Electromechanical impact of a crack in a functionally graded piezoelectric medium

The Mode-I transient response of a functionally graded piezoelectric medium is solved for a through crack under the in-plane mechanical and electric impact. Integral transforms and dislocation density functions are employed to reduce the problem to singular integral equations. Numerical results display the effects of the loading combination parameter λ and the material parameter βa on the dynamic stress intensity factor and electric displacement intensity factor. The energy density factor criterion is applied to obtain the maximum of the minimum energy density factor and the direction of crack initiation.     

An extended strain energy density failure criterion by differentiating volumetric and distortional deformation

We extend Sih’s strain energy density criterion (Sih, 1974) for crack kinks and material failure by weighting differently the volumetric and distortional parts in the extended strain energy density factor. The work is inspired by the factor that failure by microscopic shearing governed by distortion and microscopic separation controlled by hydrostatic tension represent distinct deformation processes, and should be treated differently as we count their influences to material failure. With the weight parameter introduced to the extended strain energy density factor criterion, we explain satisfactorily several critical experiments which reported crack kink in samples subjected to mixed-mode loading. The extended strain energy density idea is also used to derive a generalized pressure-dependent yielding criterion, which supplies a theoretical basis for those novel strength criteria for materials like bulk metallic glasses. Corresponding methods to determine the two material parameters, the critical strain energy density factor and the weight parameter quantifying the relative contribution by distortion over volumetric deformation, are discussed.     

Strain energy density prediction of crack initiation and direction in cracked T-beams and pipes

In this paper, the S-theory is applied to determine crack initiation and direction for cracked T-beams and circumferentially cracked pipes. It makes use of a parameter called strain energy density factor, S, which is a function of the stress intensity factors. The strain energy density theory provides a more general treatment of fracture mechanics problems by virtue of its ability in describing the multiscale feature of material damage and in dealing with mixed mode crack propagation problem. A simple method for obtaining approximate stress intensity factors is also applied. It takes into account the elastic crack tip stress singularity while using the elementary beam theory. Some basic loading conditions in beams and pipes are studied.     

Rate dependent critical strain energy density factor of Huanglong limestone

Critical strain energy density of rock can be defined as a fundamental parameter in rock fracture mechanics, an intrinsic material property related to resistance to crack initiation and propagation. By means of the three-point bending experiments, the critical strain energy density factor of Huanglong limestone was measured over a wide range of loading rates from 8.97 × 10⁻⁴ MPam^1/2 s⁻¹ to 1.545 MPam^1/2 s⁻¹. According to the approximate relationship between static and dynamic critical strain energy density factor of Huanglong limestone, relationship between the growth velocity of crack and magnitude of load is obtained. The main conclusions are summarized as follows: (1) when the loading rate is higher than 0.0279 MPam^1/2 s⁻¹, the critical strain energy density factor of rock increased markedly with increasing loading rate. However, when loading rate is lower than 0.0279 MPam^1/2 s⁻¹, the critical strain energy density factor slightly increased with an increase in loading rate. It is found from experimental results that the critical strain energy density factor is linear proportional to the exponential expression of loading rate, (2) for Huanglong limestone, when the growth velocity of crack is lower than 100 m/s, value of the maximum load was nearly a constant. However, when the growth velocity of crack is higher than 1000 m/s, value of the maximum load dramatically increases with increasing the crack growth velocity, and (3) the critical SED of Huanglong limestone is higher as the loading rate is higher.     

Antiplane mechanical and inplane electric time-dependent load applied to two coplanar cracks in piezoelectric ceramic material

This work is concerned with the dynamic response of two coplanar cracks in a piezoelectric ceramic under antiplane mechanical and inplane electric time-dependent load. The cracks are assumed to act either as an insulator or as a conductor. Laplace and Fourier transforms are used to reduce the mixed boundary value problems to Cauchy-type singular integral equations in Laplace transform domain. A numerical Laplace inversion algorithm is used to determine the dynamic stress and electric displacement factors that depend on time and geometry. A normalized equivalent parameter describing the ratio of the equivalent magnitude of electric load to that of mechanical load is introduced in the numerical computation of the dynamic stress intensity factor (DSIF) which has a similar trend as that for the pure elastic material. The results show that the dynamic electric field will impede or enhance crack propagation in a piezoelectric ceramic material at different stages of the dynamic electromechanical load. Moreover, the electromechanical response is greatly affected by the ratio of the crack length to the ligament between the cracks. The stress and electric displacement intensity factor can be combined by the energy density factor or function to address the fracture of piezoelectric materials under the combined influence of electromechanical loading.     

Mixed mode crack initiation in piezoelectric ceramic strip

When piezoelectric ceramics are subjected to mechanical and electrical load, they can fracture prematurely due to their brittle behavior. Hence, it is important to know the electro–elastic interaction and fracture behavior of piezoelectric materials. The problem of a through crack in a piezoelectric strip of finite thickness is studied in this paper. Fourier transforms are used to reduce the problem to the solution of singular integral equations. The model technique can solve for polarization in an arbitrary direction and material anisotropy. Numerical values of the crack-tip field amplification for a piezoelectric strip under in-plane electromechanical loading are obtained. Energy density factor criterion is applied to obtain the maximum of the minimum energy density and direction of crack initiation. The influence of crack length and crack position on stress intensity and energy density factors is discussed.     

Transient anti-plane crack problem for two bonded functionally graded piezoelectric materials

In this paper, the dynamic anti-plane crack problem for two bonded functionally graded piezoelectric materials is considered. The crack is perpendicular to the interface and assumed to be electrically impermeable or permeable. Integral transforms are employed to reduce the problem to Cauchy singular equations that can be solved numerically. The effects of the loading parameter λ, material constants and the geometry parameters on the stress intensity factor and the energy density factor are studied. It is found that for the impermeable case, the normalized dynamic stress intensity factor may increase or decrease in different time domains determined by the sign and magnitude of λ.     

Fracture of piezoelectric materials: energy density criterion

In this paper, the concept of energy density factor S for piezoelectric materials is presented. In addition to the mechanical energy the electrical energy is included as well. The direction of crack initiation is assumed to occur when S_min reaches a critical value S_cr that can be used as an intrinsic materials parameter and is independent of the crack geometry and loading. The result agrees with empirical evidence qualitatively and explains rationally the effect of applied electric field on fracture strength: positive electric fields decrease the apparent fracture toughness of piezoelectric materials while negative electric fields increase it.     

Stable growth of a crack interacting with a circular inclusion

The problem of failure of a plate containing a circular inclusion and a crack is studied. The crack is oriented along a diameter of the inclusion and the plate is subjected to a remote uniaxial stress perpendicular to the crack axis. The process of slow stable crack growth from initiation to termination is studied by the strain energy density theory. The crack growth is simulated by predicting finite increments of crack extension when material elements near the crack tip absorb a critical amount of strain energy density level, . Unstable crack growth occurs when the strain energy density factor S reaches a critical value where r_c is the critical size of the final crack increment prior to instability. The stress at crack initiation and the critical stress and crack length at failure are determined. The influence of the mechanical properties of the plate and the inclusion, the relative position of the inclusion and the crack and the crack length on the characteristic quantities of stable crack growth is analyzed. The dependence of the stable crack growth process on the loading rate is also investigated. Results are displayed in graphical form.     

Review of brittle fracture criteria in case of static and cyclic mixed mode loading

The paper gives in the first part in pressed form a survey of brittle fracture criteria using a reference intensity factor in case of static mixed mode loading. Criteria (expressed in terms of different quantities such as stress, deformation and strain energy) usually refer to a parameter that is characteristic of the material response at fracture. Criteria include information on two basic hypotheses (crack propagation direction and unstable crack growth). In the second part a generalized method is suggested for application of cyclic reference intensity factor in case of cyclic mixed mode loading. Three basic hypotheses describe crack growth direction, stable crack growth steps and unstable 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.     

Crack-extension resistance of polycarbonate material

Crack-extension resistance for the polycarbonate material is examined by application of the strain energy density criterion and the incremental theory of plasticity. The energy state ahead of a slow moving crack in a three-point bend specimen is obtained for each load increment and used to determine the crack growth characteristics. The analytical results are displayed by plotting the strain energy density factor S as a function of crack length and compared with available experimental data on the polycarbonate material. Standard deviations and mean errors are computed for the experimentally measured and analytically determined values of S and are shown to be much lower than those based on the J-integral parameter. Modeling of the polycarbonate material by the theory of plasticity still remains much to be desired. Crack growth calculations are performed for a strain hardening parameter α = 0.85 that controls the proportion of isotropic and kinematic hardening. Nevertheless, the criterion dS/da = const. is shown to collate well with the experimental crack growth data.     

Crack in functionally graded piezoelectric strip bonded to elastic surface layers under electromechanical loading

Solved is the problem of a crack in a functionally graded piezoelectric material (FGPM) bonded to two elastic surface layers. It is assumed that the elastic stiffness, piezoelectric constant, and dielectric permittivity of the FGPM vary continuously along the thickness of the strip. The outside layers are under antiplane mechanical loading and in-plane electric loading. The solution involves solving singular integral equations by application of the Gauss–Jacobi integration formula. Numerical calculations are carried out to obtain the energy density factors. Their variations with the geometric, loading and material parameters are shown graphically.     

Crack energy density of a piezoelectric material under general electromechanical loading

Crack energy density is considered and used as a possible fracture parameter in piezoelectricity under arbitrary electromechanical remote loads. The closed-form solution of a crack in a piezoelectric infinite plate subjected to general static electromechanical loading is obtained through a method alternative to the more common Stroh’s formalism. This analytical method, which is based on the spectral theorem of linear algebra, involves a transformation of similarity induced by the fundamental matrix in order to express the equations governing the problem in terms of complex potentials. The application of the mechanical boundary condition of stress-free crack and of one of the three considered electric boundary conditions (impermeable, permeable or semipermeable) leads then to the formulation of a Hilbert problem whose solution yields the stress and displacement fields. The crack energy density factors for mixed mode are then calculated under different mechanical and electrical loadings, as well as under different electric boundary conditions. The non-singular terms of the stress expressions are retained as well. The definition of the minimum energy density fracture criterion, as proposed by Sih, is given, and the influence of load biaxiality and positive or negative applied electric field on the criterion results is analyzed. The prediction of the incipient branching angle as from the energy density approach is also compared to that arising from the maximum circumferential stress theory for a mixed mode loading condition. Numerical results and graphs are presented and discussed for a PZT-4 piezoelectric ceramic.     

Transient response of the crack-tip field in a magnetoelectroelastic half-space with a functionally graded coating under impacts

This paper has twofold aims. One is to study the dynamic response of a magnetoelectroelastic half-space with functionally graded coating containing crack at the interface when subjected to sudden impacts. Two different loading positions, where the material and crack surfaces are loaded respectively, are considered. By using the integral transform method, the problem is reduced to solving singular integral equations. Obtained numerical results show that the overshoots of dynamic fracture parameters are strongly amplified or reduced depending on negative or positive gradient, respectively for the case of the material surface being loaded suddenly. This implies that a functionally graded coating with a positive gradient index is preferable in engineering design due to its capability of preventing the structure from cracking. The second objective is to give a comparison of relevant dynamic parameters such as the intensity factors of stress and strain, energy release rate, and energy density factor, and their features are elucidated under dynamic combined loadings. It indicates that the strain intensity factor can overcome the drawbacks of the rest parameters, and may be chosen as an effective fracture parameter, while three others cannot be adopted as fracture criteria to describe the feature of onset of crack growth.     

Evaluation of crack initiation angle under mixed mode loading at diverse strain rates

Crack initiation angle, under mixed mode loading at several strain rates, is analysed using an experimental–numerical approach. The physical phenomenon for the problem at hand is influenced by the local and global conditions. One of such factors is the strain rate at the crack tip. For this purpose, PMMA plates with centred angled cracks under mixed mode loading were tested. The strain rate at the neighbourhood of the crack tip before crack propagation was evaluated. Considering that this material is strain rate sensitive, the numerical models were calibrated with the modulus of elasticity measured in tension tests at the observed strain rates. Numerical evaluations were performed with the finite element method in conjunction with the volume energy density criterion. An improvement in the evaluation of the crack propagation angle was observed. In order to complete the analysis, the crack initiation angle was also evaluated with the strain energy density factor S, considering the mechanical properties of PMMA, as evaluated at the observed strain rates, and the stress intensity factors k₁ and k₂. Results are in agreement with those observed experimentally.     

Fracture resistance and strength of two-phase WC–Ni alloy

Microcracking near a crack tip in a material with microinhomogeneity is regarded as a stochastic process. Both the critical deformation energy density and minimum ligament size of a structural element at global failure are related to a fracture resistance parameter which depends also on the strength. This parameter is also known as the critical energy density factor. For composites it is shown that transition of material behaviour from one structural state to another could alter the fracture resistance depending on character of the critical defect size and strength. The theoretical result is shown to be in agreement with the experimental data.     

Time-harmonic P-waves engulfing a rectangular limited-permeable crack in piezoelectric medium: Energy density and energy release

The dynamic behavior of a limited-permeable rectangular crack in a transversely isotropic piezoelectric material is impinged by to a P-wave. The generalized Almansi theorem and the Schmidt method are used to determine the stress intensity factor and energy density factor as the primary fracture criterion of failure. The mixed boundary value problem entails the evaluation of the appropriate crack edge stress singularities that are characteristics of the fundamental functions. The stress and electric displacement intensity factors are also used to find the energy release rate that can be computed numerically and compared with the results corresponding to those of the stress intensity factor, and energy density factor. Graphical presentation shows that the energy release rate is always negative for the boundary conditions considered while the energy density factors always remain positive. Under certain conditions, the stress and electric displacement intensity factors can be negative and subject to physical limitations. Piezoelectric material boundary value problem solutions should therefore be qualified by the application of failure criteria by fracture of otherwise, particularly when the mechanical and electrical energy can release by creating free surface at the macroscopic and microscopic scales. Negative energy release rate found for the piezoelectric medium in this work can be a case in point.Positive definiteness of the energy density factor can be applied to mutliscale fracture. This is not true for the stress intensity factor nor the energy release rate. Hence, crack initiation behavior for the permittivity of a rectangular crack due to the wave propagation effects may be studied. In particular, the initiation of micro-cracks may be identified with certain critical stress wave frequency band. Negative stress intensity factor may not enhance macrocracking but it does not exclude microcrack initiation.     

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.     

Electroelastic analysis of a penny-shaped crack in a piezoelectric ceramic under mode I loading

Following the theory of linear piezoelectricity, we consider the electroelastic problem for a piezoelectric ceramic with a penny-shaped crack under mode I loading. The problem is formulated by means of Hankel transform and the solution is solved exactly. The stress intensity factor, energy release rate and energy density factor for the exact and impermeable crack models are expressed in closed form and compared for a P-7 piezoelectric ceramic. Based on current findings, we suggest that the energy release rate and energy density factor criteria for the exact crack model are superior to fracture criteria for the impermeable crack model.