Acoustic emission for fatigue damage characterization in metal plates

Acoustic emission (AE) supplies information on the fracturing behavior of different materials. In this study, AE activity was recorded during fatigue experiments in metal coupons. The plates were characterized by a symmetric V-shape notch and were loaded in tension-tension fatigue until final failure with concurrent AE activity monitoring. The relatively broad bandwidth of the sensors enabled the recording of a wide range of frequencies up to 1 MHz. AE parameters like energy and duration exhibited a certain increase with the accumulation of damage although the hit rate was not significantly influenced. Furthermore the behavior of RA value (ratio of rise time to amplitude of the waveforms) which quantifies the shape of the first part of the AE signals and has been used for characterization of the cracking mode, showed a certain shift indicating the transition from tensile mode to shear which can be confirmed by the visual observation of the crack geometry after the experiment. The time history of RA is similar to the crack propagation rate (da/dN) curve but exhibits the rapid hyperbolic growth consistently about 1000 cycles earlier than final failure. Therefore, the use of acoustic emission parameters is discussed both in terms of characterization of the damage mechanisms, as well as a tool for the prediction of ultimate life of the material under fatigue.     

A finite element investigation of the effect of crack tip constraint on hole growth under mode i and mixed mode loading

In this work, the effect of constraint on hole growth near a notch tip in a ductile material under mode I and mixed mode loading (involving modes I and II) is investigated. To this end, a 2-D plane strain, modified boundary layer formulation is employed in which the mixed mode elastic K–T field is prescribed as remote boundary conditions. A finite element procedure that accounts for finite deformations and rotations is used along with an appropriate version of J₂ flow theory of plasticity with small elastic strains. Several analyses are carried out corresponding to different values of T-stress and remote elastic mode-mixity. The interaction between the notch and hole is studied by examining the distribution of hydrostatic stress and equivalent plastic strain in the ligament between the notch tip and the hole, as well as the growth of the hole. The implications of the above results on ductile fracture initiation due to micro-void coalescence are discussed.     

The near tip fields and temperature distribution around a crack in a body of hardening material containing small damage

In this paper, the following conclusions are reached: The influence of damage on the stress and strain feilds can be neglected in an asymptotic sense for the solutions of damage field in a plastic solid containing small damage. The formulation of the problem is simplified with an uncoupled approach. Based on experimental results of plastic damage, most of the damage in the material are considered as small damage with the critacal damage variable ω _c ≪1. Using this approach, closed form expressions of the near tip damage fields for mode III, mode I and the temperature distribution induced by plastic dissipation in a hardening material containing damage are deduced. We point out that the temperature distribution in the process zone is strongly dependent on the damage of materials even for the small damage case. The results of the predicted value of the temperature rise near the tip region ignoring the damage effect is appreciably higher than the observed data. The main reason of this discrepancy is the presence of damage dissipation and the fact that its influence on the calculation of plastic dissipation have not been appropriately taken account of. The calculation is improved by taking into account the damage effect on the temperature rise, then theT _max value is in better accord with the experimental value. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

Experimental GH singularity field around growing crack-tip

The displacement fieldsu _x ,u _y at growing crack tip of LY12-M specimens with double edge cracks are measured using moire method. The experimental singularity fields are compared with GH theoretical field [12–14]. The size and shape of the experimental GH singularity fields are obtained. The error in both the experimental and theoretical evaluations is controlled within ±10%. The experiments show that there is singularity dominant around a growing crack tip. The shape of this dominant region ranges from butterfly wing to oblate and circular. Inside GH-field, there is a 3-D deformed damage zone where no GH singularity exists. The project suppoted by National Natural Science Foundation of China     

A generalized stress intensity factor to be applied to rounded V-shaped notches

In the presence of sharp (zero radius) V-shaped notches the notch stress intensity factors (N-SIFs) quantify the intensities of the asymptotic linear elastic stress distributions. They are proportional to the limit of the mode I or II stress components multiplied by the distance powered 1 − λ_i from the notch tip, λ_i being Williams’ eigenvalues. When the notch tip radius is different from zero, the definition is no longer valid from a theoretical point of view and the characteristic, singular, sharp-notch field diverges from the rounded-notch solution very next to the notch. Nevertheless, N-SIFs continue to be used as parameters governing fracture if the notch root radius is sufficiently small with respect to the notch depth.Taking advantage of a recent analytical formulation able to describe stress distributions ahead of rounded V-notches, the paper gives a generalized form for the notch stress intensity factors, in which not only the opening angle but also the tip radius dimension is explicitly involved. Such parameters quantify the stress redistribution due to the root radius with respect to the sharp notch case.     

Thermal de-cohesion model for time of craze failure in cohesive zone

The cohesive parameter corresponding to craze failure time is predicted for thermoplastics material. A craze failure separation criterion is proposed for a cohesive zone subjected to a melt layer formed and thickened by adiabatic deformation heat from a craze drawing. The numerical simulation of cohesive zone separation is based on non-linear thermal conduction and convection in the craze region and bulk region around the active layer, associated with a mechanical craze fibrils drawing in an uniaxial direction. The craze failure time is predicted with the assumption of the constant craze thickening rate and cohesive stress for a pipe-grade polyethylene. The numerically computed model reveals the inverse power law decay of the craze failure time, t_f, with increasing in craze thickening rate, v_c, (almost, t_f∝V_c⁻¹) for the thermoplastics. The full notch impact test experimental results are consistent with the analysis prediction. It is concluded that the craze failure time can be theoretically predicted using the numerical modeling.     

Effects of surface diffusion and resolved shear stress intensity factor on environmentally assisted cracking

Hydrogen induced crack-tip plastic deformation has been known as the primary mechanism of hydrogen assisted cracking and stress corrosion cracking. It has been systematically shown that the same mechanism of environmentally assisted crack-tip dislocation emission causes hydrogen assisted cracking, stress corrosion cracking, and liquid metal embrittlement cracking.An embrittling chemical species has to reach a crack tip in order to accelerate crack growth. Very close to a sharp crack tip, surface diffusion is shown to be the dominant transport process of embrittling species for stage-II crack growth. The role of surface diffusion in stage II crack growth is analyzed. The constant cracking velocity is proportional to the surface diffusion coefficient of an embrittling species and inversely proportional to a length parameter, , which is related to the transport process upstream.Dislocation emission at a crack tip is driven by crack-tip resolved shear stress. Crack-tip resolved shear stress field is characterized by resolved shear stress intensity factor, K_RSS·K_RSS is defined, the procedure for its calculation outlined, and its applications to crack-tip dislocation emission and environmentally assisted cracking discussed.     

Effect of local elastic softening on crack extension

Elastic softening materials are brittle materials such that crack extension is associated with a softening zone behind the crack tip, with the material elements within this zone exerting a restraining effect on the crack tip. Crack extension is sometimes characterised in terms of the stress intensity K_F, due to the applied loadings, at the front of the softening zone, i.e. the actual crack tip. This paper is concerned with the determination of the maximum load K_F value for a general positive geometrical configuration, for the case where the softening zone size is small compared with a solid's characteristic dimension. The resulting expression for K_F is compared with the maximum load stress intensity value K_T measured with regard to the initial crack position, i.e. the trailing edge of the softening zone.     

Resolved shear stress intensity coefficient and fatigue crack growth in large crystals

Fatigue crack growth is caused primarily by shear decohesion due to dislocation motion in the crack tip region. The resolved shear stress, which drives dislocation in a crystal, is strongly orientation dependent, and therefore, the cyclic plastic deformation of the shear decohesion process is highly anisotropic.The crack planes are often inclined to the loading axis both in the inplane orientation and in the thickness direction. This inclination induces all three modes of the crack tip stress field, K_I, K_II, and K_III.Fatigue crack growth in large-grain Al 7029 aluminum alloy was studied. The crack tip stress fields of the test specimens are calculated with the finite element method. The values of K_I, K_II, and K_III are evaluated. The orientation of the crystal at a crack tip was determined with the Laue X-ray method. The crystal orientation and the calculated crack tip stress fields are used to compute the resolved shear stress intensity of each of the twelve slip systems of the crystal at the crack tip. The resolved shear stress field of a slip system is linearly proportional to the resolved shear stress intensity coefficient, RSSIC.The values of RSSIC thus evaluated are used to analyze the orientations of the crack plane and to correlate with the shear fatigue crack growth rate.     

The Use of Acoustic Emission Monitoring to Rank Paper Materials with Respect to Their Fracture Toughness

In this study, a simplified Acoustic Emission (AE) equipment, in essence an AE signal conditioner and a USB (Universal Serial Bus) data acquisition system, is used to study what happens in paper structures during mechanical loading. By the use of such equipment, some parameters that can be extracted are e.g. the stress and strain at onset of AE, the stress and strain at the onset of rapid AE defined as some numerical factor (larger then one) times the initial emission rate, the emission rate at the first stage of loading and the stress and strain at final failure i.e. when the specimen loses its load carrying ability.In this study however, the interest is focused on one particular parameter i.e. the elastic strain energy density W _c at onset of AE. This is a parameter with a clear physical meaning and in this study, the correlation between this parameter and a fracture toughness measure, is investigated.The conclusion is that when nine different paper materials (with a large span regarding properties) are considered, there is a correlation (however not linear) between these two parameters.     

Experimental investigation of GH singularity field of the growing crack-tip for different ductile metals

The displacementsu _x ,u _y inx, y directions at growing crack tip of the specimens with double edge cracks for four different alumium alloys and two coppers are measured by using moire method and optical spatial filtering technique. From experimental displacement fields, the displacement singularity fields are obtained and compared with GH theoretical field. Unknown constantsA and _yo in theoretical solution are determined from experimental data. The theoretical singularity field thus compared is given for plane-stress, mode-I, strain-hardening materials. The error in both the experimental and theoretical evaluations is within ± 10%. The experiments show that there exists dominant singularity region around a growing crack-tip. In the experiments, the strain hardening indexn amounts from 3.158 to 14. The shape of this dominant region ranges from butterfly wing to oblate or circular shape. The size and shape of GH dominant region depend on the material property, the specimen geometry and loading type. Inside GH-field, there is a 3-D deformed damage zone, where no GH singularity exists. Very near to the crack-tip, there is a fracture process zone.The project is supported by the National Science Foundation of China.     

Energy dissipation and contour integral characterizing fracture behavior of incremental plasticity

Jep -integral is derived for characterizing the frac- ture behavior of elastic-plastic materials. The J ep -integral differs from Rice’s J-integral in that the free energy density rather than the stress working density is employed to define energy-momentum tensor. The J ep -integral is proved to be path-dependent regardless of incremental plasticity and deformation plasticity. The J epintegral possesses clearly clear physical meaning: (1) the value J ep tip evaluated on the infinitely small contour surrounding the crack tip represents the crack tip energy dissipation; (2) when the global steadystate crack growth condition is approached, the value of J ep farss calculated along the boundary contour equals to the sum of crack tip dissipation and bulk dissipation of plastic zone. The theoretical results are verified by simulating mode I crack problems.     

Theoretical development and experimental validation of a thermally dissipative cohesive zone model for dynamic fracture of amorphous polymers

A thermally dissipative cohesive zone model is developed for predicting the temperature increase at the tip of a crack propagating dynamically in a nominally brittle material exhibiting a cohesive-type failure such as crazing. The model assumes that fracture energy supplied to the crack tip region that is in excess of that needed for the creation of new free surfaces during crack advance is converted to heat within the cohesive zone. Bulk dissipation mechanisms, such as plasticity, are not accounted for. Several cohesive traction laws are examined, and the model is then used to make predictions of crack tip heating at various crack propagation speeds in the nominally brittle amorphous polymer PMMA, observed to fail by a crazing-type mechanism. The heating predictions are compared to experimental data where the temperature field surrounding a high speed crack in PMMA was measured. Measurements are made in real time using a multi-point high speed HgCdTe infrared radiation detector array. At the same time as temperature, simultaneous measurement of fracture energy is made by a strain gauge technique, and crack tip speed is monitored through a resistance ladder method. Material strength can be estimated through uniaxial tension tests, thus minimizing the need for parameter fitting in the stress-opening traction law. Excellent agreement between experiments and theory is found for two of the cohesive traction law temperature predictions, but only for the case where a single craze is active during the dynamic fracture of PMMA, i.e. crack tip speed up to approximately 0.2c_R. For higher speed fracture where subsurface damage becomes prominent, the line dissipation model of a cohesive zone is inadequate, and a distributed damage model is needed.     

Modelling of rotational factor in notched bend specimen under general and local yield situation

The location of the plastic hinge axis in a three point SEN bend specimen is a highly controversial issue. An unambiguous and reliable estimation of rotational factor (r_p) is very essential for the accurate determination of CTOD data. In contrast to the numerous studies reported on the r_p determination in a cracked situation, limited information is available for a blunt notch situation, although many engineering structures do contain notchlike defects with finite root radius. An attempt is made to determine r_p for two situations, namely well below the general yield and around the general yield. The work is based on a theoretical estimation of the plastic zone size using the stress concentration factor and the elastic as well as the elastic-plastic stress distribution. A theoretical estimation of r_p in both the pseudo-elastic and the elastic-plastic situation is estimated through analytical modelling involving factors like plastic zone size, bend angle and notch opening displacement. The values of the rotational factor are found to increase from a small value to around 0.29 in a well below general yield situation to 0.53 to 0.54 in a general yield situation with continued loading. A wide discrepancy in the P/P_GY ratio separating the two situations, i.e. well below general yield and around general yield, is observed. Consideration of the elastic and the elasto-plastic stress distribution indicates a much smaller value of P/P_GY as compared to the ratio obtained from experimental load-displacement plots.     

Process zone and acoustic-emission measurements in concrete

It is necessary to study the microlevel failure mechanisms of a material in order to improve its quality and to develop a rational constitutive model to describe the material. Nonlinearity and strain-softening behavior of concrete has to be incorporated into any model which can be implemented into efficient design. Acoustic-emission (AE) techniques are useful for obtaining information pertaining to internal cracking and investigating the applicability of a particular material model.The process of localization of cracks and movement of the fracture process zone was studied using acoustic-emission techniques. The rate of acoustic-emission events and sources of acoustic-emission activity were studied for plain-mortar and model-concrete specimens loaded in direct tension.The study shows that acoustic-emission events localize to a region near the notch before peak load is attained. The region of activity progresses through the specimen during further loading and subsequent strain softening. Acoustic-emission events were used to locate the fracture-process zone (FPZ), and to check this location against the location of the effective crack tip as evaluated by a modified linear-elastic fracturemechanics model for concrete as well as by microscopical observations.Paper was presented at the 1986 SEM Spring Conference on Experimental Mechanics held in New Orleans, LA on June 8–13.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis>-stress estimation by the two-parameter approach for a specimen with a V-shaped notch

In the present research, T-stress solutions are provided for a V-shaped notch in the case of surface defects in a pressurised pipeline. The V-shaped notch is analyzed with the use of the finite element method by the Castem2000 commercial software to determine the stress distribution ahead of the notch tip. The notch aspect ratio is varied. In contrast to a crack, it is found that the T-stress is not constant and depends on the distance from the notch tip. To estimate the T-stress in the case of a notch, a novel method is developed, inspired by the volumetric method approach proposed by Pluvinage. The method is based on averaging the T-stress over the effective distance ahead of the notch tip. The effective distance is determined by the point with the minimum stress gradient in the fracture process zone. This approach is successfully used to quantify the constraints of the notch-tip fields for various geometries and loading conditions. Moreover, the proposed T-stress estimation creates a basis for analyzing the crack path under mixed-mode loading from the viewpoint of the two-parameter fracture mechanics.     

Finite deformation analysis of COD,J-integral and crack tip intense strain region in plane strain large-scale yielding

A finite element analysis was performed to simulate crack tip blunting and the development of the intense strain region in a small compact tension specimen (0.4 T CT) of SA533B-1 under plane strain large-scale yielding, with the condition of large-geometry change around the crack tip taken into consideration. The region where the equivalent plastic strain $\text{}\text{?}$g3_p is greater than 0.15 was defined as the intense strain region, which corresponded to the recrystallized-etched zone delineated experimentally around the blunting crack tip. The development of the intense strain region was discussed as a function of the J-integral and the crack opening displacement. A linear relationship was obtained between the plastic work W_p dissipated within the intense strain region and (J/σ_y)² or b², where b is the crack opening displacement, defined as the separation of the two points at which the boundary of the intense strain region surrounding the crack tip intersects with the free surfaces of the crack.     

Assessment of creep crack growth due to stress relief

An analysis is conducted to predict stress relief cracking at 550 °C in notched compact tension specimens of Type 316H austenitic stainless steel. The specimens had been subjected to pre-compression to generate a tensile residual stress distribution at the notch tip. This stress distribution is represented by a uniform reference stress over the zone of tension ahead of the notch tip. Creep rupture and creep crack growth data alone are required and used to make the predictions. It is found that the shape of the crack growth curve is correctly predicted when mean data are employed. However, upper bound crack growth properties are required to accurately predict the actual extent of cracking. Sensitivity studies show that the amount of stress relief cracking predicted is relatively insensitive to the reference stress initially assumed to describe the residual stress distribution, since the reference stress relaxes to a magnitude that is almost independent of its initial value. Adoption of an initial reference stress equal to the ultimate tensile strength of the steel, when combined with mean creep rupture and upper bound crack growth properties, results in safe predictions that are not overly conservative. The analysis should only be regarded as reliable for small amounts of crack extension of less than the size of the tensile zone ahead of the crack tip.     

Modeling of fatigue crack growth from a notch

When a fatigue crack is nucleated and propagates into the vicinity of the notch, the crack growth rate is generally higher than that can be expected by using the stress intensity factor concept. The current study attempted to describe the crack growth at notches quantitatively with a detailed consideration of the cyclic plasticity of the material. An elastic–plastic finite element analysis was conducted to obtain the stress and strain histories of the notched component. A single multiaxial fatigue criterion was used to determine the crack initiation from the notch and the subsequent crack growth. Round compact specimens made of 1070 steel were subjected to Mode I cyclic loading with different R-ratios at room temperature. The approach developed was able to quantitatively capture the crack growth behavior near the notch. When the R-ratio was positive, the crack growth near a notch was mainly influenced by the plasticity created by the notch and the resulted fatigue damage during crack initiation. When the R-ratio was negative, the contact of the cracked surfaces during a part of a loading cycle reduced the cyclic plasticity of the material near the crack tip. The combined effect of notch plasticity and possible contact of cracked surface were responsible for the observed crack growth phenomenon near a notch.