Brittle fracture dynamics with arbitrary paths. II. Dynamic crack branching under general antiplane loading

The dynamic propagation of a bifurcated crack under antiplane loading is considered. The dependence of the stress intensity factor just after branching is given as a function of the stress intensity factor just before branching, the branching angle and the instantaneous velocity of the crack tip. The jump in the dynamic energy release rate due to the branching process is also computed. Similar to the single crack case, a growth criterion for a branched crack is applied. It is based on the equality between the energy flux into each propagating tip and the surface energy which is added as a result of this propagation. It is shown that the minimum speed of the initial single crack which allows branching is equal to 0.39c, where c is the shear wave speed. At the branching threshold, the corresponding bifurcated cracks start their propagation at a vanishing speed with a branching angle of approximately 40°.     

Brittle fracture dynamics with arbitrary paths III. The branching instability under general loading

The dynamic propagation of a bifurcated crack under arbitrary loading is studied. Under plane loading configurations, it is shown that the model problem of the determination of the dynamic stress intensity factors after branching is similar to the anti-plane crack branching problem. By analogy with the exact results of the mode III case, the energy release rate immediately after branching under plane situations is expected to be maximized when the branches start to propagate quasi-statically. Therefore, the branching of a single propagating crack under mode I loading should be energetically possible when its speed exceeds a threshold value. The critical velocity for branching of the initial single crack depends only weakly on the criterion applied for selecting the paths followed by the branches. However, the principle of local symmetry imposes a branching angle which is larger than the one given by the maximum energy release rate criterion. Finally, it is shown that an increasing fracture energy with the velocity results in a decrease in the critical velocity at which branching is energetically possible.     

Steady-state mode I cracks in a viscoelastic triangular lattice

We construct exact solutions for Mode I steady-state cracks in an ideally brittle viscoelastic triangular lattice model. Our analytic solutions for the infinite lattice are compared to numerical results for finite width systems. The issues we address include the crack velocity versus driving curve as well as the onset of additional bond breaking, signaling the emergence of complex spatio-temporal behavior. Somewhat surprisingly, the critical velocity for this transition becomes a decreasing function of the dissipation for sufficiently large values thereof. Lastly, we briefly discuss the possible relevance of our findings for experiments on mode I crack instabilities.     

Can crack front waves explain the roughness of cracks?

We review recent theoretical progress on the dynamics of brittle crack fronts and its relationship to the roughness of fracture surfaces. We discuss the possibility that the small scale roughness of cracks, which is characterized by a roughness exponent ?0.5, could be caused by the generation, during local instabilities by depinning, of diffusively broadened corrugation waves, which have recently been observed to propagate elastically along moving crack fronts. We find that the theory agrees plausibly with the orders of magnitude observed. Various consequences and limitations, as well as alternative explanations, are discussed. We argue that another mechanism, possibly related to damage cavity coalescence, is needed to account for the observed large scale roughness of cracks that is characterized by a roughness exponent ?0.8.     

Subsonic and intersonic mode II crack propagation with a rate-dependent cohesive zone

A recent experimental study has demonstrated the attainability of intersonic shear crack growth along weak planes in otherwise homogeneous, isotropic, linear elastic solids subjected to remote loading conditions (Rosakis et al., Science 284 (5418) (1999) 1337). The relevant experimental observations are summarized briefly here and the conditions governing the attainment of intersonic crack speeds are examined. Motivated by experimental observations, subsonic and intersonic mode II crack propagation with a rate-dependent cohesive zone is subsequently analyzed. A cohesive law is assumed, wherein the cohesive shear traction is either a constant or varies linearly with the local sliding rate. Complete decohesion is assumed to occur when the crack tip sliding displacement reaches a material-specific critical value. Closed form expressions are obtained for the near-tip fields. With a cohesive zone of finite size, it is found that the dynamic energy release rate is finite through out the intersonic regime. Crack tip stability issues are addressed and favorable speed regimes are identified. The influence of shear strength of the crack plane and of a rate parameter on crack propagation behavior is also investigated. The isochromatic fringe patterns predicted by the analytical solution are compared with the experimental observations of Rosakis et al. (1999) and comments are made on the validity of the proposed model.     

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.     

Measurement of energy release rate and energy flux of rapidly bifurcating crack in Homalite 100 and Araldite B by high-speed holographic microscopy

High-speed holographic microscopy is applied to take three successive photographs of fast propagating cracks in Homalite 100 or in Araldite B at the moment of bifurcation. Crack speed at bifurcation is about 540 m/s on Homalite 100, and about 450 m/s on Araldite B. From the photographs, crack speeds immediately before and after bifurcation are obtained, and it is found that discontinuous change of crack speed does not exist at the moment of bifurcation in the case of Homalite 100, but exists in the case of Araldite B. From the photographs, crack opening displacement (COD) is also measured along the cracks as a function of distance r from the crack tips. The measurement results show that the CODs are proportional to √r before bifurcation. After bifurcation, the CODs of mother cracks are proportional to √r, though the CODs of branch cracks are not always proportional to √r. The energy release rate is obtained from the measured CODs, and it is found that energy release rate is continuous at bifurcation point in both cases of Homalite 100 and Araldite B. Energy flux that shows the energy flow toward a crack tip is also obtained.     

Dynamic stability of a propagating crack

In this work we investigate the stability of a straight two-dimensional dynamically propagating crack to small perturbation of its path. Willis and Movchan (J. Mech. Phys. Solids 43 (1995) 319; J. Mech. Phys. Solids 45 (1997) 591) constructed formulae for the perturbations of the stress intensity factors induced by a small three-dimensional dynamic perturbation of a nominally plane crack. Their solution is exploited here to derive equations for the in-plane and out-of-plane perturbations of the crack path making use of the Griffith fracture criterion and the principle of “local symmetry” (i.e the crack propagates so that local K_II=0). We consider a crack propagating in a body loaded by a pair of point body forces and subjected to a remote uniaxial stress, aligned with the direction of the unperturbed crack. We assume that the loading follows the crack as the crack advances and is such that the unperturbed crack is subjected to Mode I loading. We perform an analysis of the stability of the dynamic crack in a similar way as in earlier work (Obrezanova et al., J. Mech. Phys. Solids 50 (2002) 57) on the quasistatically advancing crack. We present numerical results illustrating the influence of the crack velocity on the crack stability. Numerical computations of the possible crack paths have been performed which show that at velocities of crack propagation exceeding about one-third of the speed of Rayleigh waves the crack may admit one or more oscillatory modes of instability.     

An asymptotic approach to crack initiation in fretting fatigue of complete contacts

The stress state near the corner of a complete contact subject to fretting action is studied using an asymptotic analysis. The spatial distribution of stress, together with the generalised stress intensity factor defining the severity of the stress state are found, and the implications for experimental determination of crack initiation conditions discussed.     

Sudden deceleration or acceleration of an intersonic shear crack

Sudden jumps in the crack tip velocity were revealed by numerical simulation (in both continuum/cohesive element and molecular dynamics approaches) and experiments for rapid shear cracking. The cracking velocity may accelerate from a sub-Rayleigh speed to the intersonic range, or from an intersonic speed to a higher one, when the reflected impact wave reloads the crack tip. On the other hand, the cracking velocity may decelerate from an intersonic speed to a lower one or recede to the sub-Rayleigh range when the fracture driving force declines. The velocity change encountered during intersonic cracking plays a different role from that in the acceleration or deceleration of a subsonic crack. A crack propagating at an intersonic speed would leave a shear wave trailing behind. When the crack decelerates or accelerates, the effect of the trailing wave will lead to a transition period from one steady-state solution of crack tip singularity to another. This investigation aims at quantifying these processes. The full field solution of an intersonic mode II crack whose speed changed suddenly from one velocity (intersonic or subsonic) to another (intersonic or subsonic) is given in closed form. The solution is facilitated via superposing a series of propagating crack problems that are loaded by dislocations to seal the unwanted crack-face sliding or by concentrated forces moving at various speeds to negate the crack-face traction. In contrast to the subsonic solution, the results in the intersonic case indicate that the elastic fields around the crack tip depend on the deceleration or acceleration history that is traced back over a long time. Singularity matching dictates the jump that may actually take place.     

Intersonic crack propagation in homogeneous media under shear-dominated loading: theoretical analysis

The mechanics of cohesive failure under mixed-mode loading is investigated for the case of a steadily propagating subsonic and intersonic dynamic crack subjected to a follower tensile and shear distributed load. The cohesive failure model chosen in this study is rate independent but accounts for the coupling between normal and tangential damage. Special emphasis is placed here on mixed-mode cases with predominantly shear loading. The analysis shows that the size of the mixed-mode cohesive zone is smaller than that obtained in the pure shear case. The relative extent of the shear and tensile cohesive damage zones depends on the crack speed and the mode mixity. In the intersonic regime, the failure process takes place exclusively in shear, even under remote mixed-mode loading conditions.     

A domain independent integral expression for the crack extension force of a curved crack in three dimensions

An integral expression that is domain independent in curvilinear coordinates and compatible with zero divergence of Eshelby's (Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. (London) 244 (1951) 87.) energy momentum tensor was obtained from the principle of virtual work. By applying Eshelby's definition of the force on a material defect a general expression of the crack extension force for a curved crack in three dimensions, here called the F-integral, was derived from the domain independent integral expression. The F-integral is given explicitly for a number of curved cracks and found to be in agreement with previously known solutions, when available. The influence of crack surface and crack front curvature upon the various forms of the F-integral is discussed. The F-integral presented in this work is a generalisation of the J-integral (Rice, J. Appl. Mech. 35 (1968) 379.) to curved cracks in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates.     

A fractional differential constitutive model for dynamic stress intensity factors of an anti-plane crack in viscoelastic materials

Fractional differential constitutive relationships are introduced to depict the history of dynamic stress inten- sity factors （DSIFs） for a semi-infinite crack in infinite viscoelastic material subjected to anti-plane shear impact load. The basic equations which govern the anti-plane deformation behavior are converted to a fractional wave-like equation. By utilizing Laplace and Fourier integral transforms, the fractional wave-like equation is cast into an ordinary differential equation （ODE）. The unknown function in the solution of ODE is obtained by applying Fourier transform directly to the boundary conditions of fractional wave-like equation in Laplace domain instead of solving dual integral equations. Analytical solutions of DSIFs in Laplace domain are derived by Wiener-Hopf technique and the numerical solutions of DSIFs in time domain are obtained by Talbot algorithm. The effects of four parameters α, β, b1, b2 of the fractional dif- ferential constitutive model on DSIFs are discussed. The numerical results show that the present fractional differential constitutive model can well describe the behavior of DSIFs of anti-plane fracture in viscoelastic materials, and the model is also compatible with solutions of DSIFs of anti-plane fracture in elastic materials.     

The dynamic growth of a single void in a viscoplastic material under transient hydrostatic loading

We have examined the problem of the dynamic growth of a single spherical void in an elastic-viscoplastic medium, with a view towards addressing a number of problems that arise during the dynamic failure of metals. Particular attention is paid to inertial, thermal and rate-dependent effects, which have not previously been thoroughly studied in a combined setting. It is shown that the critical stress for unstable growth of the void in the quasistatic case is strongly affected by the thermal softening of the material (in adiabatic calculations). Thermal softening has the effect of lowering the critical stress, and has a stronger influence at high strain hardening exponents. It is shown that the thermally diffusive case for quasistatic void growth in rate-dependent materials is strongly affected by the initial void size, because of the length scale introduced by the thermal diffusion. The effects of inertia are quantified, and it is demonstrated that inertial effects are small in the early stages of void growth and are strongly dependent on the initial size of the void and the rate of loading. Under supercritical loading for the inertial problem, voids of all sizes achieve a constant absolute void growth rate in the long term. Inertia first impedes, but finally promotes dynamic void growth under a subcritical loading. For dynamic void growth, the effect of rate-hardening is to reduce the rate of void growth in comparison to the rate-independent case, and to reduce the final relative void growth achieved.     

Dynamic crack deflection and penetration at interfaces in homogeneous materials: experimental studies and model predictions

We examine the deflection/penetration behavior of dynamic mode-I cracks propagating at various speeds towards inclined weak planes/interfaces of various strengths in otherwise homogeneous isotropic plates. A dynamic wedge-loading mechanism is used to control the incoming crack speeds, and high-speed photography and dynamic photoelasticity are used to observe, in real-time, the failure mode transition mechanism at the interfaces. Simple dynamic fracture mechanics concepts used in conjunction with a postulated energy criterion are applied to examine the crack deflection/penetration behavior and, for the case of interfacial deflection, to predict the crack tip speed of the deflected crack. It is found that if the interfacial angle and strength are such as to trap an incident dynamic mode-I crack within the interface, a failure mode transition occurs. This transition is characterized by a distinct, observable and predicted speed jump as well as a dramatic crack speed increase as the crack transitions from a purely mode-I crack to an unstable mixed-mode interfacial crack.     

Extraction of cohesive-zone laws from elastic far-fields of a cohesive crack tip: a field projection method

A solution method of an inverse problem is developed to extract cohesive-zone laws from elastic far-fields surrounding a crack-tip cohesive zone. The solution method is named the “field projection method (FPM).” In the process of developing the method a general form of cohesive-crack-tip fields is obtained and used for eigenfunction expansions of the plane elastic field in a complex variable representation. The closing tractions and the separation-gradients at the cohesive zone are expressed in terms of orthogonal polynomial series expansions of the general-form complex functions. The series expansion forms a set of cohesive-crack-tip eigenfunctions, which is complete and orthogonal in the sense of the interaction J-integral in the far field as well as at the cohesive-zone faces. The coefficients of the eigenfunctions in the J-orthogonal representation are extracted directly, using interaction J-integrals in the far field between the physical field of interest and auxiliary probing fields. The path-independence of the interaction J-integral enables us to identify the cohesive-zone variables, i.e. tractions and separations, and thus the cohesive-zone constitutive laws uniquely from the far-field data. A set of numerical algorithms is developed for the inversion method and the results from numerical experiments suggest that the proposed algorithms are well suited for extracting cohesive-zone laws from the far-field data. The set includes methods to find the position and size of a cohesive zone. Further included are discussions on error analysis and stability of the inversion scheme.     

Steady growth of a crack with a rate and temperature sensitive cohesive zone

The steady-state dynamic propagation of a crack in a heat conducting elastic body is numerically simulated. Specifically, a mode III semi-infinite crack with a nonlinear temperature dependent cohesive zone is assumed to be moving in an unbounded homogeneous linear thermoelastic continuum. The numerical results are obtained via a semi-analytical technique based on complex variables and integral transforms. The relation between the thermo-mechanical properties of the failure zone and the resulting crack growth regime are investigated. The results show that temperature dependent solutions are substantially different from purely mechanical ones in that their existence and stability strongly depends on the cohesive zone thermal properties.     

Elastodynamic analysis of a crack at an arbitrary angle to the graded interfacial zone in bonded half-planes under antiplane shear impact

A solution is provided for the elastodynamic problem of a crack at an arbitrary angle to the graded interfacial zone in bonded media under the action of antiplane shear impact. The interfacial zone is modeled by a nonhomogeneous interlayer with the spatially varying shear modulus and mass density in terms of power functions between the two dissimilar, homogeneous half-planes. Based on the use of Laplace and Fourier integral transforms and the coordinate transformations of basic field variables, formulation of the transient crack problem is reduced to solving a Cauchy-type singular integral equation in the Laplace transform domain. The crack-tip response in the physical domain is recovered via the inverse Laplace transform and the values of dynamic mode III stress intensity factors are obtained as a function of time. A comprehensive parametric study is then presented of the effects of crack obliquity on the overshoot behavior of the transient crack-tip response, by plotting the peak values of the dynamic stress intensity factors versus the crack orientation angle for various material and geometric combinations of the bonded system.     

Propagation of an anti-plane moving crack in a functionally graded piezoelectric strip

Summary The propagation of an anti-plane moving crack in a functionally graded piezoelectric strip (FGPS) is studied in this paper. The governing equations for the proposed analysis are solved using Fourier cosine transform. The mixed boundary value problems of the anti-plane moving crack, which is assumed to be either impermeable or permeable, are formulated as dual integral equations. By appropriate transformations, the dual integral equations are reduced to Fredholm integral equations of the second kind. For the impermeable crack, the stress intensity factor (SIF) of the crack in the FGPS depends on both the mechanical and electric loading, whereas, the SIF for the permeable crack depends only on the mechanical loading. The results obtained show that the gradient parameter of the FGPS and the velocity of the crack have significant influence on the dynamic SIF.Support from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. HKU 7081/00E) is acknowledged. Support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project No. 10072041) is also acknowledged.     

Numerical analysis of quasi-static crack branching in brittle solids by a modified displacement discontinuity method

Mechanism of quasi-static crack branching in brittle solids has been analyzed by a modified displacement discontinuity method. It has been assumed that the pre-existing cracks in brittle solids may propagate at the crack tips due to the initiation and propagation of the kink (or wing) cracks. The originated wing cracks will act as new cracks and can be further propagated from their tips according to the linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) theory. The kink displacement discontinuity formulations (considering the linear and quadratic interpolation functions) are specially developed to calculate the displacement discontinuities for the left and right sides of a kink point so that the first and second mode kink stress intensity factors can be estimated. The crack tips are also treated by boundary displacement collocation technique considering the singularity variation of the displacements and stresses near the crack tip. The propagating direction of the secondary cracks can be predicted by using the maximum tangential stress criterion. An iterative algorithm is used to predict the crack propagating path assuming an incremental increase of the crack length in the predicted direction (straight and curved cracks have been treated). The same approach has been used for estimating the crack propagating direction and path of the original and wing cracks considering the special crack tip elements. Some example problems are numerically solved assuming quasi-static conditions. These results are compared with the corresponding experimental and numerical results given in the literature. This comparison validates the accuracy and applicability of the proposed method.