Stress intensity factors for asymmetric branched cracks in plane extension by using crack-tip displacement discontinuity elements

Stress intensity factors are important in the analysis of cracked materials. They are directly related to the fracture propagation and fatigue crack growth criteria. Based on the analytical solution (Crouch, S.L., 1976. Solution of plane elasticity problems by displacement discontinuity method, Int. J. Numer. Methods Eng. 10, pp. 301–343; Crouch, S.L., Starfield, A.M., 1983. Boundary Element Method in Solid Mechanics, with Application in Rock Mechanics and Geological Mechanics, London, Geore Allon and Unwin, Bonton, Sydney) to the problem of a constant discontinuity in displacement over a finite line segment in the x, y plane of an infinite elastic solid, recently, the crack-tip displacement discontinuity element which can be classified as the left and right crack-tip displacement discontinuity elements are developed by the author Yan, X., (in press. A special crack-tip displacement discontinuity element, Mechanics Research Communications) to model the crack-tip fields to more accurately compute the stress intensity factors of cracks in general plane elasticity. In the boundary element implementation the left or the right crack-tip displacement discontinuity element is placed locally at the corresponding left or right crack tip on top of the ordinary non-singular displacement discontinuity elements that cover the entire crack surface and the other boundaries. To prove further the efficiency of the suggested approach and provide more results of the stress intensity factors, in this study, analysis of an asymmetric branched crack bifurcated from a main crack in plane extension is carried out.     

Bifurcation condition of crack pattern in the periodic rectangular array

Bifurcation condition of crack pattern in the periodic rectangular array plays an important role in determining the final failure pattern of rock material. An approximation for the critical crack size/spacing ratio is established for a uniformly growing periodic rectangular array yields to a non-uniform growing pattern of crack growth. Numerical results show that the critical crack size/spacing ratio λ_cr depends on the number of cracks, the crack spacing, the perpendicular distance between two adjacent rows, as well as the loading conditions. In general, λ_cr increases with the number of lines. It is observed that the critical crack size/spacing ratio λ_cr for the periodic rectangular array decreases with an increase in the perpendicular distance between two adjacent rows. It is clear that the critical crack size/spacing ratio λ_cr for the periodic rectangular array under shear stress increases with increasing the crack spacing.     

A dynamic model of bridging fiber pull-out of composite materials

An elastic analysis of an internal central crack with bridging fibers parallel to the free surface in an infinite orthotropic anisotropic elastic plane is carried out. In this paper a dynamic model of bridging fiber pull-out is presented for analyzing the distributions stress and displacement of composite materials with the internal central crack under the loading conditions of an applied non-uniform stress and the traction forces on crack faces yielded by the fiber pull-out model. Thus the fiber failure is determined by maximum tensile stress, the fiber breaks and hence the crack propagation should occur in self-similar fashion. By reducing the dynamic model to the Keldysh–Sedov mixed boundary value problem, a straightforward and easy analytical solution can be attained. When the crack extends, its fibers continue to break. Analytical study on the crack extension under the action of an inhomogeneous point force Px/t, Pt is obtained for orthotropic anisotropic body, respectively; and it can be utilized to attain the concrete solutions of the model by the ways of superposition.     

Effect of T-stress on crack growth under mixed mode I–III loading

For a crack subjected to combined mode I and III loading the influence of a T-stress is analyzed, with focus on crack growth. The solid is a ductile metal modelled as elastic–plastic, and the fracture process is represented in terms of a cohesive zone model. The analyzes are carried out for conditions of small scale yielding, with the elastic solution applied as boundary conditions on the outer edge of the region analyzed. For several combinations of the stress intensity factors K_I and K_III and the T-stress crack growth resistance curves are calculated numerically in order to determine the fracture toughness. In all situations it is found that a negative T-stress adds to the fracture toughness, whereas a positive T-stress has rather little effect. For given values of K_I and T the minimum fracture toughness corresponds to K_III = 0.     

A special crack tip displacement discontinuity element

Based on the analytical solution to the problem of a constant discontinuity in displacement over a finite line segment in the x, y plane of an infinite elastic solid and the note of the crack tip element by Crouch, in the present paper, the special crack tip displacement discontinuity element is developed. Further the analytical formulas for the stress intensity factors of crack problems in general plane elasticity are given. In the boundary element implementation the special crack tip displacement discontinuity element is placed locally at each crack tip on top of the non-singular constant displacement discontinuity elements that cover the entire crack surface. Numerical results show that the displacement discontinuity modeling technique of a crack presented in this paper is very effective.     

Limitation on crack speed for a strip-craze model applied to PMMA

A strip-craze model is proposed to study crack propagation in polymers. A nonlinear differential equation is derived to govern the dynamic process of crack propagation. The viscous feature of the material in the craze zone is taken into account by means of an experimentally determined relationship between the craze stress and crack speed. By fitting experimental data of PMMA into the model, some parameters including the strip-craze length are deduced. A non-singular stress is introduced to control the crack propagation with a strip craze at its tip. Variations of the crack length and the crack speed with time are computed and their dependence on the non-singular stress is investigated. For PMMA, three stages of crack propagation are identified in terms of initial non-singular stress σ_ns0. When σ_ns0<60 MPa, the crack speed mm/s and the crack is basically stationary; when 60 <σ_ns0<95 MPa, then mm/s the crack is in slow propagation; when σ_ns0>95 MPa, then mm/s and the crack is in rapid propagation. The proposed model is applicable only in slow crack propagation.     

A layered composite containing a crack in its lower layer loaded by a rigid stamp

The elastostatic plane problem of a layered composite containing an internal or edge crack perpendicular to its boundaries in its lower layer is considered. The layered composite consists of two elastic layers having different elastic constants and heights and rests on two simple supports. Solution of the problem is obtained by superposition of solutions for the following two problems: The layered composite subjected to a concentrated load through a rigid rectangular stamp without a crack and the layered composite having a crack whose surface is subjected to the opposite of the stress distribution obtained from the solution of the first problem. Using theory of Elasticity and Fourier transform technique, the problem is formulated in terms of two singular integral equations. Solving these integral equations numerically by making use of Gauss–Chebyshev integration, numerical results related to the normal stress σ_x(0,y), the stress-intensity factors, and the crack opening displacements are presented and shown graphically for various dimensionless quantities.     

A magnetoelectroelastic medium with an elliptical cavity under combined mechanical–electric–magnetic loading

The solution for an elliptical cavity in an infinite two-dimensional magnetoelectroelastic medium subject to remotely uniformly applied combined mechanical–electric–magnetic loadings is obtained by using the Stroh formalism and the exact boundary conditions along the surface of the cavity. By letting the minor-axis of the cavity to zero the solution for a crack is deduced. A self-consistent method is proposed to calculate the real crack opening under the combined mechanical–electric–magnetic loadings. The method requires that the crack opening is the minor-axis of the elliptical opening profile. Beside the real crack solution, four different extreme models, i.e., the impermeable crack, permeable crack, electrically impermeable and magnetically permeable crack and electrically permeable and magnetically impermeable crack, are discussed. An expression of the strain energy density factor is derived. Numerical results of the strain energy density at the crack tip are given for a BaTiO₃–CoFe₂O₄ composite with the piezoelectric BaTiO₃ material being the inclusion and the magnetostrictive CoFe₂O₄ material being the matrix. The effects of the proportion of the two phases, permeability of the crack to electric and magnetic fields, the electric and magnetic loadings on the strain energy density factor are discussed.     

Logarithm strain singularity at tip of mode I growing crack in elasticand perfectly-plastic material

Reanalyzed in detail is the stress and strain distribution near the tip of a Mode I steadily growing crack in an elastic and perfectly-plastic material. The crack tip region is divided into five angular sectors, one of which is singular in character and represents a rapid transition zone that becomes a line of strain discontinuity in the limit as crack tip is approached. It is shown for an incompressible material (ν=0.5) under plane strain that the local strain in all the angular sectors possesses the same logarithm singularity, i.e., In r where r is the radial distance measured from the crack tip. This result also prevails for the compressible material ( v < 0.5) and resolves a long standing controversy concerning the strain singularity in the sector just ahead of the crack tip.     

J-integral and crack driving force in elastic–plastic materials

This paper discusses the crack driving force in elastic–plastic materials, with particular emphasis on incremental plasticity. Using the configurational forces approach we identify a “plasticity influence term” that describes crack tip shielding or anti-shielding due to plastic deformation in the body. Standard constitutive models for finite strain as well as small strain incremental plasticity are used to obtain explicit expressions for the plasticity influence term in a two-dimensional setting. The total dissipation in the body is related to the near-tip and far-field J-integrals and the plasticity influence term. In the special case of deformation plasticity the plasticity influence term vanishes identically whereas for rigid plasticity and elastic-ideal plasticity the crack driving force vanishes. For steady state crack growth in incremental elastic–plastic materials, the plasticity influence term is equal to the negative of the plastic work per unit crack extension and the total dissipation in the body due to crack propagation and plastic deformation is determined by the far-field J-integral. For non-steady state crack growth, the plasticity influence term can be evaluated by post-processing after a conventional finite element stress analysis. Theory and computations are applied to a stationary crack in a C(T)-specimen to examine the effects of contained, uncontained and general yielding. A novel method is proposed for evaluating J-integrals under incremental plasticity conditions through the configurational body force. The incremental plasticity near-tip and far-field J-integrals are compared to conventional deformational plasticity and experimental J-integrals.     

Micro/macro-crack growth due to creep–fatigue dependency on time–temperature material behavior

The implicit character of micro-structural degradation is determined by specifying the time history of crack growth caused by creep–fatigue interaction at high temperature. A dual scale micro/macro-equivalent crack growth model is used to illustrate the underlying principle of multiscaling which can be applied equally well to nano/micro. A series of dual scale models can be connected to formulate triple or quadruple scale models. Temperature and time-dependent thermo-mechanical material properties are developed to dictate the design time history of creep–fatigue cracking that can serve as the master curve for health monitoring.In contrast to the conventional procedure of problem/solution approach by specifying the time- and temperature-dependent material properties as a priori, the desired solution is then defined for a class of anticipated loadings. A scheme for matching the loading history with the damage evolution is then obtained. The results depend on the initial crack size and the extent of creep in proportion to fatigue damage. The path dependent nature of damage is demonstrated by showing the range of the pertinent parameters that control the final destruction of the material. A possible scenario of 20 yr of life span for the 38Cr2Mo2VA ultra-high strength steel is used to develop the evolution of the micro-structural degradation. Three micro/macro-parameters μ^*, d^* and σ^* are used to exhibit the time-dependent variation of the material, geometry and load effects. They are necessary to reflect the scale transitory behavior of creep–fatigue damage. Once the algorithm is developed, the material can be tailor made to match the behavior. That is a different life span of the same material would alter the time behavior of μ^*, d^* and σ^* and hence the micro-structural degradation history. The one-to-one correspondence of the material micro-structure degradation history with that of damage by cracking is the essence of path dependency. Numerical results and graphs are obtained to demonstrate how the inherently implicit material micro-structure parameters can be evaluated from the uniaxial bulk material properties at the macroscopic scale.The combined behavior of creep and fatigue can be exhibited by specifying the parameter ξ with reference to the initial defect size a₀. Large ξ (0.90 and 0.85) gives critical crack size a_cr = 11–14 mm (at t < 20 yr) for a₀ about 1.3 mm. For small ξ (0.05 and 0.15), there results critical a_cr = 6–7 mm (at t < 20 yr) for a₀ about 0.7–0.8 mm. The initial crack is estimated to increase its length by an order of magnitude before triggering global to the instability. This also applies ξ ≈ 0.5 where creep interacts severely with fatigue. Fine tuning of a_cr and a₀ can be made to meet the condition oft = 20 yr.Trade off among load, material and geometric parameters are quantified such that the optimum conditions can be determined for the desired life qualified by the initial–final defect sizes. The scenario assumed in this work is indicative of the capability of the methodology. The initial–final defect sizes can be varied by re-designing the time–temperature material specifications. To reiterate, the uniqueness of solution requires the end result to match with the initial conditions for a given problem. This basic requirement has been accomplished by the dual scale micro/macro-crack growth model for creep and fatigue.     

Effect of material nonhomogeneities on the HRR dominance

This work studies the asymptotic stress and displacement fields near the tip of a stationary crack in an elastic–plastic nonhomogeneous material with the emphasis on the effect of material nonhomogeneities on the dominance of the crack tip field. While the HRR singular field still prevails near the crack tip if the material properties are continuous and piecewise continuously differentiable, a simple asymptotic analysis shows that the size of the HRR dominance zone decreases with increasing magnitude of material property gradients. The HRR field dominates at points that satisfy |α⁻¹ ∂α/∂x_δ|1/r, |α⁻¹ ∂²α/(∂x_δ ∂x_γ)|1/r², |n⁻¹ ∂n/∂x_δ|1/[r|ln(r/A)|] and |n⁻¹ ∂²n/(∂x_δ ∂x_γ)|1/[r²|ln(r/A)|], in addition to other general requirements for asymptotic solutions, where α is a material property in the Ramberg–Osgood model, n is the strain hardening exponent, r is the distance from the crack tip, x_δ are Cartesian coordinates, and A is a length parameter. For linear hardening materials, the crack tip field dominates at points that satisfy |E_tan⁻¹ ∂E_tan/∂x_δ|1/r, |E_tan⁻¹ ∂²E_tan/(∂x_δ ∂x_γ)|1/r², |E⁻¹ ∂E/∂x_δ|1/r, and |E⁻¹ ∂²E/(∂x_δ ∂x_γ)|1/r², where E_tan is the tangent modulus and E is Young’s modulus.     

A new finite element method for strain gradient theories and applications to fracture analyses

A new compatible finite element method for strain gradient theories is presented. In the new finite element method, pure displacement derivatives are taken as the fundamental variables. The new numerical method is successfully used to analyze the simple strain gradient problems – the fundamental fracture problems. Through comparing the numerical solutions with the existed exact solutions, the effectiveness of the new finite element method is tested and confirmed. Additionally, an application of the Zienkiewicz–Taylor C1 finite element method to the strain gradient problem is discussed. By using the new finite element method, plane-strain mode I and mode II crack tip fields are calculated based on a constitutive law which is a simple generalization of the conventional J₂ deformation plasticity theory to include strain gradient effects. Three new constitutive parameters enter to characterize the scale over which strain gradient effects become important. During the analysis the general compressible version of Fleck–Hutchinson strain gradient plasticity is adopted. Crack tip solutions, the traction distributions along the plane ahead of the crack tip are calculated. The solutions display the considerable elevation of traction within the zone near the crack tip.     

A numerical analysis of perpendicular cracks under general in-plane loading with a hybrid displacement discontinuity method

In this paper, a numerical analysis of perpendicular cracks under general in-plane loading is performed by using a hybrid displacement discontinuity method which consists of the non-singular displacement discontinuity element presented by Crouch and Starfied and the crack tip displacement discontinuity elements by the author. In the boundary element implementation the left or the right crack tip displacement discontinuity element is placed locally at corresponding left or right crack tip on top of the ordinary non-singular displacement discontinuity elements that cover the entire crack surface and the other boundary. The present numerical results show that the numerical approach is simple, yet very accurate for calculating numerically stress intensity factors for perpendicular cracks under general in-plane loading.     

Fracture-mechanical assessment of electrically permeable interface cracks in piezoelectric bimaterials by consideration of various contact zone models

Summary An interface crack with an artificial contact zone at the right-hand side crack tip between two piezoelectric semi-infinite half-planes is considered under remote mixed-mode loading. Assuming the stresses, strains and displacements are independent of the coordinate x ₂, the expression for the displacement jumps and stresses along the interface are found via a sectionally holomorphic vector function. For piezoceramics of the symmetry class 6 mm and for electrically permeable crack faces, the problem is reduced to a combined Dirichlet-Riemann boundary value problem which can be solved analytically. Further, analytical expressions for the stresses, electrical displacements, derivatives of elastic displacement jumps, stress and electrical intensity factors are found at the interface. Real contact zone lengths and the well-known oscillating solution are derived from the obtained solution as well. Analytical relationships between the fracture-mechanical parameters of various models are found, and recommendations are suggested concerning the application of numerical methods to the problem of an interface crack in the discontinuity area of a piezoelectric bimaterial. Received 16 March 1999; accepted for publication 31 May 1999     

Unsteady Dynamic Crack Propagation in a Brittle Polymer

Dynamic crack propagation in a brittle polymer, poly(methyl-methacrylate) (PMMA), was studied using the method of caustics in combination with a Cranz–Schardin high-speed camera. Four different types of specimen geometry and loading method were employed to achieve the crack acceleration, deceleration, and/or reacceleration processes in one fracture event. The dynamic stress intensity factor K _ID and crack velocity were obtained in the course of the crack propagation and the corresponding relationship was determined. The effect of the crack acceleration and deceleration on the K _ID-velocity relationships was as follows: (1) the variations of K _ID and the velocity were strongly influenced by the specimen geometry and loading method; (2) the velocity change was qualitatively in accord with K _ID; (3) K _ID for a constant crack velocity was larger when the crack decelerated than it was when the crack accelerated or reaccelerated; (4) K _ID for an acceleration-free crack was uniquely related to the velocity; and (5) K _ID could be expressed as two parametric functions of the velocity and acceleration.     

Relationship between refined Griffith criterion and power laws for cracking

Rice [J. Mech. Phys. Solids 26 (1978) 61] proposes a refined Griffith criterion, at any local crack front, where G is the Irwin's energy release rate, γ is the surface free energy and is the rate of crack advance. The refined version implies that the entropy production inequality should holds locally rather than globally from the thermodynamic point of view. Within the irreversible thermodynamic framework developed by Rice [J. Mech. Phys. Solids 19 (1971) 433; Constitutive Equations in Plasticity, 1975, p. 23], it is revealed in this paper that the entropy production inequality holds for each internal variable if its rate is a homogeneous function in its conjugate force. It is further shown that widely-used power laws for crack growth are just certain homogeneous kinetic rate laws, so it is concluded that the power laws directly lead to the refined Griffith criterion.     

The discontinuity in the elastostatic displacement vector across a penny-shaped crack under arbitrary loads

Consider an infinite elastic solid containing a penny-shaped crack. A familiar problem in linear elastostatics is the determination of the displacement in the solid when the crack is subjected to an arbitrarily prescribed loading; denote the corresponding boundary-value problem by P. We construct the exact Green's function for P, using a method due to Guidera and Lardner [4]. We then use our Green's function to solve P, by obtaining expressions for the discontinuity in the displacement vector across the crack. Finally, we compare our solutions for P with those obtained recently by Krenk [6].     

The singularity in weakly nonlinear fracture mechanics

Material failure by crack propagation essentially involves a concentration of large displacement-gradients near a crack's tip, even at scales where no irreversible deformation and energy dissipation occurs. This physical situation provides the motivation for a systematic gradient expansion of general nonlinear elastic constitutive laws that goes beyond the first order displacement-gradient expansion that is the basis for linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM). A weakly nonlinear fracture mechanics theory was recently developed by considering displacement-gradients up to second order. The theory predicts that, at scales within a dynamic lengthscale ℓ from a crack's tip, significant logr displacements and 1/r displacement-gradient contributions arise. Whereas in LEFM the 1/r singularity generates an unbalanced force and must be discarded, we show that this singularity not only exists but is also necessary in the weakly nonlinear theory. The theory generates no spurious forces and is consistent with the notion of the autonomy of the near-tip nonlinear region. The J-integral in the weakly nonlinear theory is also shown to be path-independent, taking the same value as the linear elastic J-integral. Thus, the weakly nonlinear theory retains the key tenets of fracture mechanics, while providing excellent quantitative agreement with measurements near the tip of single propagating cracks. As ℓ is consistent with lengthscales that appear in crack tip instabilities, we suggest that this theory may serve as a promising starting point for resolving open questions in fracture dynamics.     

Discontinuous deformation gradients near the tip of a crack in finite anti-plane shear: an example

Summary This investigation aims at the elastostatic field near the edges (tips) of a plane crack of finite width in an all-round infinite body, which — at infinity — is subjected to a state of simple shear parallel to the crack edges. The analysis is carried out within the fully nonlinear equilibrium theory of homogeneous and isotropic, incompressible elastic solids. Further, the particular constitutive law employed here gives rise to a loss of ellipticity of the governing displacement equation of equilibrium in the presence of sufficiently severe anti-plane shear deformations.The study reported in this paper is asymptotic in the sense that the actual crack is replaced by a semi-infinite one, while the far field is required to match the elastostatic field predicted near the crack tips by the linearized theory for a crack of finite width. The ensuing global boundary-value problem thus characterizes the local state of affairs in the vicinity of a crack-tip, provided the amount of shear applied at infinity is suitably small.An explicit exact solution to this problem, which is deduced with the aid of the hodograph method, exhibits finite shear stresses at the tips of the crack, but involves two symmetrically located lines of displacement-gradient and stress discontinuity issuing from each crack-tip.The results communicated in this paper were obtained in the course of an investigation supported by Contract N00014-75-C-0196 with the Office of Naval Research in Washington, D.C.