Interaction between a circular inclusion and a symmetrically branched crack

The interaction problem between a circular inclusion and a symmetrically branched crack embedded in an infinite elastic medium is solved. The branched crack is modeled as three straight cracks which intersect at a common point and each crack is treated as a continuous contribution of edge dislocations. Green's functions are used to reduce the problem into a system of singular equations consisting of the distributions of Burger's dislocation vectors as unknown functions through the superposition technique. The resulting integral equations are solved numerically by the method of Gauss-Chebychev quadrature. The proposed integral equation approach is first verified for two limiting cases against the literature. More effort is paid on the effect of inclusion on both the Mode I and Mode lI stress intensity factors at the branch tips. The effect of inclusion on the branching path is also investigated.     

Arbitrarily oriented crack near interface in piezoelectric bimaterials

Arbitrarily oriented crack near interface in piezoelectric bimaterials is considered. After deriving the fundamental solution for an edge dislocation near the interface, the present problem can be expressed as a system of singular integral equations by modeling the crack as continuously distributed edge dislocations. In the paper, the dislocations are described by a density function defined on the crack line. By solving the singular integral equations numerically, the dislocation density function is determined. Then, the stress intensity factors (SIFs) and the electric displacement intensity factor (EDIF) at the crack tips are evaluated. Subsequently, the influences of the interface on crack tip SIFs, EDIF, and the mechanical strain energy release rate (MSERR) are investigated. The J-integral analysis in piezoelectric bimaterals is also performed. It is found that the path-independent of J₁-integral and the path-dependent of J₂-integral found in no-piezoelectric bimaterials are still valid in piezoelectric bimaterials.     

反平面弹性中边缘内分叉裂纹的奇异积分方程解法

利用复变函数和奇异积分方程方法,求解反平面弹性中半平面边缘内分叉裂纹问题。提出了满足半平面边界自由的由分布位错密度表示的半平面中单裂纹的基本解,此基本解由主要部分和辅助部分组成。将半平面边缘内分叉裂纹问题看作是许多单裂纹问题的叠加,建立了以分布位错密度为未知函数的Cauchy型奇异积分方程组。然后,利用半开型积分法则求解奇异积分方程,得到了裂纹端处的应力强度因子。文中给出两个数值算例的计算结果。     

Theoretical model of crack branching in magnetoelectric thermoelastic materials

Thermomagnetoelectroelastic crack branching of magnetoelectro thermoelastic materials is theoretically investigated based on Stroh formalism and continuous distribution of dislocation approach. The crack face boundary condition is assumed to be fully thermally, electrically and magnetically impermeable. Explicit Green’s functions for the interaction of a crack and a thermomagnetoelectroelastic dislocation (i.e., a thermal dislocation, a mechanical dislocation, an electric dipole and a magnetic dipole located at a same point) are presented. The problem is reduced to two sets of coupled singular integral equations with the thermal dislocation and magnetoelectroelastic dislocation densities along the branched crack line as the unknown variables. As a result, the formulations for the stress, electric displacement and magnetic induction intensity factors and energy release rate at the branched crack tip are expressed in terms of the dislocation density functions and the branch angle. Numerical results are presented to study the effect of applied thermal flux, electric field and magnetic field on the crack propagation path by using the maximum energy release rate criterion.     

Interaction between an interface crack and subinterface microcracks in metal/piezoelectric bimaterials

The J-integral analysis is presented for the interaction problem between a semi-infinite interface crack and subinterface matrix microcracks in dissimilar anisotropic materials. After deriving the fundamental solutions for an interface crack subjected to different loads and the fundamental solutions for an edge dislocation beneath the interface, the interaction problem is deduced to a system of singular integral equations with the aid of a superimposing technique. The integral equations are then solved numerically and a conservation law among three values of the J-integral is presented, which are induced from the interface crack tip, the microcracks and the remote field, respectively. The conservation law not only provides a necessary condition to confirm the numerical results derived, but also reveals that the microcrack shielding effect in such materials could be considered as a redistribution of the remote J-integral. It is this redistribution that does lead to the phenomenological shielding effect.     

Interaction of general plane P wave and cylindrical inclusion partially debonded from its viscoelastic matrix

The interaction of a general plane P wave and an elastic cylindrical inclusion of infinite length partially debonded from its surrounding viscoelastic matrix of infinite extension is investigated. The debonded region is modeled as an arc-shaped interface crack between inclusion and matrix with non-contacting faces. With wave functions expansion and singular integral equation technique, the interaction problem is reduced to a set of simultaneous singular integral equations of crack dislocation density function. By analysis of the fundamental solution of the singular integral equation, it is found that dynamic stress field at the crack tip is oscillatory singular, which is related to the frequency of incident wave. The singular integral equations are solved numerically, and the crack open displacement and dynamic stress intensity factor are evaluated for various incident angles and frequencies. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (19872002) and Climbing Foundation of Northern Jiaotong University     

Isotropic/orthotropic two-layered strips containing cracks terminating at and going through an interface

Crack problems for isotropic/orthotropic two-layered strips have been investigated. A system of two singular integral equations can be derived by using Fourier integral transformation and boundary conditions of crack problems. After stress singularities at crack tips or other special points are determined for internal and edge cracks, and for cracks terminating at and going through the interface, the system of singular integral equations is solved numerically by Gauss-Jacobi or Gauss-Chebyshev integration formulas for stress intensity factors at the tips and other singular points of cracks. Finally, possible crack growth behavior for cracks approaching and going through the interface is discussed.     

Crack growth prediction of an inclined crack in a half-plane thermopiezoelectric solid

The strain energy density theory is used to determine the direction of crack propagation in the case of an inclined crack in a half-plane thermopiezoelectric sheet subjected to uniform heat flow. Based on the Stroh's formulation and the thermoelectroelastic Green's function, a system of singular integral equations for the unknown thermal analog of dislocation density defined on the crack faces is presented and used to calculate the corresponding strain energy density. The direction of crack extension is then determined by way of the minimum strain energy density criterion. The study shows that the criterion is easy-to-use for thermal fracture problems.     

纤维增强复合材料圆柱型界面裂纹分析

以裂纹面上的位错函数为未知量将圆柱型界面裂纹问题化成一组奇异积分方程的求解问题．应用Ｍｕｓｋｈｅｌｉｓｈｖｉｌｉ的奇异积分方程理论，分析了圆柱型界面裂纹尖端应力场．针对裂纹尖端分别存在和不存在接触区两种情况，确定了裂纹尖端应力场的奇异性．利用数值方法计算了圆柱型界面裂纹尖端接触区尺寸对剪应力强度因子的影响．     

An accurate and fast analysis for strongly interacting multiple crack configurations including kinked (V) and branched (Y) cracks

In this study, multiple interacting cracks in an infinite plate are analyzed to determine the overall stress field as well as stress intensity factors for crack tips and singular wedges at crack kinks. The problem is formulated using integral equations expressed in terms of unknown edge dislocation distributions along crack lines. These distributions derive from an accurate representation of the crack opening displacements using power series basis terms obtained through wedge eigenvalue analysis, which leads to both polynomial and non-polynomial power series. The process is to choose terms of the series and their exponents such that the tractions on the crack faces are virtually zero compared to the far field loading. Applying the method leads to a set of linear algebraic equations to solve for the unknown weighting coefficients for the power series basis terms. Since no numerical integration is required unlike in other methods, in most cases, solution takes just a few seconds on a PC. The accuracy and efficiency of the method are first demonstrated with a simple example of three aligned cracks with small ligaments between their tips under tensile loading. The results are compared to exact results as well as to those of other numerical methods, including recent FIE, FEM and BEM approaches said to have fast computation times. Thereafter, some new and challenging crack interaction problems including branched Y-cracks, two kinked V-cracks are solved. From a parametric study of the various crack configurations, stress intensity factors are graphed and tabulated to demonstrate subtleties in the magnitudes of the crack interactions.     

Analysis of three-dimensional edge cracks under tensile loading

Three-dimensional edge cracks are analyzed using the Self-Similar Crack Expansion (SSCE) method with a boundary integral equation technique. The boundary integral equations for surface cracks in a half space are presented based on a half space Green's function (Mindlin, 1936). By using the SSCE method, the stress intensity factors are determined by the crack-opening displacement over the crack surface. In discrete boundary integral equations, the regular and singular integrals on the crack surface elements are evaluated by an analytical method, and the closed form expressions of the integrals are given for subsurface cracks and edge crakcs. This globally numerical and locally analytical method improves the solution accuracy and computational effort. Numerical results for edge cracks under tensile loading with various geometries, such as rectangular cracks, elliptical cracks, and semi-circular cracks, are presented using the SSCE method. Results for stress intensity factors of those surface breaking cracks are in good agreement with other numerical and analytical solutions.     

折线裂纹和两相材料界面的相互作用

利用螺位错基本解建立了和界面相交的折线裂纹的Cauchy型积分方程，根据奇异积分方程理论，得出了确定折线裂纹和界面交点处的奇性应力指数的特征方程，以及交点处各角形域内的奇性应力，利用所得的交点处的奇性应力定义了折线裂纹和界面交点处的应力强度因子，对所得积分方程进行数值求解，可得裂纹端点以及裂纹和界面交点处的应力强度因子。     

Some basic problems in anisotropic bimaterials with a viscoelastic interface

This research is devoted to the study of anisotropic bimaterials with Kelvin-type viscoelastic interface under antiplane deformations. First we derive the Green’s function for a bimaterial with a Kelvin-type viscoelastic interface subjected to an antiplane force and a screw dislocation by means of the complex variable method. Explicit expressions are derived for the time-dependent stress field induced by the antiplane force and screw dislocation. Also presented is the time-dependent image force acting on the screw dislocation due to its interaction with the Kelvin-type viscoelastic interface. Second we investigate a rectangular inclusion with uniform antiplane eigenstrains embedded in one of the two bonded anisotropic half-planes by virtue of the derived Green’s function for a line force. The explicit expressions for the time-dependent stress field induced by the rectangular inclusion are obtained in terms of the simple logarithmic and exponential integral functions. It is observed that in general the stresses exhibit the logarithmic singularity at the four corners of the rectangular inclusion. Our results also show that when one side of the rectangular inclusion lies on the viscoelastic interface, the interfacial tractions are still regular at the two corners of the inclusion which are located on the interface. Last we address a finite Griffith crack normal to the viscoelastic interface by means of the obtained Green’s function for a screw dislocation. The crack problem is formulated in terms of a resulting singular integral equation which is solved numerically. The time-dependent stress intensity factors at the two crack tips are obtained and some interesting features are discussed.     

A solution to the thermo-elastic interface crack branching in dissimilar anisotropic bi-material media

An interface crack or delamination may often branch out of the interface in a laminated composite due to thermal stresses developing around the delamination/crack tip when the media is exposed to heat flow induced by environmental events such as a sudden short-duration fire. In this paper, the thermo-elastic problem of interface crack branching in dissimilar anisotropic bi-media is studied by using the theory of Stroh’s dislocation formalism, extended to thermo-elasticity in matrix notation. Based on the complex variable method and the analytical continuation principle, the thermo-elastic interface crack/delamination problem is examined and a general solution in compact form is derived for dissimilar anisotropic bi-media. A set of Green’s functions is proposed for the dislocations (conventional dislocation and thermal dislocation/heat vortex) in anisotropic bi-media. These functions may be more suitable than those which have appeared in the literature on addressing thermo-elastic interface crack branching in dissimilar anisotropic bi-materials. Using the contour integral method, a closed form solution to the interaction between the dislocations and the interface crack is obtained. Within the scope of linear fracture mechanics, the thermo-elastic problem of interface crack branching is then solved by modelling the branched portion as a continuous distribution of dislocations. The influence of thermal loading and thermal properties on the branching behavior is examined, and criteria for predicting interface crack branching are suggested, based on the extensive numerical results from the study of various cases.     

The scattering of general SH plane wave by interface crack between two dissimilar viscoelastic bodies

The scattering of general SH plane wave by an interface crack between two dissimilar viscoelastic bodies is studied and the dynamic stress intensity factor at the crack-tip is computed. The scattering problem can be decomposed into two problems: one is the reflection and refraction problem of general SH plane waves at perfect interface (with no crack); another is the scattering problem due to the existence of crack. For the first problem, the viscoelastic wave equation, displacement and stress continuity conditions across the interface are used to obtain the shear stress distribution at the interface. For the second problem, the integral transformation method is used to reduce the scattering problem into dual integral equations. Then, the dual integral equations are transformed into the Cauchy singular integral equation of first kind by introduction of the crack dislocation density function. Finally, the singular integral equation is solved by Kurtz's piecewise continuous function method. As a consequence, the crack opening displacement and dynamic stress intensity factor are obtained. At the end of the paper, a numerical example is given. The effects of incident angle, incident frequency and viscoelastic material parameters are analyzed. It is found that there is a frequency region for viscoelastic material within which the viscoelastic effects cannot be ignored. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.19772064) and by the project of CAS KJ 951-1-20     

Stress intensity factor for an edge crack in two bonded dissimilar materials under convective cooling

The transient thermal stress crack problem for two bonded dissimilar materials subjected to a convective cooling on the surface containing an edge crack perpendicular to the interface is considered. The problem is solved using the principle of superposition and the uncoupled quasi-static thermoelasticity. The crack problem is formulated by applying the transient thermal stresses obtained from the uncracked medium with opposite sign on the crack surfaces to be the only external loads. Fourier integral transform is used to solve the perturbation problem resulting in a singular integral equation of Cauchy type in which the derivative of the crack surface displacement is the unknown function. The numerical results of the stress intensity factors are calculated for both the edge crack and the crack terminating at the interface using two different composite materials and illustrated as a function of time, crack length, coefficient of heat transfer, and the thickness ratio.     

Dynamic fracture behaviors of cracks in a functionally graded magneto-electro-elastic plate

In this paper the dynamic anti-plane problem for a functionally graded magneto-electro-elastic plate containing an internal or an edge crack parallel to the graded direction is investigated. The crack is assumed to be magneto-electrically impermeable. Integral transforms and dislocation density functions are employed to reduce the problem to Cauchy singular integral equations. Field intensity factors and energy release rate are derived, analyzed and partially calculated numerically. The effects of material graded index, loading combination parameter (including size and direction) and geometry criterion of the plate on the dynamic energy release rate are shown graphically. Numerical results indicate that increasing the graded index can all retard the crack extension, and that both the applied magnetic field loadings and electric field loadings play a dominant role in the dynamic fracture behaviors of crack tips.     

Elastodynamic analysis of a plane weakened by several cracks

The stress fields in an infinite plane containing Volterra type climb and glide edge dislocations under time-harmonic excitation are derived. The dislocation solutions are utilized to formulate integral equations for dislocation density functions on the surfaces of smooth cracks. The integral equations are of Cauchy singular type which are solved numerically for several different cases of crack configurations and arrangements. The results are used to evaluate modes I and II stress intensity factors for multiple smooth cracks.     

半平面多边缘裂纹反平面问题的奇异积分方程

利用复变函数和奇异积分方程方法,求解弹性范围内半平面多边缘裂纹的反平面问题．提出了满足半平面边界自由的由分布位错密度表示的单边缘裂纹的基本解,此基本解由主要部分和辅助部分组成．将半平面多边缘裂纹问题看作是许多单边缘裂纹问题的叠加,建立了一组Cauchy型奇异积分方程．然后,利用半开型积分法则求解该奇异积分方程,得到了裂纹端处的应力强度因子．最后,给出了几个数值算例．     

Stress intensity factors of a rectangular crack meeting a bimaterial interface

Using the hypersingular integral equation method based on body force method, a planar crack meeting the interface in a three-dimensional dissimilar materials is analyzed. The singularity of the singular stress field around the crack front terminating at the interface is analyzed by the main-part analytical method of hypersingular integral equations. Then, the numerical method of the hypersingular integral equation for a rectangular crack subjected to normal load is proposed by the body force method, which the crack opening dislocation is approximated by the product of basic density functions and polynomials. Numerical solutions of the stress intensity factors of some examples are given.