Fracture mechanics analysis of thin coatings under plane-strain indentation

A combined experimental/analytical work is carried out to elucidate the fracture resistance of a thin, hard coating bonded to a semi-infinite substrate due to indentation by a cylindrical surface. The bending of the coating under the softer substrate induces concentrated tensile stress regions at the lower and upper surfaces of the coating, from which cracks may ensue. The evolution of such damage in a model transparent system (glass/polycarbonate) is viewed in situ from below and from the side of the specimen. The critical load needed to initiate a crack on the lower coating surface generally increase proportionally to the coatings thickness, d. An interesting departure from this trend occurs for thin coatings, where the fracture load, although marred by a large scatter, increases somewhat with decreasing d. The fracture data for the upper coating surface are limited to relatively thick coatings due to the recurrence of premature failure from the coating edges. The behavior in this range is similar to that for the lower surface crack, albeit with an order of magnitude greater fracture resistance.A fracture mechanics analysis in conjunction with FEM is performed to elucidate the stress intensity factors responsible for crack propagation. A crack normal to the coating surface is assumed to emanate either from the lower or upper surface of the coating. A major feature of the solution is the occurrence of a bending-induced compression stress field over a region ahead of the crack tip. This effect, which become more dominant as the ratio between the contact length and the coating thickness is increased, tends to delay the onset of crack propagation, especially for the lower surface crack. Consequently, in applications associated with large indenters, thin and/or tough coatings and stiff substrates, cracking from the upper coating surface may precede that from the lower surface. An interesting feature of this crack shielding mechanism is that when the coating surface contains a distribution of flaws rather than a single crack, small flaws in this population may be more detrimental than large ones. Incorporation of these aspects into the analysis leads to a good correlation with the test results. In the special case of line loading, which constitutes a lower bound for the critical loads, a closed-form, approximate solution for the stress intensity factors or the critical loads are obtained.Plane-strain indentation, although less common than spherical indentation, allows for characterizing the fracture resistance of opaque films through observation from the specimen edge. This approach is not easily implemented to thin films (i.e., less than about a hundred microns), however.     

Length-scale effects on damage development in tensile loading of glass-sphere filled epoxy

Particle-reinforced polymers are widely used in load-carrying applications. The effect of particle size on damage development in the polymer is still relatively unexplored. In this study, the effect of glass-sphere size on the damage development in tensile loaded epoxy has been investigated. The diameter of the glass spheres ranged from approximately 0.5–50 μm. The first type of damage observed was debonding at the sphere poles, which subsequently grew along the interface between the glass spheres and epoxy matrix. These cracks were observed to kink out into the matrix in the radial direction perpendicular to the applied load. The debonding stresses increased with decreasing sphere diameter, whereas the length to diameter ratio of the resulting matrix cracks increased with increasing sphere diameter. These effects could not be explained by elastic stress analysis and linear-elastic fracture mechanics. Possible explanations are that a thin interphase shell may form in the epoxy close to the glass spheres, and that there is a length-scale effect in the yield process which depends on the strain gradients. Cohesive fracture processes can contribute to the influence of sphere size on matrix-crack length. Better knowledge on these underlying size-dependent mechanisms that control damage development in polymers and polymer composites is useful in development of stronger materials. From a methodology point of view, the glass-sphere composite test can be used as an alternative technique (although still in a qualitative way) to hardness vs. indentation depth to quantify length-scale effects in inelastic deformation of polymers.     

Delamination mechanism maps for a strong elastic coating on an elastic–plastic substrate subjected to contact loading

Hard wear resistant coatings that are subjected to contact loading sometimes fail because the coating delaminates from the substrate. In this report, systematic finite element computations are used to model coating delamination under contact loading. The coating and substrate are idealized as elastic and elastic–plastic solids, respectively. The interface between coating and substrate is represented using a cohesive zone law, which can be characterized by its strength and fracture toughness. The system is loaded by an axisymmetric, frictionless spherical indenter. We observe two failure modes: shear cracks may nucleate just outside the contact area if the indentation depth or load exceeds a critical value; in addition, tensile cracks may nucleate at the center of the contact when the indenter is subsequently removed from the surface. Delamination mechanism maps are constructed which show the critical indentation depth and force required to initiate both shear and tensile cracks, as functions of relevant material properties. The fictitious viscosity technique for avoiding convergence problems in finite element simulations of crack nucleation and growth on cohesive interfaces allows us to explore a wider parametric space that a conventional cohesive model cannot handle. Numerical results have also been compared to analytical analyses of asymptotic limits using plate bending and membrane stretching theories, thus providing guidelines for interpreting the simulation results.     

DETERMINATION OF FRACTURE TOUGHNESS OF BRITTLE MATERIALS BY INDENTATION

Fracture toughness is one of the crucial mechanical properties of brittle materials such as glasses and ceramics which demonstrate catastrophic failure modes. Conventional standardized testing methods adopted for fracture toughness determination require large specimens to satisfy the plane strain condition. As for small specimens, indentation is a popular, sometimes exclusive testing mode to determine fracture toughness for it can be performed on a small flat area of the specimen surface. This review focuses on the development of indentation fracture theories and the representative testing methods. Cracking pattern dependent on indenter geometry and material property plays an important role in modeling, and is the main reason for the diversity of indentation fracture theories and testing methods. Along with the simplicity of specimen requirement is the complexity of modeling and analysis which accounts for the semi-empirical features of indentation fracture tests. Some unresolved issues shaping the gap between indentation fracture tests and standardization are also discussed.     

Estimation of Fracture Toughness of Metallic Materials Using Instrumented Indentation: Critical Indentation Stress and Strain Model

We propose a generalized approach based on fracture mechanics and contact mechanics to estimate the fracture toughness in metallic materials from instrumented indentation testing. Models were developed for brittle and ductile fracture. Different criteria were applied to each model to determine the critical fracture point during indentation. For brittle fracture, the critical fracture point was defined in terms of the critical mean pressure; for ductile fracture, the critical fracture point was derived from fracture strain and critical plastic zone size. Each fracture criterion was used to determine the indentation fracture energy corresponding to the fracture energy required for crack extension. The fracture toughness was estimated for various metallic materials using each model and compared with standard fracture toughness tests.     

Effects of static electric field on the fracture behavior of piezoelectric ceramics

The paper gives an overview on experimental observations of the failure behavior of electrically insulating and conducting cracks in piezoelectric ceramics. The experiments include the indentation fracture test, the bending test on smooth samples, and the fracture test on pre-notched (or pre-cracked) compact tension samples. For electrically insulating cracks, the experimental results show a complicated fracture behavior under electrical and mechanical loading. Fracture data are much scattered when a static electric field is applied. A statistically based fracture criterion is required. For electrically conducting cracks, the experimental results demonstrate that static electric fields can fracture poled and depoled lead zirconate titanate ceramics and that the concepts of fracture mechanics can be used to measure the electrical fracture toughness. Furthermore, the electrical fracture toughness is much higher than the mechanical fracture toughness. The highly electrical fracture toughness arises from the greater energy dissipation around the conductive crack tip under purely electric loading, which is impossible under mechanical loading in the brittle ceramics. The project supported by an RGC grant from the Research Grant Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China     

A numerical analysis of spherical indentation response of thin hard films on soft substrates

In this paper, finite element simulations of spherical indentation of a thin hard film deposited on a soft substrate are carried out. The primary objective of this work is to understand the operative mode of deformation of the film corresponding to various stages of indentation. The transition from contact dominant behaviour to that governed by flexure of the film on the plastically yielding substrate is investigated from analysis of the load versus displacement curve as well as the stress distribution in the film. It is found that onset of bending deformation in the film occurs when the contact radius is about 0.2–0.3 of the film thickness. Further, distinct membrane stresses arise in the film for indentation depth greater than half the film thickness. The implications of these results on indentation fracture of the film are briefly discussed. Finally, the effects of substrate yield strength and presence of residual stresses on the indentation response are examined.     

An indentation technique for estimating the energy density as fracture toughness with Berkovich indenter for ductile bulk materials

A technique is proposed to estimate the energy density as fracture toughness for ductile bulk materials with an indentation system equipped with a Berkovich indenter based on the theory of plastic deformation energy transforming into the indentation energy of fracture. With progressive increase of penetration loads, the material damage is exhibited on the effective elastic modulus. A quadratic polynomial relationship between the plastic penetration depth and penetration load, and an approximate linear relationship between logarithmic plastic penetration depth and logarithmic effective elastic modulus are exhibited by indentation investigation with Berkovich indenter. The parameter of damage variable is proposed to determine the critical effective elastic modulus at the fracture point. And the strain energy density factor is calculated according to the equations of penetration load, plastic penetration depth and effective elastic modulus. The fracture toughness of aluminum alloy and stainless steel are evaluated by both indentation tests and K_IC fracture toughness tests. The predicted S_cr values of indentation tests are in good agreement with experimental results of CT tests.     

Fracture-mode map of brittle coatings: Theoretical development and experimental verification

Brittle coatings, upon sufficiently high indentation load, tend to fracture through either ring cracking or radial cracking. In this paper, we systematically study the factors determining the fracture modes of bilayer material under indentation. By analyzing the stress field developed in a coating/substrate bilayer under indentation in combination with the application of the maximum-tensile-stress fracture criterion, we show that the fracture mode of brittle coatings due to indentation is determined synergistically by two dimensionless parameters being functions of the mechanical properties of coating and substrate, coating thickness and indenter tip radius. Such dependence can be graphically depicted by a diagram called ‘fracture-mode map’, whereby the fracture modes can be directly predicated based on these two dimensionless parameters. Experimental verification of the fracture-mode map is carried out by examining the fracture modes of fused quartz/cement bilayer materials under indentation. The experimental observation exhibits good agreement with the prediction by the fracture-mode map. Our finding in this paper may not only shed light on the mechanics accounting for the fracture modes of brittle coatings in bilayer structures but also pave a new avenue to combating catastrophic damage through fracture mode control.     

On quasi-non-destructive strength and toughness testing of elastic–plastic materials

Non-destructive evaluation of mechanical material properties, like strength and fracture toughness, is impossible for principal reasons. However, there are possibilities of quasi-non-destructive estimation methods, which can be quite useful in practice. Instrumented indentation tests are often suitable to get information about the elastic–plastic behaviour, where the indentation depth is measured as a function of indentation force. By approximate analytical methods, key parameters like ultimate tensile strength, work-hardening exponent or even yield stress can be derived from these measurements. A mobile indenter is presented here and its use in ambulant testing is described. To obtain the uniaxial stress–strain curve more directly and more exactly, the same instrument can be used for a miniature compression test, where a small pin is machined out from the surface of the material. Furthermore, to get information about the toughness of materials, a carving instrument has been developed, which allows the energy required to introduce a defined furrow to be measured and correlated with toughness parameters.     

Fracture-toughness testing of limestone

Fracture-toughness measurements were made on standard three-point-bend fracture specimens of Indiana limestone. Specimen dimensions, experimental techniques, and methods of data reduction were chosen to comply as closely as possible to the Tentative Method of Test for Plane Strain Fracture Toughness of Metallic Materials (ASTM Designation: E399-72T). Typical strain-gage-type clip-in displacement gages were found to lack the necessary sensitivity for measuring the crack-opening displacement while an LVDT displacement transducer having a linear range of ±0.25 mm (±0.010 in.) was found to be ideal.Fatigue cracks were successfully introduced by repeated cycling to 85 percent of the fracture load. Load vs. crack opening-displacement records indicated that crack closure occurred in these tests. Effective crack lengths were determined using an experimental compliance calibration that was checked analytically. Final fracture was stable when using displacement control in a stiff load frame. Some size effects were noted, with toughness increasing with specimen size. Values ofK _c, fracture toughness, were found to approach 990 kNm^–3/2 (900 .) for the largest specimens.Paper was presented at 1975 SESA Spring Meeting held in Chicago, IL on May 11–16.Work was supported by the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration.     

三维编织CMC断裂韧性表征形式的试验研究

在试验的基础上 ,发现三维编织陶瓷基复合材料断裂试件的裂纹扩展沿着编织角方向进行 ,表现出一种非自相似的裂纹扩展模式 ,表明三维编织CMC的断裂是复合型断裂。利用材料的载荷 -位移曲线和声发射技术 ,分析了三维编织CMC在外载荷作用下的损伤行为和断裂机理 ,并且根据不同的外载荷类型 ,将三维编织CMC的断裂韧性表征分别界定在线弹性和弹塑性的两个领域里 ,初步确定三维编织CMC的断裂韧性表征形式     

Plane-stress fracture testing of finite sheets under biaxial loads

A procedure which combines the Williams series-type stress- and displacement-field expressions at the crack-tip neighborhood with a suitable numerical scheme away from the crack-tip was employed in the determination of the plane-stress fracture properties of four finite 7076-T6 aluminum sheets containing cracks emanating from a circular hole under four biaxial loads. The compatibility of the analytical and numerical displacements at the nodal points along the boundary of the crack-tip neighborhood was utilized in formulating displacement-continuity expressions containing some undetermined constants which solution depends on the nature of the boundary loading conditions. By linear superposition of the displacement due to remote uniaxial load and the displacements due to remotely applied transverse load in the neighborhood of the crack-tip, biaxial-displacement-continuity expressions containing these important fracture properties—namely, the opening Mode I stress-intensity factorK, the nonsingular stress term associated with the stresses in the direction parallel to the plane of cracksA and the integration termB associated with the displacement in this direction—were evaluated. Because no known biaxial testing of this geometry had been reported prior to this research, the analytical procedure was used to select the optimum geometry required in a biaxial fracture test of a finite-sheet specimen containing cracks emanating from a circular hole. This geometric optimization of the specimen guaranteed uniformity of stress all over the volume of specimen and also made the alteration of the existing MTS test fixtures unnecessary. Four square sheets of 7075-T6 aluminum alloy containing a central hole with two collinear cracks emanating radially at the edge of the hole were then fabricated in accordance with the analytically determined geometric requirements. The biaxial fracture test was then conducted under four biaxial load factors (λ) of 0.0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5. The fracture toughness obtained in this research was compared with those reported for uniaxial loading of large panels. It was found that there is a good correlation between the reported fracture toughness and this work.     

A piezoelectric biaxial loading device for interfacial fracture experiments

In this paper we describe the development of a new biaxial loading device for investigating mixed-mode fracture at bimaterial interfaces. The new device makes use of piezoelectric actuators and specially arranged flexures to provide independent displacements normal and tangential to the interface. Capacitive probes and special washer load cells were used for measuring the displacements and reactive loads, respectively. A closed-loop circuit was formed with a personal computer to control the applied displacements to within 10 nm. Preliminary experiments with quartz/epoxy/aluminum sandwich specimens with cracks growing between the quartz and the epoxy found that the intrinsic toughness of this interface was 30% lower than the value for a glass/epoxy interface. Crack opening interferometry measurements having a resolution of 30 nm revealed the presence of a cohesive zone whose size was about 0.5 μm.     

Equivalent thickness conception for corner cracks

Thickness dependence of the one-parameter-based fracture toughness has been well recognized and widely studied. However, it is still a challenge to predict the fracture of structures with curved cracks from the fracture toughness data obtained from the standard through-the-thickness cracked specimens. The complicated three-dimensional (3D) stress fields near the crack front play a vital role in the fracture strength of materials. Based on a systematical numerical study of the 3D stress fields near the crack tip of quarter elliptic corner cracks and comparison with that of ideal through-the-thickness cracks, an equivalent thickness conception for curved cracks is proposed from the viewpoint of out-of-plane constraint, and a semi-analytical solution for the equivalent thickness of corner cracks is obtained. With the evaluated equivalent thickness, the fracture toughness of corner cracked specimens is predicted efficiently by the plane-strain toughness value of the material obtained from the standard through-the-thickness specimen.     

利用维氏和玻氏压头表征半导体材料断裂韧性

压痕法是测量材料断裂韧性 ($K_{\rm IC})$ 的常用方法之一, 如何根据不同的材料、不同的压头选择适合的公式, 是当前面临的一大问题. 因此,在不同载荷下对单晶硅 (111) 和碳化硅 (4H-SiC, 0001面) 这两种半导体材料进行了维氏微米硬度和玻氏纳米压痕实验, 对实验产生的裂纹长度$c$进行了统计分析, 并采用13个压痕公式计算材料的$K_{\rm IC}$, 开展了微米划痕实验, 验证压痕法评估半导体材料$K_{\rm IC}$的适用性. 研究结果表明: 为了消除维氏压痕实验产生的$c$的固有离散性, 需要多次测量取平均值; 裂纹长度与压痕尺寸的比值随压痕载荷的增大而增大; 材料的裂纹类型与载荷相关且低载荷下表现为巴氏裂纹, 高载荷下表现为中位裂纹; 与微米划痕实验得到的单晶硅和碳化硅材料的$K_{\rm IC}$平均值 (分别为0.96 MPa,$\cdot$,$\sqrt{\rm m}$和2.89 MPa,$\cdot$,$\sqrt{\rm m}$) 相比, 在同一压头下无法从13个公式中获得同时适用于单晶硅和碳化硅材料的压痕公式,但在同一材料下可以获得同时适用于维氏和玻氏压头的$K_{\rm IC}$计算公式; 基于中位裂纹系统发展而来的压痕公式更适合用于评估半导体材料的$K_{\rm IC}$, 且维氏压头下的$K_{\rm IC}$与玻氏压头下$K_{\rm IC}$的关系不是理论上的1.073倍, 应为1.13$\pm 压痕法是测量材料断裂韧性(K_(IC))的常用方法之一,如何根据不同的材料、不同的压头选择适合的公式,是当前面临的一大问题.因此,在不同载荷下对单晶硅(111)和碳化硅(4H-Si C, 0001面)这两种半导体材料进行了维氏微米硬度和玻氏纳米压痕实验,对实验产生的裂纹长度c进行了统计分析,并采用13个压痕公式计算材料的K_(IC),开展了微米划痕实验,验证压痕法评估半导体材料K_(IC)的适用性.研究结果表明:为了消除维氏压痕实验产生的c的固有离散性,需要多次测量取平均值;裂纹长度与压痕尺寸的比值随压痕载荷的增大而增大;材料的裂纹类型与载荷相关且低载荷下表现为巴氏裂纹,高载荷下表现为中位裂纹;与微米划痕实验得到的单晶硅和碳化硅材料的K_(IC)平均值(分别为0.96 MPa·m~(1/2)和2.89 MPa·m~(1/2))相比,在同一压头下无法从13个公式中获得同时适用于单晶硅和碳化硅材料的压痕公式,但在同一材料下可以获得同时适用于维氏和玻氏压头的K_(IC)计算公式;基于中位裂纹系统发展而来的压痕公式更适合用于评估半导体材料的K_(IC),且维氏压头下的K_(IC)与玻氏压头下K_(IC)的关系不是理论上的1.073倍,应为1.13±0.01.     

金属材料三维断裂韧度厚度效应的有限元模拟

随着金属材料大壁厚结构件在工程中的广泛应用,对其断裂韧度的厚度效应研究具有重要的科学意义和工程价值。本研究基于有限元和实验相结合的方法,对金属材料断裂韧度的厚度效应进行预测。首先,通过一组薄壁厚金属材料标准三点弯曲试验得到试样失效时的临界载荷值,并利用内聚力模型与基于虚拟裂纹闭合技术的裂纹扩展模拟方法得到裂纹扩展时的单元临界能量释放率。随后,以此临界能量释放率作为裂纹扩展的启裂准则门槛值,通过有限元计算得到不同试样厚度下裂纹启裂时的裂尖断裂参数随着厚度的变化规律。最后,为了验证有限元模拟结果的准确性,本研究进行了另外两组不同厚度下三点弯曲试样的断裂韧度试验,并将试验结果与有限元结果进行了对比,验证了有限元所模拟的断裂韧度厚度效应的准确性。本研究旨在,通过薄壁厚三点弯曲试样的实验结果结合有限元模拟工作,即可实现金属材料断裂韧度的整个厚度效应曲线,为任意厚度下金属材料断裂韧度预测提供一种可靠的研究方法,有益于缩减试验成本,为大壁厚工程结构件的失效预测提供依据。     

Experimental and numerical investigation of concrete properties effects on fracture toughness under complex loading

Abstract

This article is presenting the common experimental specimen for determining the fracture toughness of the first pure mode and second pure mode. The Notched beam is chosen from a presented common specimen in the form of three-point flexure beam and four-point flexure beam that were built in the concrete laboratory. For prevention of cracks growth, a critical load of first pure mode and the second pure mode of each specimen computed. Obtained results are used for computing the fracture toughness. For the purpose of investigating the effective fracture parameters in the suggested specimen, finite element analysis on the mentioned geometry is performed. Obtained results show that different parameters are effective on the fracture toughness including crack length, cement percentage, water and the thickness of biggest used aggregate in the sand. Also with changing each of these parameters, the fracture mechanic properties are changed. Each of these effects is examined separately in this article and the conclusions presented in tables and figures.

Communicated by Dumitru Caruntu.     

Stress and Moisture Effects on Thin Film Buckling Delamination

Deposition processes control the properties of thin films; they can also introduce high residual stresses, which can be relieved by delamination and fracture. Tungsten films with high 1–2 GPa compressive residual stresses were sputter deposited on top of thin (below 100 nm) copper and diamond-like carbon (DLC) films. Highly stressed films store large amounts of strain energy. When the strain energy release rate exceeds the films' interfacial toughness, delamination occurs. Compressive residual stresses cause film buckling and debonding, forming open channels. Profiles of the buckling delaminations were used to calculate the films' interfacial toughness and then were compared to the adhesion results obtained from the superlayer indentation test. Tests were conducted in both dry and wet environments and a significant drop in film adhesion, up to 100 times was noticed due to the presence of moisture at the film/substrate interface.