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.     

A crack of arbitrary shape inside an infinite transversely isotropic cylinder under arbitrary load

Summary  In the first part of the article an infinite circular cylinder is considered, made of transversely isotropic elastic material and weakened by a plane crack perpendicular to its axis O z. The crack is opened by an arbitrary normal stress. The second part is devoted to the same crack loaded by an arbitrary tangential stress. The complete solution in both cases is presented as a sum of the solution of a similar problem of a crack in an infinite space and an integral transform term, the parameters of which are determined from a set of linear algebraic equations derived from the boundary conditions. Governing integral equations with respect to the yet unknown crack displacement discontinuities are obtained. In the case of a circular crack, these equations can be inverted and solved by the method of consecutive interations. Received 30 November 2000; accepted for publication 3 May 2001     

Near crack line elastic–plastic analysis for a infinite plate loaded by two pairs of point tensile forces

The near crack line analysis method is used to investigate a center crack loaded by two pairs of point tensile forces in an infinite plate in an elastic–perfectly plastic solid, and the analytical solutions are obtained in this paper. These solutions include: the elastic–plastic stress field near the crack line, the law that the length of the plastic zone along the crack line is varied with an external loads and the bearing capacity of an infinite plate with a center crack. The results of this paper are sufficiently precise near the crack line because the assumptions of the small scale yielding theory have not been used and no other assumptions have been taken.     

Calculation of the J-integral for limited permeable cracks in piezoelectrics

Summary This paper deals with the calculation of the J-integral for electrically limited permeable cracks in piezoelectrics. The electromechanical J-integral is extended to account for electrical crack surface charge densities representing electric fields inside the crack. To avoid the costly implementation of the line integral along the crack faces, an alternative is proposed replacing the line integral by a simple jump term across the crack faces. Previous work by other authors related to the same subject is critically illuminated. The derivation was inspired by the Dugdale- Barenblatt cohesive zone model and yields an expression containing solely the local jump of displacements and electric potentials across the crack faces. This approach is shown to be exact for the Griffth crack.Numerical examples give evidence that the simplified approach works well for arbitrary crack configurations too.     

Dynamic behaviors of mode III interfacial crack under a constant loading rate

In an earlier study on intersonic crack propagation, Gao et al. (J. Mech. Phys. Solids 49: 2113–2132, 2001) described molecular dynamics simulations and continuum analysis of the dynamic behaviors of a mode II dominated crack moving along a weak plane under a constant loading rate. The crack was observed to initiate its motion at a critical time after the onset of loading, at which it is rapidly accelerated to the Rayleigh wave speed and propagates at this speed for a finite time interval until an intersonic daughter crack is nucleated at a peak stress at a finite distance ahead of the original crack tip. The present article aims to analyze this behavior for a mode III crack moving along a bi-material interface subject to a constant loading rate. We begin with a crack in an initially stress-free bi-material subject to a steadily increasing stress. The crack initiates its motion at a critical time governed by the Griffith criterion. After crack initiation, two scenarios of crack propagation are investigated: the first one is that the crack moves at a constant subsonic velocity; the second one is that the crack moves at the lower shear wave speed of the two materials. In the first scenario, the shear stress ahead of the crack tip is singular with exponent ?1/2, as expected; in the second scenario, the stress singularity vanishes but a peak stress is found to emerge at a distance ahead of the moving crack tip. In the latter case, a daughter crack supersonic with respect to the softer medium can be expected to emerge ahead of the initial crack once the peak stress reaches the cohesive strength of the interface.     

Analysis of dynamic growth of a tensile crack in an elastic-plastic material

The influence of inertia on the stress and deformation fields near the tip of a crack growing in an elastic-plastic material is studied. The material is characterized by the von Mises yield criterion and J₂ flow theory of plasticity. The crack grows steadily under plane strain conditions in the tensile opening mode. Features of the stress and deformation state at points near the moving crack tip are described for elastic-perfectly plastic response and for several crack propagation speeds. It is found that inertia has a significant effect on the elastic-plastic response of material particles near the crack tip, and that elastic unloading may occur behind the crack tip for higher speeds. The relationship between the applied crack driving force, represented by a remote stress intensity factor, and the crack tip speed is examined on the basis of a critical crack tip opening angle growth criterion. The calculated result is compared with dynamic fracture toughness versus crack speed data for a 4340 steel.     

Optimization formulation of the evolutionary problem of crack propagation under quasibrittle fracture

For the evolutionary problem describing crack propagation in a solid with allowance for the irreversible work of plastic deformation due to the crack propagation, a general optimization formulation is proposed and investigated. For the optimum crack, data on the H²-smoothnesses of the displacement field in the solid and, hence, on the finiteness of the stress at the crack tip, are obtained. The solvability of the optimization problem (i.e., the existence of an optimum crack) is proved for a curvilinear crack propagation path specified a priori. For the particular case of a straight path, a generalized criterion of crack growth is proposed. The question of the choice of a crack propagation path is discussed and a comparison with existing fracture criteria is made. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 47, No. 5, pp. 107–118, September–October, 2006.     

The Stress State of a Ferromagnetic with an Elliptic Crack in a Homogeneous Magnetic Field

The problem on the stress–strain state of an infinite isotropic body made of a magnetically soft material and containing an elliptic crack is considered. It is assumed that the body is under an external magnetic field perpendicular to the crack plane. The basic characteristics of the stress–strain state and the magnetic field induced are determined and their singularities near the elliptic crack are studied. Formulas are given for the stress intensity factors for the force and magnetic fields near the crack tip     

Ultrasonic evaluation of fatigue crack growth of high strength steel at ambient temperature and below

By means of an ultrasonic testing device, the crack length in compact tension specimens is monitored. Four ultrasonic probes are used to cover the region of crack extension by transmission waves. The echo of the crack is amplified during fatigue crack propagation. By a knowledge of the initial crack length after precracking and the critical crack length, the alteration of the ultrasonic echo provides the information for determining the intermediate crack length which can be used to calculate the stress intensity range ΔK with respect to the elapsed cycles and the crack growth rate, da/dN.     

Dynamics of asymmetrical crack propagation in composite materials

When a crack appears in composite materials, the fibrous system will form bridges, and the crack propagates asymmetrically as a rule. A dynamic model of an asymmetrical crack propagation is considered and investigated by applying the self-similar functions. The formulation involves the development of a Riemann–Hilbert problem. The analytical solution of an asymmetrical propagation crack of composite materials under the action of variable moving loads and unit-step moving loads is obtained.     

Dynamic stress intensity factor K III and dynamic crack propagation characteristics of anisotropic materials

Based on the mechanics of anisotropic materials, the dynamic propagation problem of a mode Ⅲ crack in an infinite anisotropic body is investigated. Stress, strain and displacement around the crack tip are expressed as an analytical complex function, which can be represented in power series. Constant coefficients of series are determined by boundary conditions. Expressions of dynamic stress intensity factors for a mode Ⅲ crack are obtained. Components of dynamic stress, dynamic strain and dynamic displacement around the crack tip are derived. Crack propagation characteristics are represented by the mechanical properties of the anisotropic materials, i.e., crack propagation velocity M and the parameter ~. The faster the crack velocity is, the greater the maximums of stress components and dynamic displacement components around the crack tip are. In particular, the parameter α affects stress and dynamic displacement around the crack tip.     

Dynamic crack tip fields and dynamic crack propagation characteristics of anisotropic material

Based on mechanics of anisotropic material, the dynamic crack propagation problem of I/II mixed mode crack in an infinite anisotropic body is investigated. Expressions of dynamic stress intensity factors for modes I and II crack are obtained. Components of dynamic stress and dynamic displacements around the crack tip are derived. The strain energy density theory is used to predict the dynamic crack extension angle. The critical strain energy density is determined by the strength parameters of anisotropic materials. The obtained dynamic crack tip fields are unified and applicable to the analysis of the crack tip fields of anisotropic material, orthotropic material and isotropic material under dynamic or static load. The obtained results show Crack propagation characteristics are represented by the mechanical properties of anisotropic material, i.e., crack propagation velocity M and fiber direction α. In particular, the fiber direction α and the crack propagation velocity M give greater influence on the variations of the stress fields and displacement fields. Fracture angle is found to depend not only on the crack propagation but also on the anisotropic character of the material.     

Elastic field in an infinite medium of one-dimensional hexagonal quasicrystal with a planar crack

This present work is concerned with planar cracks embedded in an infinite space of one-dimensional hexagonal quasicrystals. The potential theory method together with the general solutions is used to develop the framework of solving the crack problems in question. The mode I problems of three common planar cracks (a penny-shaped crack, an external circular crack and a half-infinite crack) are solved in a systematic manner. The phonon and phason elastic fundamental fields along with some important parameters in crack analysis are explicitly presented in terms of elementary functions. Several examples are given to show the applications of the present fundamental solutions. The validity of the present solutions is discussed both analytically and numerically. The derived analytical solutions of crack will not only play an important role in understanding the phonon–phason coupling behavior in quasicrystals, but also serve as benchmarks for future numerical studies and simplified analyses.     

Study on the coalescence mechanism of splitting failure of crack-weakened rock subjected to compressive loads

It is of important significance to study the coalescence mechanism of splitting failure of crack-weakened rock masses under compressive loads. In this paper, a simplified mechanism of crack propagation, in which the crack grows along the direction of maximum principal compressive stress, is proposed. Thus, only mode I is taken into account in the formulation and solution. On the basis of the near crack line analysis method, the elastic–plastic stress field near the crack line is analyzed, and the law that the length of the plastic zone along the crack line is varied with an external loads have been established by the matching condition of the elastic- plastic fields on the boundary, the coalescence stress and the strength properties of rock masses have been determined. The solution is a function of the geometry of the crack array. The results show that the crack coalescence depends on the crack interface friction coefficient, the sliding crack spacing, orientation of the cracks, and the crack half-length. The conclusions are of important significance for rock mass engineering.     

Elastic state of a transversely isotropic piezoelectric body with an arbitrarily oriented elliptic crack

The elastic stress state in a piezoelectric body with an arbitrarily oriented elliptic crack under mechanical and electric loads is analyzed. The solution is obtained using triple Fourier transform and the Fourier-transformed Green’s function for an unbounded piezoelastic body. Solving the problem for the case of a crack lying in the isotropy plane, for which there is an exact solution, demonstrates that the approach is highly efficient. The distribution of the stress intensity factors along the front of a crack in a piezoelectric body under uniform mechanical loading is analyzed numerically for different orientations of the crack __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 44, No. 2, pp. 39–48, February 2008.     

Electrical nonlinear anti-plane shear crack in a functionally graded piezoelectric strip

The electrical nonlinear behavior of an anti-plane shear crack in a functionally graded piezoelectric strip is studied by using the strip saturation model within the framework of linear electroelasticity. The analysis is conducted on the electrically unified crack boundary condition with the introduction of the electric crack condition parameter that can describe all the electric crack boundary condition in accordance with the aspect ratio of an ellipsoidal crack and the permittivity inside the crack, in particular, including traditional permeable and impermeable crack boundary conditions. The resulting mixed boundary value problem is analysed and near tip field is obtained by using the integral transform techniques. Numerical results for the normalized five kinds of energy release rates under the small scale electric saturation condition are presented and compared to show the influences of the electric crack condition parameter with the variation of the ellipsoidal crack parameters, electric loads, functionally graded piezoelectric material gradation, crack length, electromechanical coupling coefficient, and crack location. It reveals that there are considerable differences between the results obtained from the traditional electric crack models and those obtained from the current unified crack model.     

Material plasticity dependence of mixed mode fatigue crack growth in commonly used engineering materials

In this paper, an investigation of fatigue crack propagation in rectangular plates containing an inclined surface crack is presented. A criterion for the three-dimensional stress state is proposed to predict fatigue crack initiation angles. It is assumed that the direction of crack initiation coincides with the direction of the minimum radius of the plastic zone defined by the von Mises yield criterion. The maximum energy release rate criterion, i.e., G_max criterion, is extended to study the fatigue crack growth characteristics of mixed mode cracks. A modification has been made to this criterion to implement the consideration of the plastic strain energy. Subsequently, this concept is applied to predict crack growth due to fatigue loads. Experiments for checking the theoretical predictions from the proposed criterion have been conducted. The results obtained are compared with those obtained using the commonly employed fracture criteria and the test data.     

Initiation and growth characterization of corner cracks near circular hole

The finite element analysis of crack problems often incorporates the asymptotic character of the local solution into the formulation. Embedment of stress or strain singularities can impose serious restrictions on the outcome and inconsistencies in predicting crack and/or growth. These restrictions are discussed in connection with the problem of two diametrically opposite corner cracks near a circular hole subjected to remote uniform tension. Enforced in the numerical treatment is the 1/r character of the strain energy density function local to the corner crack border where r is the radial distance measured from the crack front. The tendency for the corner crack to become a through crack is predicted by assuming that each point of the crack border extends by an amount proportional to the strain energy density factor. The path would correspond to the loci of minimum strain energy density function. Numerical results are displayed graphically and discussed in connection with crack initiation and non-self-similar crack growth.     

Stability of an advancing crack to small perturbation of its path

In this work we investigate the stability of a nominally straight two-dimensional quasistatically growing crack to a small perturbation of its path. Formulae for perturbations of stress intensity factors induced by slight deviation of the crack trajectory were developed by Movchan et al. (Int. J. Solids Struct. 35, 3419) Their solution is exploited to derive an equation for the perturbation of the crack path on the assumption that the crack advances in pure “opening” mode (i.e. local K_II=0). Various types of loading conditions are considered, including a cracked body loaded by a pair of point body forces and a crack whose faces are subjected to given tractions acting in the direction normal to the crack boundary. The body is also subjected to a remotely maintained uniaxial stress, aligned with the direction of the unperturbed crack. The loading is assumed to advance as the crack advances, to maintain the critical value of Mode I stress intensity factor. Numerical computations of possible crack paths have been performed, extending results on crack stability obtained by Cotterell and Rice (Int. J. Fract. 16, 155). The results show that in the case of loading by point body forces the stability of the crack path depends on the positions of the points of application of the applied forces and the magnitude of the applied stress acting parallel to the crack. There exists a critical value of this stress such that the crack path is stable for values less than critical and unstable otherwise. It is shown that the crack is always unstable in the case of point force tractions applied normal to the crack faces.     

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.