Closed-form solution for a mode-III interfacial edge crack between two bonded dissimilar elastic strips

A closed-form solution is obtained for the problem of a mode-III interfacial edge crack between two bonded semi-infinite dissimilar elastic strips. A general out-of-plane displacement potential for the crack interacting with a screw dislocation or a line force is constructed using conformal mapping technique and existing dislocation solutions. Based on this displacement potential, the stress intensity factor (SIF, K_III) and the energy release rate (ERR, G_III) for the interfacial edge crack are obtained explicitly. It is shown that, in the limiting special cases, the obtained results coincide with the results available in the literature. The present solution can be used as the Green’s function to analyze interfacial edge cracks subjected to arbitrary anti-plane loadings. As an example, a formula is derived correcting the beam theory used in evaluation of SIF (K_III) and ERR (G_III) of bimaterials in the double cantilever beam (DCB) test configuration.     

Anomalies associated with energy release parameters for cracks in piezoelectric materials

For a central crack in a piezoelectric plate, the mode-I stress intensity factor (K_I), electric displacement intensity factor (K_D), energy release rates (G, G_M) and energy density factor (S) are obtained from the finite element results. For the impermeable crack, the numerical results of K_I and K_D are coupled; this error is contrary to the uncoupled analytical solutions. The error has little effect on the total energy release rate G and energy density factor S, but in some cases, large errors in the mechanical energy release rate G_M are observed. G is global while SED is local. Also G is negative which defies physics where energy cannot be created while crack attempts to extend as implied by G. Computations should be made for the J-integral and also show that J becomes negative. What this shows is that the global fracture energy criterion is not suitable to address the local release of energy because it includes the overall energy which are irrelevant to fracture initiation being a local behavior. In addition, the case study shows that the energy density theory is the better fracture criterion for the piezoelectric material. According to the results of S, it retards the crack growth when the external electric field and piezoelectric poling are on opposite directions. This conclusion agrees with analytical and experimental evidence in the past references.     

Prediction of mixed-mode fracture based on an elasto–plastic energy balance criterion

The maximum energy release rate criterion, i.e., G _max criterion, is commonly used for crack propagation analysis. This fracture criterion is based on the elastic macroscopic strength of materials. In the present investigation, however, the G _max criterion has been modified in order to accommodate the consideration of plastic strain energy. This modified criterion is extended to study the fatigue crack growth characteristics of mixed-mode cracks. To predict crack propagation due to fatigue loads, a new elasto–plastic energy model is presented. This new model includes the effects of material properties such as strain hardening exponent n, yield strength σ _y , and fracture toughness and stress intensity factor ranges. The results obtained are compared with those obtained using the commonly employed crack growth law and the experimental data.     

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.     

Resolved shear stress intensity coefficient and fatigue crack growth in large crystals

Fatigue crack growth is caused primarily by shear decohesion due to dislocation motion in the crack tip region. The resolved shear stress, which drives dislocation in a crystal, is strongly orientation dependent, and therefore, the cyclic plastic deformation of the shear decohesion process is highly anisotropic.The crack planes are often inclined to the loading axis both in the inplane orientation and in the thickness direction. This inclination induces all three modes of the crack tip stress field, K_I, K_II, and K_III.Fatigue crack growth in large-grain Al 7029 aluminum alloy was studied. The crack tip stress fields of the test specimens are calculated with the finite element method. The values of K_I, K_II, and K_III are evaluated. The orientation of the crystal at a crack tip was determined with the Laue X-ray method. The crystal orientation and the calculated crack tip stress fields are used to compute the resolved shear stress intensity of each of the twelve slip systems of the crystal at the crack tip. The resolved shear stress field of a slip system is linearly proportional to the resolved shear stress intensity coefficient, RSSIC.The values of RSSIC thus evaluated are used to analyze the orientations of the crack plane and to correlate with the shear fatigue crack growth rate.     

A study of the in situ transverse tensile lamina strength and the classical solution of the opening mode crack in a 0/90/0 laminate

In this paper, the classical solution of the opening mode crack in the 90° layer of 0/90/0 laminates has been determined by means of Fourier transformations and the procedure of Copson for a pair of dual integral equations. The fracture behavior and the in situ transverse strength of the 90° layer have been quantitatively studied in graphite/epoxy laminates, based on the solution obtained above. The results show that the stress intensity factor of this kind of laminates, which is different from that of a single unidirectional 90° layer, decreases with the increase in thicknessb, or modulusE _L orG _LT of the 0° layer and also decreases with the decrease in the thickness of the 90° layer. So the lamination effect manifests itself and thein situ transverse strength of the 90° layer is thereby enchanced. The theoretical calculations agree with the experimental data presented by D.L. Flaggs. Supported by National Natural Science Fundation of China.     

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.     

Measuring Fracture Energy in a Brittle Polymeric Material

The dynamic fracture behavior of a brittle polymer, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), was studied using single-edge-cracked tensile specimens and the method of caustics in combination with high-speed photography. The dynamic response of the specimen and the state of local stress near the crack tip, i.e., the stress intensity factor K, were measured. To analyze the dynamic response, the external work, U_ex, applied to the specimen was partitioned into three components: the elastic energy, E_e; non-elastic energy, E_n, due to viscoelastic and plastic deformation; and fracture energy, E_f, for creating a new fracture surface, A_s. The results showed that E_e, E_n, and E_f increased with U_ex, and the ratio E_f/U_ex was about 46% over a wide range of U_ex. Energy release rates were estimated using G_t = U_ex/A_s and G_f = E_f/A_s. The mean energy release rate, G_m, during dynamic crack propagation was also determined using the value of K. A good correlation between G_f and G_m was found.     

The effect of the sheet rigidity on strength of the spot weld tension shear joint

This paper presents some test and analysis results for a spot welded joint subjected to tensile and alternate load. The effect of sheet rigidity on the tensile strength and fatigue life of the spot welded joint is studied by using the stress intensity factorsK _I,K _II,K _III and an effective stress intensity factor K_max calculated by the finite element method for crack around the nugget. The results show that the effective stress intensity factor K_max is an essential parameter for estimating the fatigue life of the spot welded joint.     

Effect of T-stress on crack growth under mixed mode I–III loading

For a crack subjected to combined mode I and III loading the influence of a T-stress is analyzed, with focus on crack growth. The solid is a ductile metal modelled as elastic–plastic, and the fracture process is represented in terms of a cohesive zone model. The analyzes are carried out for conditions of small scale yielding, with the elastic solution applied as boundary conditions on the outer edge of the region analyzed. For several combinations of the stress intensity factors K_I and K_III and the T-stress crack growth resistance curves are calculated numerically in order to determine the fracture toughness. In all situations it is found that a negative T-stress adds to the fracture toughness, whereas a positive T-stress has rather little effect. For given values of K_I and T the minimum fracture toughness corresponds to K_III = 0.     

Effect of local elastic softening on crack extension

Elastic softening materials are brittle materials such that crack extension is associated with a softening zone behind the crack tip, with the material elements within this zone exerting a restraining effect on the crack tip. Crack extension is sometimes characterised in terms of the stress intensity K_F, due to the applied loadings, at the front of the softening zone, i.e. the actual crack tip. This paper is concerned with the determination of the maximum load K_F value for a general positive geometrical configuration, for the case where the softening zone size is small compared with a solid's characteristic dimension. The resulting expression for K_F is compared with the maximum load stress intensity value K_T measured with regard to the initial crack position, i.e. the trailing edge of the softening zone.     

Elastic stresses in bodies with elliptic,parabolic, and tunnel cracks

The paper gives explicit expressions of the elastic T-stress components T _I, T _II, and T _III for an elliptic crack in an unbounded body under uniform pressure and bending and expressions of all the T-stress components for parabolic and tunnel cracks under uniform loading. These formulas are derived by analyzing the asymptotic behavior of the stress components near the crack front using special harmonic functions. The dependence of the T-stresses on Poisson’s ratio, semiaxes and parametric angle of the elliptic crack is studied. The expressions of T _I, T _II, and T _III for a penny-shaped crack under arbitrary uniform pressure and bending follow as a special case from the respective expressions for an elliptic crack __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 43, No. 8, pp. 57–70, August 2007.     

Influence of mean stress on the fatigue crack growth characreristics of CrlMo steel tube at elevated temperature

The fatigue crack growth characteristics of CrlMo steel have been investigated at 861 K over the R-ratio range 0.1–0.7 utilising a dwell time of 10 min. at maximum load. All tests were conducted under load control in a laboratory air environment. It was established that the R-ratio significantly affected the fatigue crack extension behaviour inasmuch that with increasing R-ratio, the critical ΔK level for the onset of creep fatigue interactive growth, ΔK^IG, decreased from 20 to 7 MPa√m and the threshold stress intensity, ΔK_th, decreased from 9 to about 3 MPa√m. At intermediate ΔK levels, i.e. between ΔK_th and ΔK^IG, the fatigue crack extension rates, for all R-ratio values, resided on or slightly below the CTOD line, which represents the upper bound for contrnuum controlled fatigue crack growth. Creep fatigue interactive growth was typified by crack extension rates that reside above the CTOD line with a ΔK^IG dependence; the attainment of some critical creep condition or crack linkage condition which causes the abrupt change in crack extension behaviour at ΔK^IG; and crack extension occurs almost exclusively in an intergranular manner. The R-ratio and ΔK^IG followed a linear relation. A literature review concerning the effect of temperature on the threshold fatigue crack growth characteristics of low alloy ferritic steels demonstrated powerful effects of temperature; the magnitude of these effects, however, were dependent upon the testing temperature regime and R-ratio level. The effect of R-ratio on ΔK_th was greatest at temperatures >400°C, significant at ambient temperatures and least in the temperature range 90°C to <300°C. The relationship between temperature and ΔK_th, at a given R-ratio, exhibited a through and a minimum ΔK_th value was observed in the temperature range 200–250°C. The magnitude of the temperature effects on ΔK_th decreased with increasing R-ratio. Such effects of temperature and R-ratio on ΔK_th was reasonably explained in terms of crack closure effects. Finally, the present elevated temperature fatigue crack growth data exhibited massive crack extension enhancement values when compared to ambient near-threshold fatigue crack growth data for CrlMo steel. Such large enhancement values were the combined effects of temperature (environment) and frequency.     

Crack repair using an elastic filler

The effect of repairing a crack in an elastic body using an elastic filler is examined in terms of the stress intensity levels generated at the crack tip. The effect of the filler is to change the stress field singularity from order 1/r^1/2 to 1/r^(1-λ) where r is the distance from the crack tip, and λ is the solution to a simple transcendental equation. The singularity power (1-λ) varies from (the unfilled crack limit) to 1 (the fully repaired crack), depending primarily on the scaled shear modulus ratio γ_r defined by G₂/G₁=γ_rε, where 2πε is the (small) crack angle, and the indices (1, 2) refer to base and filler material properties, respectively. The fully repaired limit is effectively reached for γ_r≈10, so that fillers with surprisingly small shear modulus ratios can be effectively used to repair cracks. This fits in with observations in the mining industry, where materials with G₂/G₁ of the order of 10^-3 have been found to be effective for stabilizing the walls of tunnels. The results are also relevant for the repair of cracks in thin elastic sheets.     

Crack problems of piezoelectric materials

This paper presents an analysis of crack problems in homogeneous piezoelectrics or on the interfaces between two dissimilar piezoelectric materials based on the continuity of normal electric displacement and electric potential across the crack faces. The explicit analytic solutions are obtained for a single crack in piezoelectrics or on the interfaces of piezoelectric bimaterials. A class of boundary problems involving many cracks is also solved. For homogeneous materials it is found that the normal electric displacementD ₂ induced by the crack is constant along the crack faces which depends only on the applied remote stress field. Within the crack slit, the electric fields induced by the crack are also constant and not affected by the applied electric field. For the bimaterials with realH, the normal electric displacementD ₂ is constant along the crack faces and electric fieldE ₂ has the singularity ahead of the crack tip and a jump across the interface. The project is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No. 19704100) and the Natural Science Foundation of Chinese Academy of Sciences(No. KJ951-1-201).     

Higher-order correction of effective permeability of heterogeneous isotropic formations of lognormal conductivity distribution

Steady flow of an incompressible fluid takes place in a porous formation of spatially variable hydraulic conductivityK. The latter is regarded as a lognormal stationary random space function and Y=ln(K/K _G ), whereK _G is the geometric mean ofK, is characterized by its variance ² and correlation scale I. Exact results are known for the effective conductivityK _eff in one- and two-dimensional flows. In contrast, only a first-order term in a perturbation expansion in ² has been derived exactly for the three-dimensional flow. A conjecture has been made in the past onK _eff for any ², but it was not yet proved exactly. This study derived the exact nonlinear correction, i.e. the termO(⁴) ofK _eff, which is found to be the one resulting from the conjecture, strengthening the confidence in it. It is also shown that the self-consistent approximation leads to the exact results for one-dimensional and two-dimensional flows, but underestimates the nonlinear correction ofK _eff for in the three-dimensional case.     

Some effects of compressibility on the indentation of a thin elastic layer by a smooth rigid cylinder

Summary A truncated cosine series solution to the integral equation for the pressure distribution is evaluated using a digital computer. Tables of results are given which allow the calculation of pressure distribution, tangential surface strain and indentation under load when the contact width is less than four times the layer thickness. Calculations derived from these results are given, which show the effect of layer compressibility.Nomenclature b layer thickness - d indentation at centre of contact width relative to undisturbed position of outer boundary - D Composite diameter term 1/D=1/D ₁+1/D ₂ where D ₁ and D ₂ are roller diameters - E Young's modulus - h ₀ half contact width for infinite cover thickness - h half contact width for finite cover thickness - K h/2b - V(X) displacement normal to layer boundary at X from the centre of the contact width - W load per unit axial width - x co-ordinate in direction tangential to cover surface - X x/h - y co-ordinate normal to cover surface, positive direction into cover itself - C ₁(K) a function of K such that h=h ₀ C ₁(K) - Poisson's ratio     

Subsonic semi-infinite crack with a finite friction zone in a bimaterial

Propagation of a semi-infinite crack along the interface between an elastic half-plane and a rigid half-plane is analyzed. The crack advances at constant subsonic speed. It is assumed that, ahead of the crack, there is a finite segment where the conditions of Coulomb friction law are satisfied. The contact zone of unknown a priori length propagates with the same speed as the crack. The problem reduces to a vector Riemann–Hilbert problem with a piece-wise constant matrix coefficient discontinuous at three points, 0, 1, and ∞. The problem is solved exactly in terms of Kummer's solutions of the associated hypergeometric differential equation. Numerical results are reported for the length of the contact friction zone, the stress singularity factor, the normal displacement u₂, and the dynamic energy release rate G. It is found that in the case of frictionless contact for both the sub-Rayleigh and super-Rayleigh regimes, G is positive and the stress intensity factor K_II does not vanish. In the sub-Rayleigh case, the normal displacement is positive everywhere in the opening zone. In the super-Rayleigh regime, there is a small neighborhood of the ending point of the open zone where the normal displacement is negative.     

Semi-weight function method on computation of stress intensity factors in dissimilar materials

Semi-weight function method is developed to solve the plane problem of two bonded dissimilar materials containing a crack along the bond. From equilibrium equation, stress and strain relationship, conditions of continuity across interface and free crack surface, the stress and displacement fields were obtained. The eigenvalue of these fields is lambda. Semi-weight functions were obtained as virtual displacement and stress fields with eigenvalue-lambda. Integral expression of fracture parameters, KⅠ and KⅡ, were obtained from reciprocal work theorem with semi-weight functions and approximate displacement and stress values on any integral path around crack tip. The calculation results of applications show that the semi-weight function method is a simple, convenient and high precision calculation method.     

A Crack with an Electric Displacement Saturation Zone in an Electrostrictive Material

A crack with an electric displacement saturation zone in an electrostrictive material under purely electric loading is analyzed. A strip saturation model is here employed to investigate the effect of the electrical polarization saturation on electric fields and elastic fields. A closed form solution of electric fields and elastic fields for the crack with the strip saturation zone is obtained by using the complex function theory. It is found that the K _I -dominant region is very small compared to the strip saturation zone. The generalized Dugdale zone model is also employed in order to investigate the effect of the saturation zone shape on the stress intensity factor. Using the body force analogy, the stress intensity factor for the asymptotic problem of a crack with an elliptical saturation zone is evaluated numerically.