Cohesive zone laws for void growth — II. Numerical field projection of elasto-plastic fracture processes with vapor pressure

Modeling ductile fracture processes using Gurson-type cell elements has achieved considerable success in recent years. However, incorporating the full mechanisms of void growth and coalescence in cohesive zone laws for ductile fracture still remains an open challenge. In this work, a planar field projection method, combined with equilibrium field regularization, is used to extract crack-tip cohesive zone laws of void growth in an elastic-plastic solid. To this end, a single row of void-containing cell elements is deployed directly ahead of a crack in an elastic-plastic medium subjected to a remote K-field loading; the macroscopic behavior of each cell element is governed by the Gurson porous material relation, extended to incorporate vapor pressure effects. A thin elastic strip surrounding this fracture process zone is introduced, from which the cohesive zone variables can be extracted via the planar field projection method. We show that the material's initial porosity induces a highly convex traction-separation relationship — the cohesive traction reaches the peak almost instantaneously and decreases gradually with void growth, before succumbing to rapid softening during coalescence. The profile of this numerically extracted cohesive zone law is consistent with experimentally determined cohesive zone law in Part I for multiple micro-crazing in HIPS. In the presence of vapor pressure, both the cohesive traction and energy are dramatically lowered; the shape of the cohesive zone law, however, remains highly convex, which suggests that diffusive damage is still the governing failure mechanism.     

Two mechanisms of ductile fracture: void by void growth versus multiple void interaction

Two distinct mechanisms of crack initiation and advance by void growth have been identified in the literature on the mechanics of ductile fracture. One is the interaction a single void with the crack tip characterizing initiation and the subsequent void by void advance of the tip. This mechanism is represented by the early model of Rice and Johnson and the subsequent more detailed numerical computations of McMeeking and coworkers on a single void interacting with a crack tip. The second mechanism involves the simultaneous interaction of multiple voids on the plane ahead of the crack tip both during initiation and in subsequent crack growth. This mechanism is revealed by models with an embedded fracture process zone, such as those developed by Tvergaard and Hutchinson. While both mechanisms are based on void nucleation, growth and coalescence, the inferences from them with regard to crack growth initiation and growth are quantitatively different. The present paper provides a formulation and numerical analysis of a two-dimensional plane strain model with multiple discrete voids located ahead of a pre-existing crack tip. At initial void volume fractions that are sufficiently low, initiation and growth is approximately represented by the void by void mechanism. At somewhat higher initial void volume fractions, a transition in behavior occurs whereby many voids ahead of the tip grow at comparable rates and their interaction determines initiation toughness and crack growth resistance. The study demonstrates that improvements to be expected in fracture toughness by reducing the population of second phase particles responsible for nucleating voids cannot be understood in terms of trends of one mechanism alone. The transition from one mechanism to the other must be taken into account.     

On ductile fracture initiation toughness: Effects of void volume fraction,void shape and void distribution

This paper studies the effects of the initial relative void spacing, void pattern, void shape and void volume fraction on ductile fracture toughness using three-dimensional, small scale yielding models, where voids are assumed to pre-exist in the material and are explicitly modeled using refined finite elements. Results of this study can be used to explain the observed fracture toughness anisotropy in industrial alloys. Our analyses suggest that simplified models containing a single row of voids ahead of the crack tip is sufficient when the initial void volume fraction remains small. When the initial void volume fraction becomes large, these simplified models can predict the fracture initiation toughness (J_Ic) with adequate accuracy but cannot predict the correct J–R curve because they over-predict the interaction among growing voids on the plane of crack propagation. Consequently, finite element models containing multiple rows of voids should be used when the material has large initial void volume fraction.     

Plastic strip model of circular crack under cyclic loading with damage accumulation

A cylindrical solid containing a penny-shaped crack in its mid plane is subjected to a remote tensile stress field. In the plastic region near the crack border, damage due to continuous deterioration of the material accumulates, and may lead to crack instability and crack growth. A damage model relating the crack opening displacement in the plastic zone to the fraction of the cross-sectional area occupied by voids is used to describe the conditions necessary for the onset of crack instability, fatigue crack propagation by cyclic loading, and rates of crack growth for time-dependent environmental effects.     

Vapor pressure and void size effects on failure of a constrained ductile film

To achieve certain properties, semiconductor adhesives and molding compounds are made by blending filler particles with polymer matrix. Moisture collects at filler particle/polymer matrix interfaces and within voids of the composite. At reflow temperatures, the moisture vaporizes. The rapidly expanding vapor creates high internal pressure on pre-existing voids and particle/matrix interfaces. The simultaneous action of thermal stresses and internal vapor pressure drives both pre-existing and newly nucleated voids to grow and coalesce causing material failure. Particularly susceptible are polymeric films and adhesives joining elastic substrates, e.g. Ag filled epoxy. Several competing failure mechanisms are studied including: near-tip void growth and coalescence with the crack; extensive void growth and formation of an extended damaged zone emanating from the crack; and rapid void growth at highly stressed sites at large distances ahead of the crack, leading to multiple damaged zones. This competition is driven by the interplay between stress elevation induced by constrained plastic flow and stress relaxation due to vapor pressure assisted void growth.A model problem of a ductile film bonded between two elastic substrates, with a centerline crack, is studied. The computational study employs a Gurson porous material model incorporating vapor pressure effects. The formation of multiple damaged zones is favored when the film contains small voids or dilute second-phase particle distribution. The presence of large voids or high vapor pressure favor the growth of a self-similar damage zone emanating from the crack. High vapor pressure accelerates film cracking that can cause device failures.     

Integrated numerical–experimental analysis of interfacial fatigue fracture in SnAgCu solder joints

In ball grid array (BGA) packages, solder balls are exposed to cyclic thermo-mechanical strains arising from the thermal mismatch between package components. Thermo-mechanical fatigue crack propagation in solder balls is almost always observed at the chip side of the bump/pad junction. The objective of the experimental part of this study is to characterize the bump/pad interface under fatigue loading. Fatigue specimens are prepared by reflowing Sn3.8Ag0.5Cu lead-free solder alloy on Ni/Au substrates. Obtained results show that fatigue damage evolution strongly depends on the microstructure. Applied strain and solder volume both have an influence on the fatigue damage mechanism. In the numerical part of the study, fatigue experiments are modeled using the finite element technique. A cohesive zone approach is used to predict the fatigue damage evolution in soldered connections. Crack propagation is simulated by an irreversible linear traction–separation cohesive zone law accompanied by a non-linear damage parameter. Cohesive zone elements are placed where failure is experimentally observed. Damage evolution parameters for normal and tangential interaction are scrutinized through dedicated fatigue tests in pure tensile and shear directions. The proposed cohesive zone model is quantitatively capable of describing fatigue failure in soldered joints, which can be further extended to a numerical life-time prediction tool in microelectronic packages.     

Fatigue crack growth under anti-plane shear mode deformation

In this paper, the theory of the steady growth of fatigue crack in an infinite medium under the periodic anti-plane remote shear loading has been examined. The criterion of accumulative plastic work for material failure associated with the slip displacement in the fracture process zone of Dugdale type ahead of the crack tip is employed in the analysis. The effect of the locked dislocation in the fracture process zone is considered. Under the assumption that the speed of fatigue crack propagation remains uniform through the fracture process zone, the steady speed of fatigue crack can be expressed as a function of the range of the applied shearing stress and the maximum shearing stress. The effect of the crack size on the fatigue crack speed is discussed. The effect of the finite width of specimen on the speed of fatigue crack speed is investigated. The differences between the present work and the previous studies on fatigue crack speed are discussed.     

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.     

伴随微孔洞生长的裂纹弹塑性定常扩展

裂纹在韧性材料中扩展时,将们随着微孔洞的萌生和生长,孔洞的萌生和深化将直接影响着材料的总体断裂韧性和强度,以往的研究主要集中在将裂纹的扩展刻划为微孔洞的萌生、生长和汇合这样一个过程。从传统的断裂过程区模型出发研究微孔洞的萌生和生长对材料总体断裂韧性的影响,通过采用Ｇｕｒｓｏｎ模型,建立塑性增量本构关系,然后针对定常扩展情况直接进行分析,孔洞对材料断裂韧性的影响由本构关系刻划,而在孔洞汇合模型中,上     

弹塑性疲劳微弯裂纹尖端塑性区问题

主要研究疲劳载荷作用下弹塑性裂纹弯曲延伸扩展问题.通过分析论证,比较精确地研究了疲劳载荷作用下弯曲延伸裂纹尖端塑性区域边界上交变应力的分布状况.综合考虑了疲劳作用应力,塑性区域交变应力,利用二阶摄动方法,研究计算了弯曲延伸裂纹尖端塑性区域的范围,并预测了疲劳载荷作用下弹塑性裂纹扩展路径.     

Effects of pressure-sensitivity and plastic dilatancy on void growth and interaction

Hydrostatic stress can affect the non-elastic deformation and flow stress of polymeric materials and certain metallic alloys. This sensitivity to hydrostatic stress can also influence the fracture toughness of ductile materials, which fail by void growth and coalescence. These materials typically contain a non-uniform distribution of voids of varying size-scales and void shapes. In this work, the effects of void shape and microvoid interaction in pressure-sensitive materials are examined via a two-prong approach: (i) an axisymmetric unit-cell containing a single ellipsoidal void and (ii) a plane-strain unit-cell consisting of a single large void and a population of discrete microvoids. The representative material volume in both cases is subjected to physical stress states similar to highly stressed regions ahead of a crack. Results show that oblate voids and microvoid cavitation can severely reduce the critical stress of the material. These effects can be compounded under high levels of pressure-sensitivity. In some cases, the critical stress responsible for rapid void growth is reduced to levels comparable to the yield strength of the material. The contribution of void shape and pressure-sensitivity to the thermal- and moisture-induced voiding phenomenon in IC packages is also discussed.     

Pressure-sensitive ductile layers – II. 3D models of extensive damage

The mechanisms of void growth and coalescence in ductile polymeric layers, taking into account the effects of pressure-sensitivity, α, and plastic dilatancy, β, are explored in this two-part paper. In Part I, a two-dimensional model containing discrete cylindrical voids was used to simulate void growth and coalescence ahead of a crack. This paper extends the previous work by explicitly modeling initially spherical voids in a three-dimensional configuration. Damage predictions from the present 3D model for low yield strain adhesives are found to be in good agreement with both the 2D model in Part I and the computational cell element model. Significant discrepancies in the damage predictions, however, exist among all three models for high yield strain adhesives (e.g. polymers). The present 3D study also discusses the increasing damage level and its spatial extent with pressure-sensitivity, as well as the exacerbation of these effects arising from the deviation from an associated flow rule. In fact, both high porosity and high pressure-sensitivity promote void interaction. In addition, pressure-sensitivity increases the oblacity of the voids and reduces the intervoid ligament spacing over a wide range of load levels. These effects are compounded as the fracture process zone thickness decreases relative to the adhesive thickness. Results further show that both the adhesive toughness levels and the critical porosity governing the onset of void coalescence are significantly lowered with increasing pressure-sensitivity.     

混凝土黏聚开裂模型若干进展

黏聚模型是用来描述混凝土断裂行为的基本模型, 首先介绍了混凝土的黏聚开裂模型的基本概念,总结了确定黏聚区的本构方程的各种方法,即直接单轴拉伸测试、J积分方法、R曲线法、柔度法和逆推法.然后介绍了黏聚模型在I型和复合型裂纹问题、疲劳断裂问题中的应用以及黏聚模型与混凝土尺寸效应的关系.最后对黏聚开裂模型与桥联模型、带状裂缝模型进行了比较和总结, 指出了该模型存在的问题, 并对其以后的发展方向提出了建议.      

A crack tip tracking algorithm for cohesive interface element analysis of fatigue delamination propagation in composite materials

A novel approach is proposed for the use of cohesive elements in the analysis of delamination propagation in composite materials under high-cycle fatigue loading. The method is applicable to delamination propagation within the Paris-law regime and is suitable for the analysis of three-dimensional structures typical of aerospace applications. The major advantages of the proposed formulation are its complete independence of the cohesive zone length – which is a geometry-dependent parameter – and its relative insensitivity to mesh refinement. This is only possible via the introduction of three nonlocal algorithms, which provide (i) automated three-dimensional tracking of delamination fronts, (ii) an estimation of direction of crack propagation and (iii) accurate and mesh-insensitive integration of strain energy release rate. All calculations are updated at every increment of an explicit time-integration finite element solution, which models the envelopes of forces and displacements with an assumption of underlying constant cyclic loading. The method was implemented as a user-defined subroutine in the commercial finite element software LS-Dyna and supports the analysis of complex three-dimensional models. Results are presented for benchmark cases such as specimens with central cut plies and centrally-loaded circular plates. Accurate predictions of delamination growth rates are observed for different mesh topologies in agreement with the Paris-laws of the material.     

Real-time Detection and Analysis of Damage in High-performance Concrete under Cyclic Bending

In order to quantitatively evaluate the damage level in high-performance concrete (HPC) with pozzolanic minerals under constant amplitude cyclic loads, three methods for real-time damage detection are employed in the present work, i.e., dynamic modulus instrument, real-time strain collector, and digital speckle correlative method (DSCM). Six mechanical parameters at different numbers of loading cycles are real-time captured by these three methods. For a maximum applied fatigue stress equal to 70% of the static flexural strength, a cohesive crack is detected on the specimen surface by the DSCM system from 10% of concrete fatigue life. The nucleation and propagation of the cohesive crack is reflected by the change of the strain concentration zone in 2-dimensional strain fields. The experimental results show that the admixtures of Class F Fly Ash (FA) and S95 Ground Granulated Blast-furnace Slag (GGBS) in high proportions increase the strain and cohesive-crack opening displacement as well as remarkably improve the fatigue performance of HPC.     

A cohesive zone model for fatigue crack growth allowing for crack retardation

A damage-based cohesive model is developed for simulating crack growth due to fatigue loading. The cohesive model follows a linear damage-dependent traction–separation relation coupled with a damage evolution equation. The rate of damage evolution is characterized by three material parameters corresponding to common features of fatigue behavior captured by the model, namely, damage accumulation, crack retardation and stress threshold. Good agreement is obtained between finite element solutions using the model and fatigue test results for an aluminum alloy under different load ratios and for the overload effect on ductile 316 L steel.     

Modeling of ductile fracture: Application of the mechanism-based concepts

This paper summarizes our recent studies on modeling ductile fracture in structural materials using the mechanism-based concepts. We describe two numerical approaches to model the material failure process by void growth and coalescence. In the first approach, voids are considered explicitly and modeled using refined finite elements. In order to predict crack initiation and propagation, a void coalescence criterion is established by conducting a series of systematic finite element analyses of the void-containing, representative material volume (RMV) subjected to different macroscopic stress states and expressed as a function of the stress triaxiality ratio and the Lode angle. The discrete void approach provides a straightforward way for studying the effects of microstructure on fracture toughness. In the second approach, the void-containing material is considered as a homogenized continuum governed by porous plasticity models. This makes it possible to simulate large amount of crack extension because only one element is needed for a representative material volume. As an example, a numerical approach is proposed to predict ductile crack growth in thin panels of a 2024-T3 aluminum alloy, where a modified Gologanu–Leblond–Devaux model [Gologanu, M., Leblond, J.B., Devaux, J., 1993. Approximate models for ductile metals containing nonspherical voids – Case of axisymmetric prolate ellipsoidal cavities. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 41, 1723–1754; Gologanu, M., Leblond, J.B., Devaux, J., 1994. Approximate models for ductile metals containing nonspherical voids – Case of axisymmetric oblate ellipsoidal cavities. J. Eng. Mater. Tech. 116, 290–297; Gologanu, M., Leblond, J.B., Perrin, G., Devaux, J., 1995. Recent extensions of Gurson’s model for porous ductile metals. In: Suquet, P. (Ed.) Continuum Micromechanics. Springer-Verlag, pp. 61–130] is used to describe the evolution of void shape and void volume fraction and the associated material softening, and the material failure criterion is calibrated using experimental data. The calibrated computational model successfully predicts crack extension in various fracture specimens, including the compact tension specimen, middle crack tension specimens, multi-site damage specimens and the pressurized cylindrical shell specimen.