Model of the fracture process zone at the tip of a crack reaching the nonsmooth interface between elastic media

The paper is concerned with the fracture process zone at the tip of a crack at the nonsmooth interface between isotropic elastic media. A plane symmetric problem is formulated. The zone is modeled by lines of discontinuity of the normal displacement at the interface. The exact solution of the elastic problem is found by the Wiener-Hopf method Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 44, No. 10, pp. 13–22, October 2008.     

Optimization formulation of the evolutionary problem of crack propagation under quasibrittle fracture

For the evolutionary problem describing crack propagation in a solid with allowance for the irreversible work of plastic deformation due to the crack propagation, a general optimization formulation is proposed and investigated. For the optimum crack, data on the H²-smoothnesses of the displacement field in the solid and, hence, on the finiteness of the stress at the crack tip, are obtained. The solvability of the optimization problem (i.e., the existence of an optimum crack) is proved for a curvilinear crack propagation path specified a priori. For the particular case of a straight path, a generalized criterion of crack growth is proposed. The question of the choice of a crack propagation path is discussed and a comparison with existing fracture criteria is made. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 47, No. 5, pp. 107–118, September–October, 2006.     

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     

Study of the plastic zone near a crack in an anisotropic body

The plastic zone at a crack tip in a finite anisotropic body is studied. A boundary-value problem is formulated in terms of the components of the covariant displacement vector for small strains. Particular attention is given to the case of plain strain. In this case, a numerical solution is found for a long rectangular body with a central crack under tension. As a result, conditions for the occurrence and development of a plastic zone at the crack tip are established. A plastic zone on the lateral surface of the body is discovered. How both zones extend and coalesce is elucidated. The effect of anisotropy on the occurrence of a plastic zone is evaluated __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 42, No. 7, pp. 29–44, July 2006.     

Study into the kinetics of a crack with a nonsmall fracture process zone in an aging viscoelastic plate

The subcritical growth of a mode I crack with nonsmall end zones in an aging viscoelastic plate under tensile loads applied at infinity is studied assuming that the fracture process zone is of constant length. The equations of incubation, transition, and major crack growth stages are obtained on the basis of the Volterra principle and critical crack opening criterion. The crack subcritical growth of a specific material is studied as an example __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 43, No. 8, pp. 92–101, August 2007.     

Formation of a plastic zone in an anisotropic body under loads acting along a crack

The effects of tension and compression along a crack on the plastic zone in a finite anisotropic body under plane strain are studied. The formation pattern for the plastic zone with increasing load is established by numerically solving a boundary-value problem for each of the cases. In particular, a new plastic zone is revealed. It occurs at the crack face under a compressive load of certain magnitude. How this plastic zone interacts with that at the crack tip is established __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 43, No. 5, pp. 3–19, May 2007.     

The brittle fracture criterion based on the maximum tensile stress on the surface of blunt crack tip

The brittle fracture criterion is developed for a blunted crack. The curvature radius of the blunt crack tip is suggested as a characteristic length for brittle materials, and then the fracture toughness of the brittle materials can be determined from the cohesion strength and the characteristic length of the materials.     

On the direction of development of a thin fracture process zone at the tip of an interfacial crack between dissimilar media

The Wiener-Hopf method is used to study, under the conditions of plane strain, the direction of development of a thin fracture process zone at the tip of an interfacial crack in a piecewise homogeneous isotropic elastoplastic body. The zone is modeled by a straight line of tangential displacement discontinuity that emerges from the crack tip at an angle to the interface. The dependences of the zone length and the angle on the load and other parameters of the problem are investigated __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 42, No. 2, pp. 14–23, February 2006.     

Formation of the plastic zone in an anisotropic body with a crack

The influence of the length of a mode I crack on the plastic zone in an anisotropic body under hard loading is studied. The case of a generalized plane stress state is examined. A boundary-value problem is solved numerically to study the behavior of the main plastic zone at the crack tip, the additional plastic zone on the lateral face of the body, and the merged plastic zone Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 44, No. 9, pp. 36–52, September 2008.     

A crack on the grain boundary — An analysis based on crystal plasticity theory

The influence of the mismatch of the lattice orientation on the deformation and stress fields of a crack located on the grain boundary is studied by means of the finite-element analysis taking account of finite deformatio and finite lattice rotation. The plane strain calculations for an fcc crystal subjected to mode I loading are performed on the basis of the crystalline plasticity described by a planar three-slip model. For the crack-tip shapes and the dominant deformation modes on slip systems, results of all the cases analysed here are in qualitative agreement with the earlier analytical and numerical solutions. Our results indicate that the lattice orientation difference may greatly influence the shear stress along the grain boundary which is related to grain-boundary sliding, while the normal stress along the grain boundary, which may induce cleavage fracture, is virtually insensitive to it. The influence of the lattice orientations on the crack-tip fields is also investigated under small-scale-yielding conditions and the comparison with the results of finite deformation is made.     

An energy-based crack growth criterion for modelling elastic–plastic ductile fracture

A crack growth criterion is derived based on the Griffith energy concept and the cohesive zone model for modelling fracture in elastic–plastic ductile materials. The criterion is implemented in the finite element context by a virtual crack extension technique. An automatic modelling of the ductile fracture process is realised by combining a local remeshing procedure and the criterion. The validity of the derived criterion is examined by modelling a compact tension specimen.     

One model of fatigue crack growth

A model for crack growth is proposed based on studies of the variation in the curvature radius at the crack tip during cyclic loading. Relations are obtained between mechanical material characteristics, crack geometry, and the rate of crack growth in a structure under cyclic loading. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 167–175, July–August, 2009.     

Mechanics and fracture of crack tip deformable bi-material interface

Novel interface deformable bi-layer beam theory is developed to account for local effects at crack tip of bi-material interface by modeling a bi-layer composite beam as two separate shear deformable sub-layers with consideration of crack tip deformation. Unlike the sub-layer model in the literature in which the crack tip deformations under the interface peel and shear stresses are ignored and thus a “rigid” joint is used, the present study introduces two interface compliances to account for the effect of interface stresses on the crack tip deformation which is referred to as the elastic foundation effect; thus a flexible condition along the interface is considered. Closed-form solutions of resultant forces, deformations, and interface stresses are obtained for each sub-layer in the bi-layer beam, of which the local effects at the crack tip are demonstrated. In this study, an elastic deformable crack tip model is presented for the first time which can improve the split beam solution. The present model is in excellent agreements with analytical 2-D continuum solutions and finite element analyses. The resulting crack tip rotation is then used to calculate the energy release rate (ERR) and stress intensity factor (SIF) of interface fracture in bi-layer materials. Explicit closed-form solutions for ERR and SIF are obtained for which both the transverse shear and crack tip deformation effects are accounted. Compared to the full continuum elasticity analysis, such as finite element analysis, the present solutions are much explicit, more applicable, while comparable in accuracy. Further, the concept of deformable crack tip model can be applied to other bi-layer beam analyses (e.g., delamination buckling and vibration, etc.).     

Critical equilibrium state of a bushing in a contact pair with cracks possessing plastic tip zones

The problem of mechanics of contact fracture is considered for a bushing in a friction pair. It is assumed that multiple reciprocating motion of the plunger leads to fracture of the bushing material owing to friction caused by contact interaction and accompanied by the joint effect of loading and temperature. It is assumed that there are several arbitrarily located straight-line cracks with tip zones near the contact surface of the bushing. The stress state of the bushing is examined in the presence of regions where the crack faces (or some part of them) come into contact. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 47, No. 5, pp. 145–156, September–October, 2006.     

Stress-strain state in the vicinity of a crack tip under mixed loading

A method is proposed to calculate the eigenvalues of the class of nonlinear eigenvalue problems resulting from the problem of determining the stress-strain state in the vicinity of a crack tip in power-law materials over the entire range of mixed modes of deformation, from the opening mode to pure shear. The proposed approach was used to found eigenvalues of the problem that differ from the well-known eigenvalue corresponding to the Hutchinson-Rice-Rosengren solution. The resulting asymptotic form of the stress field is a self-similar intermediate asymptotic solution of the problem of a crack in a damaged medium under mixed loading. Using the new asymptotic form of the stress field and introducing a self-similar variable, we obtained an asymptotic solution of the problem of a crack in a damaged medium and constructed the regions of dispersed material near the crack.     

Gas-condensate flow in the vicinity of a hydraulic fracture

The problem of gas-condensate flow in the vicinity of a production well with a hydraulic fracture is considered. In the matrix, the flow is assumed to be three-dimensional, and at the fracture, it is assumed to be two-dimensional. It is shown that, for steady-state flow, the problem is split into a physicochemical problem (of phase transitions) and a filtration problem (of determining the pressure field). Numerical solutions are constructed for a rectangular fracture with finite and infinite conductivities. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 128–136, May–June, 2008.     

Thermoelastoplastic deformation of a thick-walled cylinder with a radial crack

The thermoelastoplastic fracture mechanics problem of a thick-walled cylinder subjected to internal pressure and a nonuniform temperature field is solved by the method of elastic solutions combined with the finite-element method. The correctness of the solution is provided by using the Barenblatt crack model, in which the stress and strain fields are regular. The elastoplastic problem of a cracked cylinder subjected to internal pressure and a nonuniform temperature field are solved. The calculation results are compared with available data. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 173–183, May–June, 2008.     

Stress state in the plastic zone on the continuation of an elliptic mode I crack under bi-and tri-axial loading

The spatial stress state in a circular plastic zone near an elliptic crack under bi-and tri-axial asymmetric loading at infinity is studied. It is shown that the plastic constraint factor peaks at the points with maximum external tensile tangential stresses on the crack boundary. The use of a two-parameter failure criterion leads to the conclusion that the limit state can first be reached at the ends of the major axis of the elliptic crack depending on the relation between the external stresses __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 43, No. 11, pp. 24–30, November 2007.