Self‐Similar Solution of the Antiplane Shear Fracture Problem in a Coupled Formulation (Creep–Damage)

A growing antiplane shear crack in a damaged medium is considered. It is assumed that the crack tip neighbors a region of completely damaged material, in which all stress tensor components and the continuity parameter vanish. The stress–strained state is analyzed and the configuration of the region of completely damaged material is determined. The crack growth rate is estimated for various values of the constants included in the constitutive relations and kinetic equation.     

Strip yield zones around ring-shaped crack in transversely isotropic thick layer

A ring-shaped crack under uniform load in an infinitely long elastic–perfectly plastic thick layer is considered. The problem is formulated for a transversely isotropic material by using integral transform technique. Due to the geometry of the configuration, Hankel integral transform technique was chosen and the problem was reduced to a singular integral equation which is solved numerically by using Gaussian Quadrature Formulae and the values were evaluated at discrete points. The plastic zone widths were obtained by using the plastic strip model after stress intensity factors were obtained. Numerical results are plotted for various ring-shaped crack sizes and transversely isotropic materials. It was found that the width of the plastic zone at the inner edge of the crack was greater than the outer one.     

Fatigue based three-dimensional structural design optimisation studies implementing the generalised Frost–Dugdale crack growth law

Experimental studies of fatigue crack growth in aluminium alloys have shown that, at the low-to-mid stress intensity factor range, there is often a log-linear relationship between the crack length and the fatigue life. These observations have led to the development of the generalised Frost–Dugdale crack growth law, which allowed the accurate prediction of fatigue crack growth from Region I. For this research paper the ‘generalised Frost–Dugdale’ law was used to perform an optimisation study of 7050-T7451 Aluminium structures. The structural optimisation procedure proposed integrates geometrical modelling, structural analysis and optimization into one complete and automated computer-aided design process. The results from the structural optimisation study compared the ‘generalised Frost–Dugdale’ law and the traditional Paris law. Gradient-less, gradient-based optimisation algorithm and an enumeration scheme were considered in this investigation. The enumeration scheme takes advantage of a cluster computer architecture which enables a visualisation of the solution space allowing verification and validation of the optimisation algorithm. The results indicated that the optimal geometrical shape and predicted fatigue life depended on the crack sizes, structural geometry, boundary conditions and fatigue crack growth law. As a result, this procedure illustrates that for the design of light weight structures, a fatigue based optimisation used in conjunction with visualisation of the solution space may provide a viable design methodology. The importance of non-destructive inspection (NDI) and its role in determining optimal structural geometries is also revealed. Furthermore, the possibility of the application of the generalised Frost–Dugdale model in design optimisation has been demonstrated. This procedure has the potential to be applied to structures with complex structural configurations taking into account crack propagation in Region I.     

Plane Couette flow of binary gaseous mixture in the whole range of the Knudsen number

The Couette flow of binary gaseous mixtures is studied on the basis of the McCormack model of the Boltzmann equation, which was solved numerically by the discrete velocity method. The calculations were carried out for three mixtures of noble gases: neon–argon, helium–argon, and helium–xenon. The stress tensor and bulk velocity of both species were calculated for several values of the gas rarefaction in the range from 0.01 to 40 for three values of the molar concentrations: 0.1,0.5 and 0.9. The numerical solution together with an analytical solution based on the slip boundary condition cover the whole range of the gas rarefaction. It was showed that the Couette flow is weakly affected by the intermolecular interaction law.     

Propagation of a shear crack in a randomly heterogeneous body

Propagation of a crack in a randomly heterogeneous body exposed to longitudinal shear is considered (in a Born approximation). It is proved that the stress means at the crack tip have singularities on the order of (r)^–1/2. The effective coefficient of stress intensity is introduced. It is known that the propagation of a crack in a homogeneous body is of a local nature, i.e., energy consumption in the growth of the crack is completely determined by the coefficient of stress intensity, which is a local characteristic. The equivalence of the force and energy approaches is mathematically expressed by the Irwin equation [1]. An analog of the Irwin equation is obtained for the case of a randomly heterogeneous body.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 1, pp. 145–148, January–February, 1976.     

Determination of stress intensity factors for cracks of complex shape in anisotropic plates

The application of analytical methods to the problem of fatigue crack propagation and branching is complicated by the shortage of information on the stress distribution near the tip of cracks of complex configuration. A discussion of this problem and a survey of the studies in this area can be found in [1], for example. Below we develop a method of solving a problem concerning a system of cracks of complex form in an anisotropic half-plane. An efficient algorithm for numerical solution of the problem is proposed. A study is made of the effect of anisotropy of the material, the free edge of the plate, and the curvature of the crack on the stress intensity factors at the tips of the cracks.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 6, pp. 124–128, November–December, 1986.     

Sufficient Discrete—Integral Criterion of Rupture Strength

The behavior of the atomic structure in the vicinity of the crack tip is modeled. The loss of stability and postcritical deformation of a triatomic cell in a close–packed atomic layer in tension are studied. For macrocracks in single crystals, the concept of the generalized Burgers vector is introduced. A sufficient discrete—integral strength criterion is proposed for normal–rupture cracks in the case where the stress fields have a singular component. In accordance with Novozhilov's hybrid model, this criterion is formulated with the use of a new class of solutions that differs from solutions used in formulating the classical sufficient strength criterion. In the limiting case where the energy characteristics of the postcritical deformation of the cell can be ignored, the sufficient criterion proposed admits a limiting passage to the necessary criterion. The critical loads calculated by means of the sufficient criterion differ substantially from those determined with the use of the necessary criterion; this makes it possible to describe the Rehbinder effect.     

Interaction of a growing crack with the boundary in a bicrystal

Dynamic photoelasticity has been used in conjunction with selective etching on lithium fluoride bicrystals to examine the interaction of a growing crack with inclined boundaries; it is found that the stresses at the head of the crack alter as the boundary is approached. The speed of the crack is related to the angle of incidence on the boundary and the angular disorientation of the latter. The change in crack speed is related to the change in state of stress at the vertex. Analytical and experimental distributions are presented for the stresses ahead of a growing crack.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 4, pp. 138–143, July–August, 1973.     

Discrete modeling of crack bridging by a discontinuous platelet with a controlled interface

Crack bridging by discontinuous fibers can make brittle materials tougher by transferring stresses from the crack tip to elsewhere in the matrix material. One important aspect of crack bridging is the nature of the interface between the fibers and the matrix material. In this paper, a two-dimensional numerical model of bridging a Mode I loaded crack by linear elastic discontinuous platelets is developed for two different types of interfaces. The first type is a perfectly bonded interface. The second type is an imperfect interface described as a stick–slip interface. A shear-lag model to predict platelet pullout is developed in detail to verify the numerical implementation of the stick–slip interface. An example of a crack tip bridged by a platelet is examined for both interfaces. The perfectly bonded interface will reduce the Stress Intensity Factor (SIF) of the crack greatly but introduces new stress concentrations at the platelet ends. The stick–slip interface can be tailored to also reduce the SIF while not introducing new stress concentrations.     

Damage accumulation for growth of anti-plane crack in work-hardening material

Elastic–plastic solutions of an anti-plane crack in an infinite body are used in conjunction with a continuum damage model to describe the conditions necessary for the onset of crack instability, fatigue crack propagation due to cyclic loading, and rates of crack growth due to time dependent events. A power law relates the stress to the strain of the material. The damage, which invokes nucleation, growth and coalescence of microvoids due to elevated strain, is confined to the plastic zone surrounding the crack tip. For applied loading below the yield stress, the small-scale and large-scale yielding solutions are used to determine the influence of strain hardening on crack instability and failure. Crack growth due to cyclic loading and time-dependent deformations are studied using the small-scale yielding solution of the deformation theory of plasticity.     

Interface crack with a contact zone in an isotropic bimaterial under thermomechanical loading

A plane problem for a thermally insulated interface crack with a contact zone in an isotropic bimaterial under tension–shear mechanical loading and a temperature flux is considered. The expressions for the stresses and the electrical flux as well as for the derivatives of the displacement and the temperature jumps at the material interfaces via sectionally holomorphic mechanical and thermal potential functions are given. After the solution of the thermal problem the inhomogeneous combined Dirichlet–Riemann boundary value problem is formulated and solved exactly. The stresses at the interface and the stress intensity factors at the singular points are presented in a clear analytical form. Special attention is devoted to the case of a small contact zone when the stress intensity factors can be presented in form similar to the associated presentation for an “open” crack model. A transcendental equation and an asymptotic analytic formula for the determination of the real contact zone length are derived. It is shown that for a certain bimaterial this length as well as the correspondent stress intensity factor are defined by a single parameter which depends on the normal-shear loading and the heat flux.     

Micromechanical consideration of tensile crack behavior based on virtual internal bond in contrast to cohesive stress

A modified version of the virtual internal bond model (VIB) is presented. This involves the introduction of a R-bond restricting the relative rotation freedom of pairwise mass particle. Such a modification allows the VIB model to consider arbitrary values of the Poisson ratio. A linear elastic cohesive law considering both the R-bond and L-bond are assumed. The constitutive relationship is derived using the Cauchy–Born rules. The derived constitutive associates the bond stiffness with the Young’s modulus and Poisson ratio of materials. This gives the bond stiffness in terms of the Young’s modulus and Poisson ratio of materials.The modified VIB model is then used to analyze the tensile crack behavior. In contrast to the cohesive stress method, the deformation-governed concept will be used. The local materials failure is assumed to coincide with the reduction of the bond density due to the local deformation rather than by the local cohesive stress. A phenomenological relationship between the bond density and the deformation is established. The criterion which is applied to determined crack initiation and propagation is built into the constitutive model. As an example, the method is used to study the crack initiation and propagation behavior under tensile loading.     

Flow and Mixing Fields for Transported Scalar PDF Simulations of a Piloted Jet Diffusion Flame (‘Delft Flame III’)

Numerical simulation results are presented for ‘Delft Flame III’, a piloted jet diffusion flame with strong turbulence–chemistry interaction. While pilot flames emerge from 12 separate holes in the experiments, the simulations are performed on a rectangular grid, under the assumption of axisymmetry. In the first part of the paper, flow and mixing field results are presented with a non-linear first order k–ε model, with the transport equation for ε based on a modeled enstrophy transport equation, for cold and reactive flows. For the latter, the turbulence model is applied in combination with pre-assumed β-PDF modeling for the turbulence–chemistry interaction. The mixture fraction serves as conserved scalar. Two chemistry models are considered: chemical equilibrium and a steady laminar flamelet model. The importance of the turbulence model is highlighted. The influence of the chemistry model is noticeable too. A procedure is described to construct appropriate inlet boundary conditions. Still, the generation of accurate inlet boundary conditions is shown to be far less important, their effect being local, close to the nozzle exit. In the second part of the paper, results are presented with the transported scalar PDF approach as turbulence–chemistry interaction model. A C₁ skeletal scheme serves as chemistry model, while the EMST method is applied as micro-mixing model. For the transported PDF simulations, the model for the pilot flames, as an energy source term in the mean enthalpy transport equation, is important with respect to the accuracy of the flow field predictions. It is explained that the strong influence on the flow and mixing field is through the turbulent shear stress force in the region, close to the nozzle exit.     

Special approach for the determination of fracture mechanical parameters at an interface crack tip

An interface crack of finite length is considered between two semi-infinite planes with an artificial contact zone at one of the two crack tips. A transcendental equation and certain simple asymptotic formulas are established for the real contact zone (in the Comninou-Dundurs sense) in terms of the stress intensity factors (SIFs) of the considered model. In these terms analytical expressions are also provided for the energy release rate and for the SIF of the classical interface crack model with an oscillating singularity at the crack tip. The appropriate length of the artifical contact zone is shown to be attainable on the basis of the analysis of the stresses at the crack tip. The use of the proposed model is suggested for integrity assessment of inhomogeneous structural elements of composites containing interface cracks. Received 26 March 1997; accepted for publication 12 September 1997     

The influence of the hall effect on the current structure in a plasma flow with a spatially periodic magnetic field

The structure of the electric fields and current is studied for stationary plasma flow in an axially symmetric, spatially periodic magnetic field. The problem is solved in the magnetohydrodynamic approximation with allowance for the Hall term in the generalized Ohm's law equation. It is assumed that the magnetic Reynolds number and the interaction parameter are small.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 5, pp. 11–16, September–October, 1972.The author thanks N. A. Khizhnyak and A. A. Kalmykov for useful discussions.     

An energy approach to the link-up of multiple cracks in thin aluminum alloy sheets

An energy approach has been used in the study of the coalescence or linkage of multiple cracks in aluminum alloy sheets. The study was motivated by concern for the structural integrity of aging aircraft. Forty reported tests for 2024-T3 aluminum panels with a major crack and several multiple-site damage (MSD) cracks have been analyzed via a simple computational model with a Dugdale–Barenblatt [D.S. Dugdale, J. Mech. Phys. Solids 8 (1960) 100–104; G.I. Barenblatt, in: H.L. Dryden, Th. VonKarman (Eds.), Advances in Applied Mechanics, vol. II, 1962, pp. 55–130] type of plastic or inelastic deformation. For simplicity, the computational model considers only the plastic interaction between the major crack and two symmetrically adjacent MSD cracks in an infinite sheet under remote tensile stress. By following the approach given in [B. Cotterell, J. K. Reddel, Int. J. Fract. 13 (1977) 267–277], the specific work to cause ligament failure is found to be a linear function of the normal extent of the confined plastic region for most tests considered. A few exceptions to this linear relation are attributed to the limitation of the employed computational model. A new criterion and an engineering method to predict crack link-up in an MSD sheet are proposed based on this specific work concept, and they have been demonstrated through application to stiffened panels.     

Asymptotic Behavior of the Far Stress Field in the Problem of Crack Growth in a Damaged Medium under Creep Conditions

An asymptotic analysis of stress fields, creep-strain rates, and continuity in the vicinity of the tip of a crack that grows under creep conditions is performed with allowance for accumulation of dissipated damages. The configuration of a region of a fully damaged material adjacent to the crack edges and its tip is determined and studied. It is shown that the Hutchinson-Rice-Rosengren solution cannot be used as the boundary condition at an infinite point, and a new asymptotic representation of the far stress field, governing the geometry of the region of the fully damaged material, is obtained.__________Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 46, No. 4, pp. 133–145, July– August, 2005.     

On higher gradients in continuum-atomistic modelling

Continuum-atomistic modelling denotes a mixed approach combining the usual framework of continuum mechanics with atomistic features like e.g. interaction or rather pair potentials. Thereby, the kinematics are typically characterized by the so-called Cauchy–Born rule representing atomic distance vectors in the spatial configuration as an affine mapping of the atomic distance vectors in the material configuration in terms of the local deformation gradient. The application of the Cauchy–Born rule requires sufficiently homogeneous deformations of the underlying crystal. The model is no more valid if the deformation becomes inhomogeneous. Nevertheless the development of microstructures with inhomogeneous deformation is inevitable. In the present work, the Cauchy–Born rule is thus extended to capture inhomogeneous deformations by the incorporation of the second-order deformation gradient. The higher-order equilibrium equation as well as the appropriate boundary conditions are presented for the case of finite deformations. The constitutive law for the Piola–Kirchhoff stress and the additional higher-order stress are represented for the simplified case of pair potential-based energy density functions. Finally, a deformation inhomogeneity measure is introduced and studied for a particular non-homogeneous simple-shear like deformation.     

On the interaction between a dislocation and a crack in a material with a nonlinear stress-strain law

The problem of the interaction of a crack and a dislocation in a medium with a nonlinear stress-strain law is considered for the case of a semi-infinite crack in a displacement loaded strip under longitudinal shear deformation. A power law stress-strain relation is considered and the dislocation is assumed positioned so that the net effect of its interaction with the crack is to produce a zero stress intensity factor when combined with the effect of the applied displacements. Thus the Atkinson-Kay superdislocation model of a relaxed crack tip is extended to the situation where the material satisfies a power-law stress-strain relationship.     

Analysis for enhancement of composite resistance to matrix cracking and interfacial debonding with rubber-coated reinforcement

An analytical model is presented for a unidirectional composite with a matrix crack straddling across rubber-coated fiber reinforcements. An expression is derived for the energy released in matrix cracking. A penny-shaped matrix crack configuration is chosen as an example. With the aid of Hankel's transform, a linear integral equation is derived and solved numerically for the reinforcement stress and energy release in terms of a parameter λ that depends on the composite material and crack geometry. The maximum stress intensity factor for a matrix crack in the unidirectional composite increases monotonically with λ, attaining the largest value for a crack in a homogeneous matrix material.