A cohesive plastic and damage zone model for dynamic crack growth in rate-dependent materials

Mode I steady-state dynamic crack growth in rate-dependent viscoplastic solids containing damage, under small scale yielding conditions, is analyzed based on a modified cohesive zone model. A multi-scale approach is used to describe the entire non-linear zone consisting of a plastic region and a damage region, each of which has its own constitutive law. Traction in the damage region is characterized by a softening power-law, in terms of the ultimate strength, a softening index and a rate sensitivity factor. In the plastic region, the cohesive law is assumed to be both strain hardening and rate dependent. The critical crack opening displacement at the physical crack-tip controls crack growth. The governing integral equations are derived and solved by a collocation method combined with associated boundary conditions. Numerical results are presented for the traction and opening profiles along the cohesive zone, the fracture energy and lengths of the damage and non-linear zones at different crack speeds and for different material parameters. The importance of factors, such as material softening, plastic deformation, crack speed and viscosity, is identified by parametric studies. In addition, the competition of plastic flow and material damage, and its effect on crack growth, are discussed.     

A penny-shaped cohesive crack model for material damage

A novel micromechanics based damage model is proposed to address failure mechanism of defected solids with randomly distributed penny-shaped cohesive micro-cracks (Barenblatt–Dugdale type). Energy release contribution to the material damage process is estimated in a representative volume element (RVE) under macro hydrostatic stress state. Macro-constitutive relations of RVE are derived via self-consistent homogenization scheme, and they are characterized by effective nonlinear elastic properties and a class of pressure sensitive plasticity which depends on crack opening volume fraction and Poisson’s ratio. Several distinguished features of the present model are compared with Gurson model and Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman (GTN) model, showing that the proposed model can better capture material degradation and catastrophic failure due to cohesive micro-crack growth and coalescence.     

A cohesive zone model for fatigue crack growth allowing for crack retardation

A damage-based cohesive model is developed for simulating crack growth due to fatigue loading. The cohesive model follows a linear damage-dependent traction–separation relation coupled with a damage evolution equation. The rate of damage evolution is characterized by three material parameters corresponding to common features of fatigue behavior captured by the model, namely, damage accumulation, crack retardation and stress threshold. Good agreement is obtained between finite element solutions using the model and fatigue test results for an aluminum alloy under different load ratios and for the overload effect on ductile 316 L steel.     

A rate-dependent damage model for brittle materials based on the dominant crack

A rate-dependent, continuum damage model is developed for brittle materials under dynamic loading. This model improves on the approach (ISOSCM) of [Addessio, F.L., Johnson, J.N., 1990. A constitutive model for the dynamic response of brittle materials. Journal of Applied Physics 67, 3275–3286] in several respects. (1) A new damage surface is found by applying the generalized Griffith instability criterion to the dominant crack (having the most unstable orientation), rather than by averaging the instability condition over all crack orientations as done previously. The new surface removes a discontinuity in the damage surface in ISOSCM when the pressure changes sign. (2) The strain due to crack opening is more consistent with crack mechanics, with only the tensile principal stresses contributing to the crack opening strain. This is achieved by incorporating a projection operator in the equation for the crack opening strain. One consequence of incorporating the projection operator is a prediction of shear dilatancy, which is not accounted for in ISOSCM. (3) The evolution of damage, which is based on the energy-release rate for the dominant crack, has a physical basis, whereas in the previous approach the damage growth rate was assumed to be an exponential function of the distance from the stress state to the damage surface without specific physical justification.An implicit algorithm has been developed so that a larger time step can be used than with the explicit algorithm used in ISOSCM. The numerical results of a silicon carbide (SiC) ceramic under several loading paths (hydrostatic tension/compression, uniaxial strain, uniaxial stress, and shear) and strain rates are presented to illustrate the main features of the model.     

A statistical theory of fatigue crack growth at damage cumulation

Summary A statistical theory of the fatigue crack growth at damage cumulation is proposed. The theory gives the average of fatigue crack length at any time t, and deduces the evolution of failure probability with time varying. Furthermore, the variance and relative error of fatigue crack length at any time t are acquired. The Paris equation for the average of the crack length at any time t is derived from the statistical theory. Therefore, the prediction of the probability distribution of the crack length can be given for any time t. Actual applications of the theory are given, which conform to the experiments. Accepted for publication 17 June 1996     

Multiscale behavior of crack initiation and growth in piezoelectric ceramics

The multiscale nature of cracking in ferroelectric ceramics is explored in relation to the crack growth enhancement and retardation behavior when the direction of applied electric field is reversed with reference to that of poling. An a priori knowledge of the prevailing fracture behavior is invoked for the energy dissipated in exchange of the macro- and micro-crack surface. To avoid the formalism of developing a two-scale level model, a single dominant crack is considered where the effect of microcracking could be reflected by stable crack growth prior to macro-crack instability. This is accounted for via a length ratio parameter λ. Micro- and macro-crack damage region would necessarily overlap in the simplified approach of applying equilibrium mechanics solutions to different scale ranges that are connected only on the average over space and time. The strain energy density theory is applied to determine the crack growth segments for conditions of positive, negative and zero electric field. The largest and smallest crack segments were found to correspond, respectively, to the positive and negative field. All of the three piezoceramics PZT-4, PZT-5H and P-7 followed such a trend. This removes the present-day controversy arising from the use of the energy release rate concept that yields results independent of the sign of the electric field. Interaction of non-similar crack growth with the direction of electric field is also discussed in relation to Mode II cracking. The crack initiation angle plays a dominant role when the growth segment is sufficiently small. Otherwise, a more complex situation prevails where consideration should also be given to the growth segment length. Failure stresses of Modes I and II cracking are also obtained and they are found to depend not only on the electric field density but also on crack length and the extent of slow crack growth damage. These findings suggest a series of new experiments.     

A field model interpretation of crack initiation and growth behavior in ferroelectric ceramics: change of poling direction and boundary condition

Strain energy density expressions are obtained from a field model that can qualitatively exhibit how the electrical and mechanical disturbances would affect the crack growth behavior in ferroelectric ceramics. Simplification is achieved by considering only three material constants to account for elastic, piezoelectric and dielectric effects. Cross interaction of electric field (or displacement) with mechanical stress (or strain) is identified with the piezoelectric effect; it occurs only when the pole is aligned normal to the crack. Switching of the pole axis by 90° and 180° is examined for possible connection with domain switching. Opposing crack growth behavior can be obtained when the specification of mechanical stress σ^∞ and electric field E^∞ or (σ^∞,E^∞) is replaced by strain ε^∞ and electric displacement D^∞ or (ε^∞,D^∞). Mixed conditions (σ^∞,D^∞) and (ε^∞,E^∞) are also considered. In general, crack growth is found to be larger when compared to that without the application of electric disturbances. This includes both the electric field and displacement. For the eight possible boundary conditions, crack growth retardation is identified only with (E_y^∞,σ_y^∞) for negative E_y^∞ and (D_y^∞,ε_y^∞) for positive D_y^∞ while the mechanical conditions σ_y^∞ or ε_y^∞ are not changed. Suitable combinations of the elastic, piezoelectric and dielectric material constants could also be made to suppress crack growth.     

Modelling of crack growth by fracture damage zone

The strain energy density (SED) criterion is applied for analyzing the full range of mixed mode fracture from tensile to shear loading. A fracture damage zone (FDZ) local to the crack tip is defined and discussed in connection with the influence of crack geometry, loading and local material property. The size of FDZ tends to change continuously from statically to cyclically applied load conditions. It can be estimated from the uniaxial mechanical properties of the material. Both experimental and analytical results are examined for subcritical crack growth under static loading that depends on the type steel structures the fracture behavior of which could be represented by a single curve for the given specimen geometry.     

A stochastic Markovian model for fatigue short crack growth across microstructural barriers

A stochastic model for fatigue short crack growth is presented. It takes into account the interaction between the crack-tip plastic zone and grain boundaries. The process is Markovian. It is completely described by the crack length and the size of the plastic zone. The integro-differential equation giving the evolution of the transition probability distribution is derived.     

A new quasi-continuum constitutive model for crack growth in an isotropic solid

A new quasi-continuum constitutive model is established based on the randomized cohesive bonds model proposed by Gao and Klein (1998). This model bridges the microscopic discrete constitution characters and the macroscopic mechanical properties of material. In the presented constitutive model, both the bond stretch energy potential and the rotation energy potential are considered, which makes the presented constitutive model applicable to different Poisson-ratio and Young's modulus materials. By establishing a phenomenological bond stiffness function according to the complete stress–strain relationship of uniaxial tension test, the fracture criterion is directly incorporated into the constitutive model. The method requires no external fracture criterion when simulating fracture initiation and propagation, which brings convenience in the numerical simulation. At last, the presented constitutive model is applied to an example of crack growth in an isotropic solid.     

A stress criterion for crack growth

A stress criterion for crack growth was developed from test results with 7075-T6 aluminum-sheet specimens containing transverse machined cracks. Stress distributions near the crack tip were obtained using strain gages and by reducing the strain data to stresses with the aid of Reuss plasticity theory. These distributions indicated the biaxial nature of stress at the crack tip, the high stress gradients a short distance from the tip, and the variation in stress-concentration factor with crack length. Crack growth was found to occur when the effective stress at the crack root reached the engineering ultimate strength.     

One model of fatigue crack growth

A model for crack growth is proposed based on studies of the variation in the curvature radius at the crack tip during cyclic loading. Relations are obtained between mechanical material characteristics, crack geometry, and the rate of crack growth in a structure under cyclic loading. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 167–175, July–August, 2009.     

On a general concept for the analysis of crack growth and material damage

For finite strain dynamics a variational model of crack evolution is formulated within the generalized oriented continuum methodology. In this approach position- and direction-dependent deformation and strain measures are used to describe the (macro)motion of the body with defects, which may evolve relative to the moving body. The inelastic behaviour of continua with evolving defects is represented by phenomenological equations including the transversal crack evolution. A strain-induced crack propagation criterion is defined by the difference between the strain energy release rate and the rate of the surface energy of the crack. A possible nucleation of microcracks in terms of the average drag coefficient of the crack configuration is proposed. Based on the crack growth criterion presented in this paper, the kinking of cracks is investigated using variational concepts. A constitutive damage model of Kachanov's type accounting for the crack density is derived in terms of the free energy functional and a dissipation potential.     

Stochastic modelling of crack growth based on damage accumulation

The growth rate of a fatigue crack is modelled from a damage accumulation standpoint. The material ahead of the crack-tip is considered to be composed of assembly of uniaxial fatigue elements which accumulate damage per load cycle. Each element is subjected to increased levels of stress and strain ranges as the crack propagates. A linearly accumulated damage criterion is assumed, and failure of an element indicates a void initiation at its position. Both deterministic and stochastic analyses are included. The historical damage of the material before it reaches the crack tip vicinity is quantified and is shown to be significant for the first few elements. The predicted results agree fairly well with the experimental data.     

A void nucleation and growth based damage framework to model failure initiation ahead of a sharp notch in irradiated bcc materials

A continuum damage framework is developed and coupled with an existing crystal plasticity framework, to model failure initiation in irradiated bcc polycrystalline materials at intermediate temperatures. Constitutive equations for vacancy generation due to inelastic deformation, void nucleation due to vacancy condensation, and diffusion-assisted void growth are developed. The framework is used to simulate failure initiation at dislocation channel interfaces and grain boundaries ahead of a sharp notch. Evolution of the microstructure is considered in terms of the evolution of inelastic deformation, vacancy concentration, and void number density and radius. Evolution of the damage, i.e., volume fraction of the voids, is studied as a function of applied deformation. Effects of strain rate and temperature on failure initiation are also studied. The framework is used to compute the fracture toughness of irradiated specimens for various loading histories and notch geometries. Crack growth resistance of the irradiated specimens are computed and compared to that of virgin specimens. Results are compared to available experimental data.     

Study of orthotropic materials: the interphase model and the crack initiation

Summary In this paper, a survey on the orthotropic composite materials is given. The model of the interphase, assuming a third phase between fibre and matrix with some different properties, is used for the calculation of the elastic constants of a unidirectional fibre-reinforced epoxy resin composite. Their values are used to determine the stress field at the crack tip and the stress intensity factor of a cracked orthotropic plate. The recently developed Det-criterion of fracture is taken into account to study the crack initiation.     

A line plastic-zone model for steady mode III crack growth in an elastic-plastic material

Steady-state quasi-static growth of a crack in the anti-plane shear mode through an elastic-plastic material is analyzed. The material is non-hardening and small-scale yielding conditions are assumed. The essential feature of the model is that the active plastic-zone is assumed to be a pair of discrete lines emanating from the crack tip out of the crack plane on which a suitable yield condition is satisfied. An exact solution is obtained for the plastic strain left in the wake of this active line plastic-zone. The extent of the plastic zone from the tip is determined to be 0.071 $\text{(}\text{k}\text{τ}{}_0\text{)}{}^2$ where k and τ₀ are the remote elastic stress intensity factor and the shear flow stress, respectively, and it is found that 36% of the elastic energy flowing into the crack-tip region during growth is dissipated through plastic work and 64% is trapped as residual elastic energy in the plastic-zone wake.