An inclined surface crack subject to biaxial loading

The elastic–plastic stress fields and mode mixity parameters for semi-elliptical surface cracks on biaxial loaded plates have been investigated using detailed three-dimensional finite element calculations. Different degrees of mode mixity are given by combinations of the far-field stress level, biaxial stress ratio and inclined crack angle. These analyses were performed for different surface flaw geometries to study the combined load biaxiality and mode mixity effects on the crack-front stress fields and the size and shape of the plastic zones. It is clear from considering the local stress distributions along the crack front that the elastic crack tip singularities have been derived for several particular cases of mixed mode biaxial loading. By theoretical analysis, the new formulae have been introduced for both the elastic and plastic mode-mixity parameters, accounting for ratios between the I/II, II/III and III/I modes. Particular attention was paid to the strong variations of the mode-mixity parameters along the semi-elliptical surface crack front. The mixed-mode behavior of the crack growth direction angle along the semi-elliptical crack front for different combinations of biaxial loading and inclination crack angles was also determined. It was done using methods based on the maximum tangential stress and the strain energy density criteria.     

Elastoplastic cracks moving in orthotropic crystals

The stress field, crack-tip plastic zones and total plastic displacement created around an infinite row of collinear elastoplastic constant width Griffith-type strip cracks moving within an orthotropic crystal are considered using the powerful method of dislocation layers. The method is applied with the BCS modelled elastoplastic cracks moving under mode III loading at constant crack-tip velocity, according to the Yoffe model. Simultaneously the analysis provides solutions for a corresponding single crack moving similarly within a finite orthotropic plate and a finite plate containing a surface crack. Analogous results for the corresponding mode I, mode II and purely elastic cracks can be deduced.     

Plasticity aspects of interfacial fracture for polymer/glass specimens

Experimental results suggest that the interfacial fracture resistance is minimal for approximate near tip Mode I accompanied by positive and negative near tip Mode II. Finite-strain FE analysis is made for an elastic–plastic medium bonded to an ideally elastic medium with an interface crack. Small-scale plasticity conditions are invoked and examined in relation to the elastic–plastic stress distribution along the bond line. Plasticity engenders a tendency to turn near tip biaxiality towards pure Mode I regardless of the mixed-mode loading. High levels of hydrostatic stress are attained. For different mode mixities of the applied load, the dependence of the elastic–plastic normal bond stress on load level is examined. It is found that under positive Mode II loading, the normal bond stress σ_yy tends to saturate as the load level rises. This does not occur for Mode I and negative Mode II loading. In addition, deformation patterns inside the plastic zone are examined for mixed-mode situations. A displacement criterion based on the normal bond crack opening suggests a dependence of the critical load level on the extent of mixed mode. Under positive mode II fracture, traces of the ductile material are found at the top of the elastic substrate. Some of these conclusions appear to be consistent with the fracture patterns observed for LD-polyethylene/glass interfacial mixed-mode fracture.     

Analytic solutions to crack tip plastic zone under various loading conditions

Based on stress field equations and Hill yield criterion, the crack tip plastic zone is determined for orthotropic materials and isotropic materials under small-scale yielding condition. An analytical solution to calculating the crack tip plastic zone in plane stress states is presented. The shape and size of the plastic zone are analyzed under different loading conditions. The obtained results show that the crack tip plastic zones present “butterfly-like” shapes, and the elastic–plastic boundary is smooth. The size of the plastic zone for orthotropic composites is less at the crack tip for various loading conditions, compared with the case of isotropic materials. Crack inclination angle and loading conditions affect greatly the size and shape of crack tip plastic zone. The mode I crack has a crucial effect on the plastic zone for mixed mode case in plane stress state. The plastic zone for pure mode I crack and pure mode II crack have a symmetrical distribution to the initial crack plane.     

随机载荷下疲劳裂纹的闭合和扩展估算模型

本文分析了裂尖前,后方塑性区对闭合性能的影响,提出从裂尖塑性钝化量和尾迹区残余塑性变形两个方面来确定裂纹面的残余变形,并讨论了压缩载荷对闭合应力的影响,由此建立了一个疲劳裂纹闭合模型,然后通过模型“有限记忆”性质的假定将它应用到随机加载情况。用此模型对铝合金2219——T851受飞机谱载荷的CCT平面应力试件进行了疲劳寿命估算,估算值与实验结果接近。     

Mixed-mode failure of composite laminates with cracks

The behavior of quasi-isotropic graphite/epoxy laminates with cracks subjected to various biaxial-stress fields was studied experimentally. This was accomplished by uniaxial tensile loading of specimens with cracks of various orientations with the loading axis. It was found that the critical stress-intensity factor, based on a projected crack length increased by a characteristic damage dimension, is nearly constant with stress biaxiality and initial crack length. Paper was presented at V International Congress on Experimental Mechanics held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on June 10–15, 1984.     

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.     

Analysis of crack extension in anisotropic materials based on local normal stress

The normal stress ratio theory is applied to predict crack extension behavior in center-notched unidirectional graphite-epoxy of arbitrary fiber axis orientation, subjected to arbitrary far-field planar loading. The theory is applied within analytical solutions for two infinite plate geometries: a plate with a sharp center crack, and a plate with an elliptical center flaw. A critical analytical case is identified suggesting that application of the theory within a stress solution modelling crack tip shape may increase the accuracy of crack growth direction predictions. Crack extension direction, location of crack extension, and critical stress predictions of the theory are compared to those obtained from experiments on specimens subjected to tensile, shear, and mixed-mode far-field loading. The comparison shows that, applied within each analytical solution, the normal stress ratio theory provides verifiable predictions of crack growth behavior. By modelling actual notch tip shape, the elliptical notch solution is able to provide accurate qualitative predictions of the origin of crack extension along the periphery of a cut notch tip in a way that the sharp crack analysis cannot. The sharp notch solution appears to provide slightly more accurate crack growth direction predictions, however. Also, in predicting critical applied far-field stresses, the sharp crack solution appears to exhibit a stronger ability to model subtle experimental trends.     

Elastic-plastic analysis of biaxially loaded center-cracked plates

Center-cracked panels loaded in biaxial tension are examined in this paper. Calibration relations for the J integral and the Q constraint factor are presented for a Ramberg–Osgood power law hardening material under plane stress and plane strain loadings. Two cases are examined: an isolated crack and a periodic array of cracks both under biaxial loading conditions. The latter has previously been studied for plane stress conditions. A number of different J estimation schemes are proposed based on the remote load and displacement and their dependence on geometry, biaxiality, and material properties is discussed. The variation of constraint, as characterised by Q, is also presented for plane stress and plane strain conditions. Simple slip line field solutions are derived for perfectly plastic conditions and the resulting limit load solutions are compared with numerically determined values. Implications for failure of cracked plates under biaxial loading are discussed.     

Limit equilibrium of an orthotropic plate weakened by a periodic row of collinear cracks

A modified δ_c-model is used to study the limiting state of an orthotropic plate weakened by a periodic row of collinear cracks and satisfying a general failure criterion. The failure mechanism of the plate is analyzed.Astudy is made of the effects of the degree of orthotropy, the biaxiality of external loading, and the geometrical parameters on the fracture process zones at the crack tips and the limiting state of the plate. The safe loading of an orthotropic viscoelastic plate with a periodic row of collinear cracks is examined. The effect of the rheological parameters on the safe-load region is studied Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 44, No. 8, pp. 126–135, August 2008.     

Two-parameter failure criterion for elastoplastic bodies with mode I cracks

The generalized Dugdale crack model is used to formulate two-parameter failure criteria for the cases of quasibrittle state and developed plastic zones at a mode I crack tip. The failure criteria relate the fracture strength characteristics and the stress mode at the crack tip through the plastic constraint factor. The critical state of bodies with cracks under uni-and biaxial loading is analyzed in the cases of plane stress and plane strain using the Tresca and von Mises yield criteria. A small-scale yield criterion, which is an analytic relation between the critical stress intensity factor and T-stresses, is established __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 43, No. 7, pp. 47–57, July 2007.     

Cavitation in brittle metallic glasses – Effects of stress state and distributed weak zones

Experimental studies and atomistic simulations have shown that brittle metallic glasses fail by a cavitation mechanism whose origin has been traced to the presence of intrinsic atomic density fluctuations which give rise to weak zones with reduced yield strength. It has been shown recently through continuum analysis that the presence of these zones can lower the cavitation stress considerably under equibiaxial loading. The objective of the present work is to study the effect of the applied stress state on the cavitation behavior of such a heterogeneous plastic solid with distributed weak zones. To this end, 2D plane strain finite element simulations are performed by subjecting a unit cell containing a weak zone to different (biaxiality) stress ratios. The volume fraction and yield strength of the weak zone are varied over a wide range. The results show that unlike in a homogeneous plastic solid, the cavitation stress of the heterogeneous aggregate does not reduce appreciably as the stress ratio decreases from unity when the yield strength of the weak zone is low. It is found that a non-dimensional parameter characterizing the stress state prevailing in the weak zone and its yield properties uniquely control the cavitation stress. The nature of cavitation bifurcation may change from unstable bifurcation to the left at sufficiently low stress ratio to one involving snap cavitation at high stress ratio.     

Crack separation energy-rates for the DBCS model under biaxial modes of loading

A Modified version of the Dugdale-Bilby-Cottrell-Swinden (DBCS) model simulating the effect of plasticity at the tip of a crack in an infinite region was used by kfouri and rice (1978) to calculate the crack separation energy-rate G^Δ corresponding to a finite crack growth step Δa during plane strain mode I crack extension. The loading consisted of a remote uniaxial tension σp applied normally to the plane of the crack. Using Rice's path-independent integral J to characterize the applied load in the crack tip region, and assuming the length R of the crack tip plastic zone to be small compared with the length of the crack, an analytical expression was derived relating the ratios (J/G^Δ) and (2a/R) for small values of (2a/R). The analytical solution was incomplete in itself in that the value assumed in the plastic region of the DBCS model for the normal stress Y acting on the extending crack surfaces was the product of the yield stress in uniaxial tension σ_Y and an unknown parameter C, the value of which depends on the effect of the local hydrostatic stresses in the case of plane strain conditions. The analytical solution was compared with a numerical solution obtained from a plane strain elastic-plastic finite element analysis on a centre-cracked plate (CCP) of material obeying the von Mises yield criterion. The value used for the yield stress was 310 MN/m² and moderate isotropic linear hardening was applied with a tangent modulus of 4830 MN/m². A uniaxial tension σp was applied on the two appropriate sides of the plate. The comparisons showed that the analytical and finite element solutions were mutually consistent and they enabled the value of C to be established at 1.91. In the present paper similar comparisons are made between the analytical solution and the finite element solutions for the CCP of the same material under different biaxial modes of loading. By assuming further that the form of the analytical solution does not depend on the details of the geometry and of the loading at remote boundaries, a comparison has also been made with the results of a finite element analysis on a compact tension specimen (CTS) made of the same material as the CCP. The different values of C obtained in each case are consistent with investigations by other authors on the effect of load biaxiality on crack tip plasticity.     

Loss of adhesion at the tip of an interface crack

A model is constructed to analyze adhesive bond failure at the tip of an interface crack. The model is based on the assumption that there are zones of bounded cohesive tensile and shear stresses near a crack tip. Within the context of certain broad a-priori assumptions on the distributions of certain stress and displacement components in the cohesive zones, the requirement thatall stresses in the two materials remain bounded provides a method to compute the specific details for these zones. It is assumed that bond failure occurs when the extension of the bond fiber at the crack tip exceeds a critical value. For an interface crack in a uniform tension field computations for two alternate formulations suggest that this failure criterion is independent of the precise distribution of the cohesive stresses, but rather depends only upon their averaged values. Combined loading with a dominant tensile component has also been analyzed. If the critical extension of bond fibers and the maximum value of the cohesive tensile stress are known, the model provides the maximum allowable interface stresses for given crack dimension and material parameters.     

The size of plastic zones in cracked plates made of polycarbonate

The influence of the thickness of a cracked plate, made of Polycarbonate of Bisphenol A, on the plastic zones developed at the crack tip was studied. The three-dimensional character of yielding at the vicinity of the crack tip is revealed. The study of the thickness variation in the plastic zones is made by applying the shadow-moiré method. It has been derived that the thickness variation in the plastic zones is discontinuous with successive dimples of different thickness. The influence of the overall thickness of the specimen on the size and length of the plastic zone was studied for different crack lengths. Irwin's theory for small yielding, as well as the simple and modified Dugdale-Barenblatt models, were applied for the study of plastic zones. By comparing the plastic-zone lengths in relation to their shape, with those given by the above theories, it may be concluded that, for small loads where the applied stress σ is not exceeding 0.40 of the yield stress \(\sigma _o \) in tension and small values of the ratio of crack lengtha to plate thicknesst, (a/t<4) a state of plane strain dominates at the vicinity of the crack tip, while, by increasing the load and ratioa/t, the plastic zones approach in shape and size those given by the modified Dugdale-Barenblatt model.     

Plastic extension of a shear crack at a circular inclusion

The plastic relaxation of a shear crack situated normal to the interface of a second phase particle of circular cross-section is quantitatively analyzed. The ratio of applied stress to yield stress and the relative displacement of the crack faces at the tips of the crack in the matrix and the interface in the second phase are related to the crack parameters namely the length of the crack, the width of the plastic zone in the matrix and the second phase. The effect of the shear modulus and size of the second phase particle on the behaviour of the plastic zones is determined. A critical value of the relative displacement of the crack faces at the tip of the crack is used as the criterion to determine the tendency to brittle crack extension into the matrix and the second phase.     

Biaxial Load Effect on Crack Initiation for Orthotropic Materials

This paper is concerned with the study of the elastostatic fracture response of an orthotropic plate with an inclined crack and subjected at infinity to a biaxial uniform load. To this end an unconventional approach to the derivation of the complex variable expressions of the elastic fields is proposed. The above formulation has been used to solve the boundary value problem as superposition of Mode-I and Mode-II crack problems and it is shown that the near tip asymptotic expressions of stress and displacement fields are affected by non-singular terms originated by load biaxiality. The maximum circumferential tensile stress criterion is applied in order to investigate the effects of non-singular terms on the angle of crack extension.     

Anti-plane shear cracks in ideally plastic crystals

Cracks in ductile single crystals are analyzed here for geometries and orientations such that two-dimensional states of anti-plane shear constitute possible deformation fields. The crystals are modelled as ideally plastic and yield according to critical resolved shear stresses on their slip systems. Restrictions on the asymptotic forms of stress and deformation fields at crack tips are established for anti-plane loading of stationary and quasistatically growing cracks, and solutions are presented for several specific orientations in f.c.c. and b.c.c. crystals. The asymptotic solutions are complemented by complete elastic-plastic solutions for stationary and growing cracks under small scale yielding, based on previous work by Rice (1967, 1984) and Freund (1979). Remarkably, the plastic zone at a stationary crack tip collapses into discrete planes of displacement and stress discontinuity emanating from the tip; plastic flow consists of concentrated shear on the displacement discontinuities. For the growing crack these same planes, if not coincident with the crack plane, constitute collapsed plastic zones in which velocity and plastic strain discontinuities occur, but across which the stresses and anti-plane displacement are fully continuous. The planes of discontinuity are in several cases coincident with crystal slip planes but it is shown that this need not be the case, e.g., for orientations in which anti-plane yielding occurs by multi-slip, or for special orientations in which the crack tip and the discontinuity planes are perpendicular to the activated slip plane.     

An analytical and computational study of crack initiation under transient creep conditions

An analytical method has been developed to predict creep crack initiation (CCI), based on the accumulation of a critical level of damage at a critical distance. The method accounts for the re-distribution of stress from the elastic or elastic–plastic field, experienced on initial loading, to a steady state creep stress distribution, via a transient creep region. The method has been applied to predict CCI times in a fracture specimen of type 316H stainless steel at 550 °C. The failure model has been also been implemented into a finite element (FE) framework. Reasonable and conservative predictions of CCI time can be obtained from the analytical solution relative to FE solutions. Conservative predictions of experimental CCI times are obtained when stress redistribution is taking into account. However, CCI times predicted from a steady state creep model are found to be non-conservative.     

Numerical plane stress elastic–perfectly plastic crack analysis under Tresca yield condition with comparison to Dugdale plastic strip model

A number of plane stress numerical analyses of the mode I elastoplastic fracture mechanics problem have been performed in the past using the Huber–Mises yield criterion. This study employs instead the Tresca yield condition using an incremental theory of plasticity for a stationary crack. A commercial finite element program is used to solve the opening mode of fracture problem (mode I) for a square plate containing a central crack under generalized plane stress loading conditions. A biaxial uniform tensile traction is applied to the edges of a thin plate composed of a linear elastic non-work hardening material under small strain assumptions. The finite element results are compared with the analytical predictions of the Dugdale plastic strip model for a crack in an infinite plate subject to a biaxial uniform load at infinity.