Crack-tip fields in steady crack-growth with linear strain-hardening

Singular stress and strain fields are found at the tip of a crack growing steadily and quasi-statically into an elastic-plastic strain-hardening material. The material is characterized byJ₂ flow theory together with a bilinear effective stress-strain curve. The cases of anti-plane shear, plane stress and plane strain are each considered. Numerical results are given for the order of the singularity, details of the stress and strain-rate fields, and the near-tip regions of plastic loading and elastic unloading.     

Dynamic steady crack growth in elastic-plastic solids—propagation of strong discontinuities

The near-tip field of a mode I crack growing steadily under plane strain conditions is studied. A key issue is whether strong discontinuities can propagate under dynamic conditions. Theories which impose rather restrictive assumptions on the structure of an admissible deformation path through a dynamically propagating discontinuity have been proposed recently. Asymptotic solutions for dynamic crack growth, based on such theories, do not contain any discontinuities. In the present work a broader family of deformation paths is considered and we show that a discontinuity can propagate dynamically without violating any of the mechanical constitutive relations of the material. The proposed theory for the propagation of strong discontinuities is corroborated by very detailed finite element calculations. The latter shows a plane of strong discontinuity emanating from the crack tip (with its normal pointing in the direction of crack advance) and moving with the tip. Elastic unloading ahead of and/or behind the plane of discontinuity and behind the crack tip have also been observed.The numerical investigation is performed within the framework of a boundary layer formulation whereby the remote loading is fully specified by the first two terms in the asymptotic solution of the elasto-dynamic crack tip field, characterized by K₁, and T. It is shown that the family of near-tip fields, associated with a given crack speed, can be arranged into a one-parameter field based on a characteristic length, L_g, which scales with the smallest dimension of the plastic zone. This extends a previous result for quasi-static crack growth.     

Asymptotic fields for dynamic crack growth in non-associative pressure sensitive materials

Asymptotic near-tip fields are analyzed for a plane strain Mode I crack propagating dynamically in non-associative elastic–plastic solids of the Drucker–Prager type with an isotropic linear strain hardening response. Eigen solutions are obtained over a range of material parameters and crack speeds, based on the assumption that asymptotic solutions are variable-separable and fully continuous. A limiting speed, beyond which a tendency to slope discontinuity in angular distributions of stresses and velocities is detected, is found to deviate from the associative models. At low strain-hardening rates, the onset of the plastic potential corner zone ahead of the crack-tip imposes another limit to the crack speed. Correspondingly, those limits imply the limits to the degree of non-associativity at a given crack speed. In addition, a tendency to slope discontinuity in the angular radial stress distribution sets another limit on the non-associativity at vanishing hardening rates.     

Analysis of dynamic growth of a tensile crack in an elastic-plastic material

The influence of inertia on the stress and deformation fields near the tip of a crack growing in an elastic-plastic material is studied. The material is characterized by the von Mises yield criterion and J₂ flow theory of plasticity. The crack grows steadily under plane strain conditions in the tensile opening mode. Features of the stress and deformation state at points near the moving crack tip are described for elastic-perfectly plastic response and for several crack propagation speeds. It is found that inertia has a significant effect on the elastic-plastic response of material particles near the crack tip, and that elastic unloading may occur behind the crack tip for higher speeds. The relationship between the applied crack driving force, represented by a remote stress intensity factor, and the crack tip speed is examined on the basis of a critical crack tip opening angle growth criterion. The calculated result is compared with dynamic fracture toughness versus crack speed data for a 4340 steel.     

Analyses of steady quasistatic crack growth in plane strain tension in elastic-plastic materials with non-isotropic hardening

Steady state crack propagation problems of elastic-plastic materials in Mode I, plane strain under small scale yielding conditions were investigated with the aid of the finite element method. The elastic-perfectly plastic solution shows that elastic unloading wedges subtended by the crack tip in the plastic wake region do exist and that the stress state around the crack tip is similar to the modified Prandtl fan solution. To demonstrate the effects of a vertex on the yield surface, the small strain version of a phenomenological J₂, corner theory of plasticity (Christoffersen, J. and Hutchinson, J. W. J. Mech. Phys. Solids,27, 465 C 1979) with a power law stress strain relation was used to govern the strain hardening of the material. The results are compared with the conventional J₂ incremental plasticity solution. To take account of Bauschinger like effects caused by the stress history near the crack tip, a simple kinematic hardening rule with a bilinear stress strain relation was also studied. The results are again compared with the smooth yield surface isotropic hardening solution for the same stress strain curve. There appears to be more potential for steady state crack growth in the conventional J₂ incremental plasticity material than in the other two plasticity laws considered here if a crack opening displacement fracture criterion is used. However, a fracture criterion dependent on both stress and strain could lead to a contrary prediction.     

应变损伤材料平面应力动态裂纹尖端场的渐近解

采用塑性动力学方程,对应变损伤材料的平面应力动态裂纹尖端场进行了渐近分析。假定损伤规律服从反比例关系,对平面应力问题,导出了本构方程,并给出了动态弹塑性场的渐近解,揭示了场的渐近特性。     

Effect of T-stress on branch angle of moving cracks

The effects of the T-stress on Yoffe crack propagation are analyzed. Using a maximum k_I fracture criterion near the kink of a moving crack tip, a branch angle is determined via asymptotic crack-tip field containing two fracture parameters related to singular and constant terms. Results indicate that crack speeds decrease the T-stress. The crack-tip field and the branch angle depend on the T-stress, especially for higher crack velocities. The critical speed for crack bifurcation is independent of remote transverse loading if neglecting the T-stress. Otherwise, the crack branch speed is reduced or raised, depending on positive or negative transverse loading, respectively.     

Crack growth under plane stress conditions in an elastic perfectly-plastic material

Mode-I crack growth under conditions of generalized plane stress has been investigated. It has been assumed that near the plane of the crack in the loading zone, the simple stress components corresponding to a central fan field maintain validity up to the elastic-plastic boundary. By the use of expansions of the particle velocities in the coordinate y, and by matching of the relevant stress components and particle velocities to the dominant terms of appropriate elastic fields at the elastic-plastic boundary, a complete solution has been obtained for ε_y in the plane of the crack. The solution applies from the propagating crack tip up to the moving elastic-plastic boundary. The strain fields for a self-similar crack nucleating at a point and for steady-state propagation of a crack have been considered as special cases.     

A damage model for crack initiation and growth

A damage accumulation model is presented for the study of the problem of crack initiation and stable growth in an elastic-plastic material. A centre-cracked specimen subjected to a uniform stress perpendicular to the crack plane is considered. A coupled stress and failure analysis is performed by using a finite element computer program based on J₂-plasticity theory in conjunction with the strain energy density theory. After initial yielding, each material element follows a different equivalent uniaxial stress-strain behavior depending on the amount of energy dissipation by permanent deformation. A host of uniaxial stress-strain curves constituting parts of the same stress-strain curve were assigned to material elements for each increment of loading. The path-dependent nature of the onset of crack initiation and growth was revealed. The proposed model predicts faster crack growth rates than those obtained on the basis of a single uniaxial stress-strain curve and is closer to experimental observation.     

Finite-deformation analysis of the crack-tip fields under cyclic loading

The plane-strain crack subjected to mode I cyclic loading under small scale yielding was analysed. The influence of the load range, load ratio and overload on the near-tip deformation-, stress- and strain-fields was studied. Although the near-tip zones of appreciable cyclic plastic flow for all loading regimes matched closely one another, when scaled with (ΔK/σ_Y)², the activities of plastic flow within them manifested dependence on K_max and K_min, as well as on overload. Cyclic trajectories of the crack-tip opening displacement (CTOD) converged to stable self-similar loops of the sizes proportional to ΔK² and positions in CTOD-K plane dependent on the maximum K along the whole loading route, including an overload. Computed near-tip deformation evidenced plastic crack advance, this way visualising of the Laird–Smith concept of fatigue cracking. This crack growth by blunting-resharpening accelerated with rising ΔK and was halted by an overload. Crack closure upon unloading had no place. The affinities were revealed between computed near-tip stress–strain variables and the experimental trends of the fatigue crack growth rate, such as its dependence on K_max and K_min (or ΔK and K_max), and retardation by overload. Thus, the effects of loading parameters on fatigue cracking, hitherto associated with crack closure, are attributable to the stress–strain fields in front of it as the direct drives of the key fatigue constituents – damage accumulation and bond breaking.     

Relationships between the J-integral and the crack opening displacement for stationary and extending cracks

Relationships between the J-integral and the crack opening displacement δ_t are obtained by exploiting the dominance of the Hutchinson-Rice-Rosengren singularity in the crack-tip region. The coefficient d_n that relates J to δ_t, is dependent on the material deformation properties and is independent of crack configuration under small-scale yielding conditions. For low hardening materials, d_n appears to be configuration dependent in the fully yielded state. Similarly, the slope of the J-resistance curve is relatable to an operationally defined crack opening angle if J-controlled crack growth conditions are met. These relationships are corroborated by finite element results for the complete regime of elastic-plastic deformation and experimental data for A533B steels, HY-80 steels and several other ductile metals.     

Analysis of the strain field in the vicinity of a crack-tip in an in-plane isotropic paper material

Strains, computed by the finite element method, are evaluated and compared to an experimentally determined strain field. The analyzed low-density paper has been designed to ensure bond–breakage as the dominating damage mechanism and the paper material is approximately in-plane isotropic. An optical non-contact displacement measuring system has been used in fracture tests to determine the strain field in the crack-tip region of a pre-fabricated crack. Additionally, acoustic emission monitored tensile tests have been conducted to determine onset and evolution of damage processes and thereby enabling calibration of required constitutive parameters. The results suggest that the investigated paper material can tolerate significantly higher strains than what is predicted by a classic elastic–plastic J₂-flow theory. Immediately before onset of the final fracture (i.e., localization), the experimental measured normal strain in the near-tip region is around 60% higher than the computed strain when using exclusively an elastic–plastic theory for the corresponding load while the strain computed utilizing a non-local damage theory is of the same order of magnitude as the experimentally measured strain. Hence, it seems essential to include a non-local continuum theory to describe strains in the near-tip region quantitatively correct for paper materials. It is demonstrated that path independence of the well-known J-integral does not prevail for this class of material models. Only for the special situation of a homogenous damage field in the crack-tip region may the stress and strain fields be described by the well-known HRR-solutions.     

Finite deformation analysis of crack-tip opening in elastic-plastic materials and implications for fracture

Analyses of the stress and strain fields around smoothly-blunting crack tips in both non-hardening and hardening elastic-plastic materials, under contained plane-strain yielding and subject to mode I opening loads, have been carried out by use of a finite element method suitably formulated to admit large geometry changes. The results include the crack-tip shape and near-tip deformation field, and the crack-tip opening displacement has been related to a parameter of the applied load, the J-integral. The hydrostatic stresses near the crack tip are limited due to the lack of constraint on the blunted tip, limiting achievable stress levels except in a very small region around the crack tip in power-law hardening materials. The J-integral is found to be path-independent except very close to the crack tip in the region affected by the blunted tip. Models for fracture are discussed in the light of these results including one based on the growth of voids. The rate of void-growth near the tip in hardening materials seems to be little different from the rate in non-hardening ones when measured in terms of crack-tip opening displacement, which leads to a prediction of higher toughness in hardening materials. It is suggested that improvement of this model would follow from better understanding of void-void and void-crack coalescence and void nucleation, and some criteria and models for these effects are discussed. The implications of the finite element results for fracture criteria based on critical stress or strain, or both, is discussed with respect to transition of fracture mode and the angle of initial crack-growth. Localization of flow is discussed as a possible fracture model and as a model for void-crack coalescence.     

Asymptotic fields in steady crack growth with linear strain-hardening

The asymptotic stress and velocity fields of a crack propagating steadily and quasi-statically into an elastic-plastic material are presented. The material is characterized by J₂-flow theory with linear strain- hardening. The possibility of reloading on the crack flanks is taken into account. The cases of anti-plane strain (mode III), plane strain (modes I and II), and plane stress (modes I and II) are considered. Numerical results are given for the strength of the singularity and for the distribution of the stress and velocity fields in the plastic loading, elastic unloading and plastic reloading regions, as functions of the strain-hardening parameter. An attempt is made to make a connection with the perfectly-plastic solutions in the limit of vanishing strain-hardening.     

Role of elasticity in elastic–plastic fracture: Analytical bi-linear crack-tip fields and finite element analysis

A solution for Model-I plane strain crack tip fields in a bi-linear elastic–plastic material is presented. The elastic–plastic Poisson's ratio is introduced to characterize the influence of elastic deformation on the near tip constraint. Attention is focused on the distribution of elastic/plastic strain energy in the sensitive region of the forward sector ahead of a crack tip. The present study shows that the elastic strain energy can be higher than the plastic strain energy in this sensitive sector while large amount of the plastic strain energy develops outside this sector around the crack tip. The effect of elastic deformation in this sensitive region on the structure of crack-tip fields is considerable and the assumption in some important solutions for crack-tip fields reported in literature that the elastic deformation is small and can be ignored is therefore not physically reasonable. Besides, finite element analysis is carried out to validate the analytical solution and good agreement between them is found. It is seen that the present solution with T-stress can properly describe the crack-tip fields under various constraints for different specimens and an analytical relation is established between the critical value of J-integral, J_c, and T-stress for elastic–plastic fracture.     

Crack tip singular fields in ductile crystals with taylor power-law hardening. I: Anti-plane shear

Asymptotic singular solutions of the HRR type are presented for anti-plane shear cracks in ductile crystals. These are assumed to undergo Taylor hardening with a power-law relation between stress and strain at sufficiently large strain. Results are given for several crack orientations in fcc and bcc crystals. The neartip region divides into angular sectors which are the maps of successive flat segments and vertices on the yield locus. Analysis is simplified by use of new general integrals of crack tip singular fields of the HRR type. It is conjectured that the single crystal HRR fields are dominant only over part of the plastic region immediately adjacent to the crack tip, even at small scale yielding, and that their domain of validity vanishes as the perfectly plastic limit is approached. This follows from the fact that while in the perfectly plastic limit the HRR stress states approach the correct discontinuous distributions of the complete elasticideally plastic solutions for crystals (Rice and Nikolic, J. Mech. Phys. Solids33, 595 (1985)), the HRR displacement fields in that limit remain continuous. Instead, the complete elastic-ideally plastic solutions have discontinuous displacements along planar plastic regions emanating from the tip in otherwise elastically stressed material. The approach of the HRR stress fields to their discontinuous limiting distributions is illustrated in graphical plots of results. A case examined here of a fcc crystal with a crack along a slip plane is shown to lead to a discontinuous near-tip stress state even in the hardening regime.Through another limiting process, the asymptotic solution for the near-tip field for an isotropic material is also derived from the present single crystal framework.     

Plasticity-induced crack closure: A contribution to the debate

The premature contact of crack surfaces attributable to the near-tip plastic strains under cyclic loading, which is commonly referred to as plasticity-induced crack closure (PICC), has long been focused as supposedly controlling factor of fatigue crack growth (FCG). Nevertheless, when the plane-strain near-tip constraint is approached, PICC lacks of straightforward evidence, so that its significance in FCG, and even the very existence, remain debatable. To add insight into this matter, large-deformation elastoplastic simulations of plane-strain crack under constant amplitude load cycling at different load ranges and ratios, as well as with an overload, have been carried out. Performed modelling visualises the Laird-Smith conceptual mechanism of FCG by crack-tip blunting and re-sharpening. The simulations reproduce experimental trends of FCG concerning the roles of ΔK and overload, whilst PICC has not occurred yet. Near-tip deformation patterns discard the filling-in a crack with material stretched out of its plane in the wake behind the tip as the origin of PICC. Despite the absence of closure, load-deformation curves appear bent, which raises doubts about the trustworthiness of closure assessment from the compliance variation. This points out the ambiguities of PICC as a supposedly ubiquitous factor that controls FCG.     

High strain-rate crack growth in rate-dependent plastic solids

At high crack velocities in metallic materials nearly all plastic strain accumulates at very high strain-rates, typically in the range 10³ s^?1 to 10⁵ s^?1. At these rates, dislocation motion is limited by dynamic lattice effects and the plastic strain-rate increases approximately linearly with stress. The problem for a crack growing at high velocity is posed for steady-state, small scale yielding in elastic/rate-dependent plastic solids. A general expression is derived for the near-tip stress intensity factor in terms of the remote intensity factor, or equivalently for the near-tip energy release-rate in terms of the overall release-rate. An approximate calculation of the plastic strain-rates provides this relation in analytical form. Imposition of the condition that the near-tip energy release-rate be maintained at a critical value provides a propagation equation for the growing crack. A single, nondimensional combination of material constants emerges as the controlling parameter. Implications for dynamic crack propagation are discussed.