptotic expansion for the J-integral, if r_y is defined suitably in terms of the linear elastic stress concentration factor and the initial slope of the work-hardening curve. The general method is applied in detail to a strip of finite width containing an edge crack, for which the effect of the work-hardening on the maximum extent of the plastic zone and on the J-integral is summarized graphically.     

On consistent micromechanical estimation of macroscopic elastic energy,coherence energy and phase transformation strains for SMA materials

An apparatus of micromechanics is used to isolate the key ingredients entering macroscopic Gibbs free energy function of a shape memory alloy (SMA) material. A new self-equilibrated eigenstrains influence moduli (SEIM) method is developed for consistent estimation of effective (macroscopic) thermostatic properties of solid materials, which in microscale can be regarded as amalgams of n-phase linear thermoelastic component materials with eigenstrains. The SEIM satisfy the self-consistency conditions, following from elastic reciprocity (Betti) theorem. The method allowed expressing macroscopic coherency energy and elastic complementary energy terms present in the general form of macroscopic Gibbs free energy of SMA materials in the form of semilinear and semiquadratic functions of the phase composition. Consistent SEIM estimates of elastic complementary energy, coherency energy and phase transformation strains corresponding to classical Reuss and Voigt conjectures are explicitly specified. The Voigt explicit relations served as inspiration for working out an original engineering practice-oriented semiexperimental SEIM estimates. They are especially conveniently applicable for an isotropic aggregate (composite) composed of a mixture of n isotropic phases. Using experimental data for NiTi alloy and adopting conjecture that it can be treated as an isotropic aggregate of two isotropic phases, it is shown that the NiTi coherency energy and macroscopic phase strain are practically not influenced by the difference in values of austenite and martensite elastic constants. It is shown that existence of nonzero fluctuating part of phase microeigenstrains field is responsible for building up of so-called stored energy of coherency, which is accumulated in pure martensitic phase after full completion of phase transition. Experimental data for NiTi alloy show that the stored coherency energy cannot be neglected as it considerably influences the characteristic phase transition temperatures of SMA material.