Inhomogeneity effects on the crack driving force in elastic and elastic-plastic materials

This article evaluates the effect of material inhomogeneities on the crack-tip driving force in general inhomogeneous bodies and reports results for bimaterial composites. The theoretical model, based on Eshelby material forces, makes no assumptions about the distribution of the inhomogeneities or the constitutive properties of the materials. Inhomogeneities are modeled by making the stored energy have an explicit dependence on the reference coordinates. Then the material inhomogeneity effect on the crack-tip driving force is quantified by the term C_inh, which is the integral of the gradient of the stored energy in the direction of crack growth. The model is demonstrated by two model problems: (i) bimaterial elastic composite using asymptotic solutions and (ii) graded elastic and elastic-plastic compact tension specimen using numerical methods for stress analysis.     

Differentiation of energy functionals in the problem on a curvilinear crack with possible contact between the shores

We consider the N-dimensional (N = 2 or 3) model of a one-dimensional anisotropic elastic body containing a curvilinear or surface crack. On the crack shores, the nonpenetration conditions in the form of inequalities (Signorini type conditions) are posed. For the general form of a sufficiently smooth perturbation of the domain, we obtain the derivative of the energy functional with respect to the perturbation parameter. We derive sufficient conditions for the existence of invariant integrals over an arbitrary closed contour. In particular, we obtain an invariant Cherepanov-Rice integral for curvilinear cracks.     

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.     

Analysis of L-integral and theory of the derivative stress field in plane elasticity

In this paper, analysis of the L-integral in plane elasticity is present. An infinite plate with any number of inclusions and cracks and with any remote tractions is assumed in analysis. Arbitrary forces are applied on the cracks, inclusions or at a point of the infinite medium. To study the problem, the concept of the derivative stress field is introduced, which is derived from a physical stress field. The mutual work difference integral (MWDI) is also introduced, which is defined as a difference of mutual works done by each other from the physical stress field and the derivative field. It is proved that the L(CR) (L-integral on a large circle) is equal to a particular MWDI. General expression for the L(CR) is obtained. For a given stress field, the variation of the L(CR) is studied when the coordinates have a translation or rotation. It is found that the L(CR) is an invariant with respect to the rotation of coordinates, and it has a variation when the coordinates have a translation.     

A finite element analysis for the mixed mode crack growth in a viscoelastic and orthotropic medium

This paper deals with a finite element algorithm for the creep crack growth process in a viscoelastic medium. The main developments focus on the coupling between the M-integral and an incremental formulation for the viscoelastic behavior. In this context, mixed mode configurations are simulated for orthotropic symmetries. An algorithm uncoupling viscoelastic incremental formulation and the fracture procedure is resolved with finite element software. The global approach is validated in terms of the evolution of energy release rate versus time and the advance of cracks. Numerical simulations are based on a Constant Tension Shear model. The insensitivity of the M-integral to the integration domain is shown from creep crack growth simulations for mixed mode configurations.     

Using M-integral for multi-cracked problems subjected to nonconservative and nonuniform crack surface tractions

In this paper, an energy parameter based on the concept of the M-integral is proposed for describing the fracture behavior of a multi-cracked solid subjected to nonconservative and nonuniform crack surface tractions. By using the M-integral with a suitably chosen closed contour, one can evaluate the ‘surface creation energy’ (SCE) required for creation of the stressed cracks. Also, it is demonstrated that the property of path-independence holds even under the action of crack surface tractions. Therefore, the singular stress field in the near-tip areas is not directly involved in the calculation so that a complicated finite element model around the crack tips is not required in evaluation of the M-integral.     

Stress-intensity factors for surface cracks in functionally graded materials under mode-I thermomechanical loading

This paper describes the development and application of a general domain integral method to obtain J-values along crack fronts in three-dimensional configurations of isotropic, functionally graded materials (FGMs). The present work considers mode-I, linear-elastic response of cracked specimens subjected to thermomechanical loading, although the domain integral formulation accommodates elastic–plastic behavior in FGMs. Finite element solutions and domain integral J-values for a two-dimensional edge crack show good agreement with available analytical solutions for both tension loading and temperature gradients. A displacement correlation technique provides pointwise stress-intensity values along semi-elliptical surface cracks in FGMs for comparison with values derived from the proposed domain integral. Numerical implementation and mesh refinement issues to maintain path independent J-values are explored. The paper concludes with a parametric study that provides a set of stress-intensity factors for semi-elliptical surface cracks covering a practical range of crack sizes, aspect ratios and material property gradations under tension, bending and spatially-varying temperature loads.     

Analytical investigation of nonlinear interlaminar fracture in trilayered polymer composite beam under mode II crack loading conditions using the J -integral approach

The present study is concerned with a nonlinear fracture analysis of trilayered beam built up by two unidirectional fiber-reinforced polymer composites. It is assumed that two interlaminar cracks exist between the layers. A tensile force applied to the middle layer generates pure mode II crack loading conditions. The J -integral approach is used to investigate the nonlinear fracture behavior of the beam. The elastic-linearly hardening model is applied to describe the mechanical behavior of the two composites. Sixth expressions for J -integral are derived using a beam theory model. These expressions correspond to the characteristic magnitudes of the external force. The validity of the formulae obtained is proved by comparison with the J -integral solution in the case of linear-elastic behavior of the composite materials. A numerical example is presented in order to demonstrate the ability of the expressions obtained for the analysis of nonlinear fracture in polymer composites.     

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.     

A domain-independent integral for computation of stress intensity factors along three-dimensional crack fronts and edges by BEM

The present work deals with an evaluation of stress intensity factors (SIFs) along straight crack fronts and edges in three-dimensional isotropic elastic solids. A new numerical approach is developed for extraction, from a solution obtained by the boundary element method (BEM), of those SIFs, which are relevant for a failure assessment of mechanical components. In particular, the generalized SIFs associated to eigensolutions characterized by unbounded stresses at a neighbourhood of the crack front or a reentrant edge and also that associated to T-stress at the crack front can be extracted. The method introduced is based on a conservation integral, called H-integral, which leads to a new domain-independent integral represented by a scalar product of the SIF times some element shape function defined along the crack front or edge. For sufficiently small element lengths these weighted averages of SIFs give reasonable pointwise estimation of the SIFs. A proof of the domain integral independency, based on the bi-orthogonality of the classical two-dimensional eigensolutions associated to a corner problem, is presented. Numerical solutions of two three-dimensional problems, a crack problem and a reentrant edge problem, are presented, the accuracy and convergence of the new approach for SIF extraction being analysed.     

The surface-forming energy release rate based fracture criterion for elastic–plastic crack propagation

The J-integral based criterion is widely used in elastic–plastic fracture mechanics. However, it is not rigorously applicable when plastic unloading appears during crack propagation. One difficulty is that the energy density with plastic unloading in the J-integral cannot be defined unambiguously. In this paper, we alternatively start from the analysis on the power balance, and propose a surface-forming energy release rate (ERR), which represents the energy available for separating the crack surfaces during the crack propagation and excludes the loading-mode-dependent plastic dissipation. Therefore the surface-forming ERR based fracture criterion has wider applicability, including elastic–plastic crack propagation problems. Several formulae are derived for calculating the surface-forming ERR. From the most concise formula, it is interesting to note that the surface-forming ERR can be computed using only the stress and deformation of the current moment, and the definition of the energy density or work density is avoided. When an infinitesimal contour is chosen, the expression can be further simplified. For any fracture behaviors, the surface-forming ERR is proven to be path-independent, and the path-independence of its constituent term, so-called J_s-integral, is also investigated. The physical meanings and applicability of the proposed surface-forming ERR, traditional ERR, J_s-integral and J-integral are compared and discussed. Besides, we give an interpretation of Rice paradox by comparing the cohesive fracture model and the surface-forming ERR based fracture criterion.     

T-stress evaluation for slightly curved crack using perturbation method

A general formulation for evaluating the T-stress at crack tips in a curved crack is introduced. In the formulation, a singular integral equation with the distribution of dislocation along the curve is suggested. For a slightly curved crack, a small parameter is generally assumed for the crack configuration. By using the assumption for the small parameter, the perturbation method is suggested and it reduces the singular integral equation into many successive singular integral equations. If the cracked plate has a remote loading and the curve configuration is a quadratic function, the mentioned successive singular integral equations can be solved in a closed form. Therefore, the solution for the T-stress in a closed form is obtained. The obtained results for T-stress are shown by figures. It is found that if the involved parameter is not too small, the influence of the curve configuration is significant. Comparison for T-stresses obtained from a quadratic-shaped curved crack and an arc crack is presented.     

Interface crack between isotropic Kirchhoff plates

In this work Kirchhoff plate theory is used to calculate the energy release rate function in delaminated isotropic plates. The approximation is based on the consideration of the equilibrium equations and the displacement continuity between the interface plane of a double-plate model. It is shown that the interface shear stresses are governed by a fourth order partial differential equation system. As an example, a simply supported delaminated plate subjected to a point force is analyzed adopting Lévy plate formulation and the mode-II and mode-III energy release rate distributions along the crack front were calculated by the J-integral. To confirm the analytical results the 3D finite element model of the delaminated plate was created, the energy release rates were calculated by the virtual crack-closure technique and the J-integral. The results indicate a good agreement between analysis and numerical computation.     

Computation of thermal fracture parameters for orthotropic functionally graded materials using Jk-integral

This article introduces a computational method based on the J_k-integral for mixed-mode fracture analysis of orthotropic functionally graded materials (FGMs) that are subjected to thermal stresses. The generalized definition of the J_k-integral is recast into a domain independent form composed of line and area integrals by utilizing the constitutive relations of plane orthotropic thermoelasticity. Implementation of the domain independent J_k-integral is realized through a numerical procedure developed by means of the finite element method. The outlined computational approach enables the evaluation of the modes I and II stress intensity factors, the energy release rate, and the T-stress. The developed technique is validated numerically by considering two different problems, the first of which is the problem of an embedded crack in an orthotropic FGM layer subjected to steady-state thermal stresses; and the second one is that of periodic cracks under transient thermal loading. Comparisons of the mixed-mode stress intensity factors evaluated by the J_k-integral based method to those calculated through the displacement correlation technique (DCT) and to those available in the literature point out that, the proposed form of the J_k-integral possesses the required domain independence and leads to numerical results of high accuracy. Further results are presented to illustrate the influences of the geometric and material constants on the thermal fracture parameters.     

Semi-permeable crack analysis in a 2D magnetoelectroelastic medium based on the EMPS model

For a crack in a magnetoelectroelastic plane under the electrically and magnetically semi-permeable boundary condition, we derive the non-linear analytical solution of the strip electric–magnetic polarization saturation (EMPS) model. Using the extended dislocation theory and integral equation method, we obtain the electric and magnetic yielding zones, as well as the field intensity factor and local J-integral. Adapting an iterative method, numerical examples were performed to analyze the effect of different boundary conditions and the electric–magnetic saturated properties on the electric displacement and magnetic induction in the crack cavity, electric and magnetic yielding zones, stress intensity factor and local J-integral.     

Comparison of finite element techniques for 2D and 3D crack analysis under impact loading

For several technical applications the dynamic aspect in fracture mechanics cannot be neglected. When the reliability of components with macroscopic cracks has to be assessed, the consideration of dynamic effects may lead to much higher stress intensity factors than under static conditions. In this paper three different methods to calculate the dynamic stress intensity factor for the mode-I loading of stationary cracks are compared. Based on two- and three-dimensional finite element simulations, the dynamic stress intensity factor is computed with the dynamic J-integral, the modified crack closure integral and the displacement interpretation method. The theoretical fundamentals of all three methods are summarized in the paper and the numerical implementation is explained briefly. Results for different models are shown and compared to findings in the literature.     

Evaluation of stress intensity factors for bi-material interface cracks using displacement jump methods

The aim of the present work is to investigate the numerical modeling of interfacial cracks that may appear at the interface between two isotropic elastic materials. The extended finite element method is employed to analyze brittle and bi-material interfacial fatigue crack growth by computing the mixed mode stress intensity factors (SIF). Three different approaches are introduced to compute the SIFs. In the first one, mixed mode SIF is deduced from the computation of the contour integral as per the classical J-integral method, whereas a displacement method is used to evaluate the SIF by using either one or two displacement jumps located along the crack path in the second and third approaches. The displacement jump method is rather classical for mono-materials, but has to our knowledge not been used up to now for a bi-material. Hence, use of displacement jump for characterizing bi-material cracks constitutes the main contribution of the present study. Several benchmark tests including parametric studies are performed to show the effectiveness of these computational methodologies for SIF considering static and fatigue problems of bi-material structures. It is found that results based on the displacement jump methods are in a very good agreement with those of exact solutions, such as for the J-integral method, but with a larger domain of applicability and a better numerical efficiency (less time consuming and less spurious boundary effect).     

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.     

Material force for dynamic crack propagation in multiphase micromorphic materials

Micromorphic theory, which considers material body as a continuous collection of deformable particles of finite size and inner structure; each has nine independent degrees of freedom describing the stretches and rotations of the particle in addition to the three classical translational degrees of freedom of its center, is briefly introduced in this work. The concept of material forces, which may also be referred as Eshelbian mechanics, is extended to micromorphic theory. The balance law of pseudo-momentum is formulated. The detailed expressions of Eshelby stress tensor, pseudo-momentum, and material forces are derived for thermoelastic micromorphic solid. It is found that the material forces are due to (1) body force and body moment, (2) temperature gradient and (3) material inhomogeneities in density, microinertia, and elastic coefficients. The general expression of material forces due to the presence of dynamically propagating crack front has also been derived. It is found that, at the crack front, material force is reduced to the J-integral in a very special and restrictive case.     

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.