Shape and topology sensitivity analysis for cracks in elastic bodies on boundaries of rigid inclusions

We consider an elastic body with a rigid inclusion and a crack located at the boundary of the inclusion. It is assumed that nonpenetration conditions are imposed at the crack faces which do not allow the opposite crack faces to penetrate each other. We analyze the variational formulation of the problem and provide shape and topology sensitivity analysis of the solution in two and three spatial dimensions. The differentiability of the energy with respect to the crack length, for the crack located at the boundary of rigid inclusion, is established.     

Timoshenko inclusions in elastic bodies crossing an external boundary at zero angle

The paper concerns an analysis of equilibrium problems for 2D elastic bodies with a thin Timoshenko inclusion crossing an external boundary at zero angle. The inclusion is assumed to be delaminated, thus forming a crack between the inclusion and the body. We consider elastic inclusions as well as rigid inclusions. To prevent a mutual penetration between the crack faces, inequality type boundary conditions are imposed at the crack faces.Theorems of existence and uniqueness are established. Passages to limits are investigated as a rigidity parameter of the elastic inclusion going to infinity.     

Perturbation analysis of Mode III interfacial cracks advancing in a dilute heterogeneous material

The paper addresses the problem of a Mode III interfacial crack advancing quasi-statically in a heterogeneous composite material, that is a two-phase material containing elastic inclusions, both soft and stiff, and defects, such as microcracks, rigid line inclusions and voids. It is assumed that the bonding between dissimilar elastic materials is weak so that the interface is a preferential path for the crack. The perturbation analysis is made possible by means of the fundamental solutions (symmetric and skew-symmetric weight functions) derived in Piccolroaz et al. (2009). We derive the dipole matrices of the defects in question and use the corresponding dipole fields to evaluate “effective” tractions along the crack faces and interface to describe the interaction between the main interfacial crack and the defects. For a stable propagation of the crack, the perturbation of the stress intensity factor induced by the defects is then balanced by the elongation of the crack along the interface, thus giving an explicit asymptotic formula for the calculation of the crack advance. The method is general and applicable to interfacial cracks with general distributed loading on the crack faces, taking into account possible asymmetry in the boundary conditions.The analytical results are used to analyse the shielding and amplification effects of various types of defects in different configurations. Numerical computations based on the explicit analytical formulae allows for the analysis of crack propagation and arrest.     

Interaction of cracks with bonds between their faces in an isotropic medium reinforced by a regular system of stringers

A problem of an elastic isotropic medium with a system of foreign (transverse with respect to crack alignment) rectilinear inclusions is considered. The medium is assumed to be attenuated by a periodic system of rectilinear cracks with zones where the crack faces interact with each other. These zones are assumed to be adjacent to the crack tips, and their sizes can be commensurable with the crack size. Interaction between the crack faces in the tip zone is modeled by introducing bonds (adhesion forces) between the cracks with a specified strain diagram. The boundary-value problem of the equilibrium of a periodic system of cracks with bonds between their faces under the action of external tensile loads and forces in the bonds is reduced to a nonlinear singular integrodifferential equation with a kernel of the Cauchy kernel type. The condition of critical equilibrium of the cracks with the tip zones is formulated with allowance for the criterion of critical tension of the bonds. A case of a stress state of the medium containing zones where the crack faces interact with each other is considered.     

Photoelastic investigation of crack-inclusion interaction

An experimental procedure is presented for determining the mode I stress-intensity factor of an edge crack with a nearby rigid elliptical inclusion in a finite plate loaded in uniform tension. The rigid inclusion was modeled by bonding two identical steel inclusions on to the faces of a thin plate of polycarbonate. Models were constructed with edge cracks and various inclusion geometries so that the effect of parameters such as inclusion shape, orientation, and cracktip position on the stress-intensity factors of the crack could be determined. Photoelasticity experiments were used for this investigation and the results were compared to the results of a similar theoretical analysis of the interaction between a crack and an inclusion in an infinite plate. A good correlation was found between the experimental and theoretical models indicating that the results may help provide a better understanding of the toughening mechanisms in materials such as short-fiber-reinforced composites and ceramics. This experimental method is relatively easy to use making it an attractive candidate to be applied to similar problems involving cracks and inhomogeneities.     

Hypocycloidal Inclusions in Nonuniform Out-of-Plane Elasticity: Stress Singularity vs. Stress Reduction

Stress field solutions and Stress Intensity Factors (SIFs) are found for \(n\)-cusped hypocycloidal shaped voids and rigid inclusions in an infinite linear elastic plane subject to nonuniform remote antiplane loading, using complex potential and conformal mapping. It is shown that a void with hypocycloidal shape can lead to a higher SIF than that induced by a corresponding star-shaped crack; this is counter intuitive as the latter usually produces a more severe stress field in the material. Moreover, it is observed that when the order \(m\) of the polynomial governing the remote loading grows, the stress fields generated by the hypocycloidal-shaped void and the star-shaped crack tend to coincide, so that they become equivalent from the point of view of a failure analysis. Finally, special geometries and loading conditions are discovered for which there is no stress singularity at the inclusion cusps and where the stress is even reduced with respect to the case of the absence of the inclusion. The concept of Stress Reduction Factor (SRF) in the presence of a sharp wedge is therefore introduced, contrasting with the well-known definition of Stress Concentration Factor (SCF) in the presence of inclusions with smooth boundary. The results presented in this paper provide criteria that will help in the design of ultra strong composite materials, where stress singularities always promote failure. Furthermore, they will facilitate finding the special conditions where resistance can be optimized in the presence of inclusions with non-smooth boundary.     

Asymptotic behavior of the energy functional for a three-dimensional body with a rigid inclusion and a crack

A model of a three-dimensional elastic body containing a rigid inclusion and a crack located on the interface between the inclusion and the body is considered. Natural boundary conditions are imposed on the crack. A derivative of the energy functional with respect to the perturbation parameter is derived for an arbitrary, rather smooth perturbation of the domain, in particular, the Griffith formula is obtained.     

CRACK FACE CONTACT PROBLEM ANALYSIS USING THE SCALED BOUNDARY FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

比例边界有限元侧面上有任意荷载时,将侧面载荷分解成关于径向方向局部坐标的多项式函数的和,推导给出了考虑侧面载荷存在的新型形函数,并基于该形函数推导了刚度矩阵和等效节点载荷列阵.首次对比例边界有限元法求解裂纹面接触问题进行了研究,运用Lagrange乘子引入接触界面约束条件,推导给出了比例边界有限元求解裂纹面接触问题的控制方程.将裂纹面单元分为非裂尖单元和含有侧面的裂尖单元.在非裂尖单元中的裂纹面,裂纹面作为多边形单元的边界,边界上的接触力可等效到节点上,通过在节点上构造Lagrange乘子,采用点对点接触约束进行处理.对于含有侧面的裂尖单元,在整个侧面上构造Lagrange乘子的插值场,采用边对边接触约束进行处理.对三个不同的接触约束状态下的算例进行了数值计算,通过与解析解及有限元软件ABAQUS计算结果的对比,验证了本文提出的比例边界有限元点对点和边对边接触求解裂纹面接触问题的精确性与有效性.     

Interaction between a rigid inclusion and a line crack under uniform heat flux

The thermoelastic displacement boundary value problem for a rigid inclusion interacting with a line crack in an infinite plane subjected to a uniform heat flux is studied, in which the rigid body rotation of the inclusion is considered. To solve the prescribed problem, we use the principle of superposition to decompose it into two groups of problems, which are further reduced to several basic subproblems including Green’s functions of edge dislocation and heat source couple, as well as the problem of a plane containing the inclusion under uniform heat flux and the problem of the inclusion subjected to a small rotation. The problems are solved using the complex variable method along with the rational mapping function technique. The variations of the stress intensity factors at the crack tips and the rigid body rotation angles with various crack lengths and heat flux angles are shown. The effects of the inclusion shape and size are also investigated.     

Cracked infinite cylinder with two rigid inclusions under axisymmetric tension

This paper considers the problem of an axisymmetric infinite cylinder with a ring shaped crack at z = 0 and two ring-shaped rigid inclusions with negligible thickness at z = ±L. The cylinder is under the action of uniformly distributed axial tension applied at infinity and its lateral surface is free of traction. It is assumed that the material of the cylinder is linearly elastic and isotropic. Crack surfaces are free and the constant displacements are continuous along the rigid inclusions while the stresses have jumps. Formulation of the mixed boundary value problem under consideration is reduced to three singular integral equations in terms of the derivative of the crack surface displacement and the stress jumps on the rigid inclusions. These equations, together with the single-valuedness condition for the displacements around the crack and the equilibrium equations along the inclusions, are converted to a system of linear algebraic equations, which is solved numerically. Stress intensity factors are calculated and presented in graphical form.     

Shape sensitivity analysis for non-differentiable performance measures in multiscale crack propagation simulation using regression hybrid method

In this paper, we present a regression hybrid method that calculates shape sensitivity coe?cients for multiscale crack propagation problems with performance measures that are non-differentiable in numerical implementation. These measures are crack propagation speed (or crack speed) defined at atomistic level obtained by solving coupled atomistic/continuum structures using the bridging scale method (BSM). The major contributions of this paper are: first, by analyzing the characteristics of the performance measures of crack speed in design space, this paper verifies for the first time that these measures are theoretically continuous and differentiable with respect to design variables, and as a result, the sensitivity coe?cients exist in theory; second, to overcome the non-differentiability of the performance measures in numerical computation due to the finite size of integration time step, this paper proposes a regression hybrid method that calculates the shape sensitivity coe?cients of crack speed through polynomial regression analysis based on the sensitivity of atomic responses, which is calculated through analytical shape design sensitivity analysis (DSA). And finally, the proposed method supports for 3D crack propagation problems with periodic boundary condition in one direction. A nano-beam example is used to demonstrate numerically the feasibility, accuracy, and e?ciency of the proposed method.     

Green's function for thermopiezoelectric plates with holes of various shapes

Summary Thermoelectroelastic problems for holes of various shapes embedded in an infinite matrix are considered in this paper. Based on Lekhnitskii's formalism, the technique of conformal mapping and the exact electric boundary conditions on the hole boundary, the thermoelectroelastic Green's function has been obtained analytically in terms of a complex potential. As an application of the proposed function, the problem of an infinite plate containing a crack and a hole is analysed. A system of singular integral equations for the unknown temperature discontinuity and the discontinuity of elastic displacement and electric potential (EDEP) defined on crack faces is developed and solved numerically. Numerical results for stress and electric displacement (SED) intensity factors of the crack-hole system are presented to illustrate the application of the proposed formulation. Received 7 October 1998; accepted for publication 26 January 1999     

Modelling of Thin Elastic Plates with Small Piezoelectric Inclusions and Distributed Electronic Circuits. Models for Inclusions that Are Small with Respect to the Thickness of the Plate

This paper is devoted to the modelling of thin elastic plates with small, periodically distributed, piezoelectric inclusions, in view of active controlled structure design. The initial equations are those of linear elasticity coupled with the electrostatic equation. Different kinds of boundary conditions on the upper faces of inclusions are considered, corresponding to different ways of control: Dirichlet, Neumann, local or nonlocal mixed conditions. We compute effective models when the thickness a of the plate, the characteristic dimension ε of the inclusions, and ε / a tend together to zero. Other situations will be considered in two forthcoming papers. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

预锻模具形状优化设计与有限元灵敏度分析

采用刚－粘塑性有限元灵敏度分析方法研究锻造过程的预锻模具形状优化设计问题。表示预锻模具形状的三次Ｂ样条曲线的控制系数用作设计变量。以实际终锻件与理想终锻件的形状差异为目标函数,给出了与设计变量有关的目标函数,节点坐标和节点速度等方面的灵敏度及其数学关系,对于典型的轴对称锻造过程,优化设计的预锻模具形状可获得理想的的终锻件形状,为实现净成形锻造提供了一种有效方法。     

Contact Interaction of the Faces of a Rectangular Crack under Normally Incident Tension–Compression Waves

A three-dimensional problem on the contact interaction between the faces of a rectangular crack under a normally incident harmonic tension–compression wave is considered. The problem is solved by using the method of boundary integral equations and an iterative algorithm. The contact forces and the discontinuity in the displacement of the crack faces are studied. The results obtained are compared with those for a finite plane crack.     

Some new aspects of boundary conditions at cracks in piezoelectrics

Fracture mechanical investigations of piezoelectric materials as components of smart structures have become popular in the last 30?years. In the early years of research, boundary conditions at crack faces have been adopted from pure mechanical systems under the assumption that boundaries were traction free. From the electrostatic point of view, cracks have been assumed to be either free of charge or fully permeable. Later, limitedly permeable crack boundary conditions have become popular among the community, nevertheless still assuming traction-free crack faces. Recently, the theoretical framework has been extended to include electrostatically induced mechanical tractions in crack models yielding a significant crack closure effect. However, these models are still simple, neglecting, e.g., the piezoelectric field coupling. In this work, we present an extended model for crack surface tractions yielding some interesting effects. In particular, the orientation of the electrical field with respect to the poling axis becomes important. Furthermore, applying a collinear stress parallel to the crack faces influences the Mode-I stress intensity factor and a Mode-II shear loading couples to the Mode-I SIF.     

Problem of a crack on the boundary of a rigid inclusion in an elastic plate

The problem of equilibrium of a thin elastic plate containing a rigid inclusion is considered. On part of the interface between the elastic plate and the rigid inclusion, there is a vertical crack. It is assumed that, on both crack edges, the boundary conditions are given as inequalities describing the mutual impenetrability of the edges. The solvability of the problem is proven and the character of satisfaction of the boundary conditions is described. It is also shown that the problem is the limit problem for a family of other problems posed for a wider region and describing equilibrium of elastic plates with a vertical crack as the rigidity parameter tends to infinity.     

Stress intensity factor evaluation by weight function for surface crack in edge notch

The weight function method is applied to obtain the stress intensity factor for a semi-elliptical surface crack in a circular edge notch subjected to polynomial loading on the crack faces. The crack region is considered as two sets of orthogonal slices superimposed such that the boundary conditions are satisfied. Numerical results are presented for different aspects ratios of the semi-elliptical surface crack in a notched semi-infinite region and compared with those found from the method of finite element.     

APPLICABILITY OF THE CRACK FACE ELECTRICAL BOUNDARY CONDITIONS IN PIEZOELECTRIC MECHANICS

The electrical boundary conditions on the crack faces and their applicability in piezoelectric materials are discussed. A slit crack and a notch of ?nite thickness in piezoelectric materials subjected to combined mechanical and electrical loads is consi…