The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the crack resistance of particulate reinforced composite materials

The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the fracture toughness of disperse-reinforced composite materials is investigated. It is shown that increased hydrostatic pressure leads to an increase in the critical value of the stress intensity factor and, as a consequence, to an increase in the crack propagation rate. In this case, the pressure-time analogy method can be used to describe the effect of hydrostatic pressure on the characteristics of the crack resistance. This method enables us to represent the experimental data obtained in the form of a generalized dependence of the fracture toughness on the reduced loading rate. Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 121–126, January–February, 2000.     

Effect of time-dependent material properties on the crack behavior in the interface of two polymeric materials

Crack penetration through the bimaterial interface of two polymers is investigated numerically. Due to the practical importance of the problem, a crack in a three-layer pipe consisting of a main and two, inner and outer, protective layers is analyzed in this paper. The prime aim is to formulate the conditions under which the crack stays arrested at the interface between the protective layer and the main pipe or penetrates into the interface and causes failure of the main pipe and consequently of the entire pipe system. The crack tip stress field is described by using a generalized stress intensity factor for cases where the crack touches the interface and the stress singularity exponent differs from 1/2. In the case of short-term applications, the stress state on the interface is given simply by a combination of the elastic properties of materials of the main pipe and the protective layers. In long-term applications, the time-dependent properties of the materials can significantly influence the stress state of the interface and can lead to considerable changes in failure conditions. The results presented here may contribute to a more accurate estimation of the residual lifetime of multilayer pipes.     

Effect of disperse mineral fillers on the strain-strength properties and crack resistance of cured polyesters

Conclusion The tendency of disperse mineral fillers toward aggregation, with the formation of a continuous framework of particles, when filler content is greater than the SCC is manifest in a sharp increase in the difference between the relative viscosity of polyester binder-pastes in the uncured state and the relative elastic modulus in the cured state. It is also manifest in an increase in the relative modulus and a reduction in crack growth energy in cured composites. In this case, there is an especially large increase in the size of the characteristic defect, which ultimately determines the reduction in the breaking stress. The modification of binder-pastes with surfactants increases filler dispersion and makes it possible to increase the strength of cured composites.Presented at the Sixth All-Union Conference on the Mechanics of Polymer and Composite Materials (Riga, November, 1986).Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, No. 5, pp. 819–824, September–October, 1987.     

Two-dimensional analysis of a crack in quasicrystal materials

The two-dimensional problem of a crack in three-dimensional quasicrystals subject to far field loadings is studied. The analysis is based on the generalized Lekhnitskii's formalism. The analytical expressions for both the entire fields and the asymptotic fields near the crack tip are determined. The fracture quantities of quasicrystals, i.e., field intensity factors, energy release rates and so on, is a prerequisite. Numerical results for a Griffith crack under phason loading Mode I and II conditions are poltted. (© 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

An experimental and computational investigation of crack initiation and stable crack growth of ductile materials

Crack initiation and stable crack growth under monotonic loading in steels has been studied using an elastic-plastic finite element analysis. The fracture criterion used for crack initiation and stable crack growth was the critical strain energy density. In addition the shift core method for the analysis of crack extension was used. In the shift core modelling method, crack advance is simulated by moving the coordinates of the core region which surrounds the crack tip, to obtain the stiffness reduction. Simultaneously the core itself geometrically undergoes a simple rigid-body motion or translation during the crack extension. The analytically calculated and experimentally measured load for crack initiation and the subsequent stable crack growth agreed well.     

Simulation of brittle crack growth in functionally graded materials

We consider a thermodynamic consistent framework for crack propagation by applying a dissipation inequality to a time dependent migrating control volume. The direction of crack growth is obtained in terms of material forces as a result of the principle of maximum dissipation. In the numerical implementation a staggered algorithm – deformation update for fixed geometry followed by geometry update for fixed deformation – is employed within each time increment. The corresponding mesh is generated by combining Delaunay triangulation with local mesh refinement. A numerical example with inhomogeneous material properties illustrates the capability of the resulting algorithm. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Comparative microbiological resistance of various self-lubricating materials

Conclusions 1. Self-lubricating materials of the existing range mostly have low resistance to microbial attack.2. This applies especially to the basic components — Kapron, Kaprolon, fluoroplastic, resin bases without fillers.3. The introduction of fillers and binders modifies the resistance of the basic ingredients; filling fluoroplastics, Kapron, and resins with graphite, coke, metals, or alloys considerably improves the resistance of the self-lubricating compound, whereas using certain organic resins (phenol-formaldehyde, urea-formaldehyde) as binders leads to a fall in the microbial resistance of the lubricating coating.4. Lubricating coatings with silicone or inorganic (including silicate) binders, graphite-filled fluoroplastics and metal-filled graphites, carboplastics, polyarylates, and Maslyanits display the greatest ability to resist microbial attack; these materials are chemically unassimilable by the microbial cell. They can be recommended for use in the tropics without an antimicrobial additive.5. Materials with low resistance under tropical conditions require protection with antimicrobial additives. However, whether or not it is advisable to develop an additive depends in each case on the technical justifiability of using the material in question, its cost-effectiveness, and many other factors. In our opinion, it is not worthwhile developing additives for basic materials (fluoroplastic, Kapron, Kaprolon, certain resins) since there are resistant substitutes available (metal-filled graphite, Maslyanits, AMAN, etc.). As for such a promising material as MFPL, with its unique combination of properties, the search for antimicrobial additives appears to us to be both technically and economically justified.Paper presented at the Third All-Union Conference on Polymer Mechanics, Riga (1976).Kiev Technological Institute of the Food Industry. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 6, pp. 1011–1016, November–December, 1977.     

A conductive crack and a remote electrode at the interface between two piezoelectric materials

An interaction of a tunnel conductive crack and a distant strip electrode situated at the interface between two piezoelectric semi-infinite spaces is studied. The bimaterial is subject by an in-plane electrical field parallel to the interface and by an anti-plane mechanical loading. Using the presentations of electromechanical quantities at the interface via sectionally-analytic functions the problem is reduced to a combined Dirichlet-Riemann boundary value problem. Solution of this problem is found in an analytical form excepting some one-dimensional integrals calculations. Closed form expressions for the stress, the electric field and their intensity factors, as well as for the crack faces displacement jump are derived. On the base of these presentations the energy release rate is also found. The obtained solution is compared with simple particular case of a single crack without electrode and the excellent agreement is found out. An auxiliary plane problem for open and closed cracks between two isotropic materials is also considered. The mathematical model of this problem is identical to the above one, therefore, the obtained solution is used for this model. It is compared with finite element solution of a similar problem and good agreement is found out.     

Effect of shearing forces on the stressed state of a half space with crack

Using the method of boundary integral equations, we study the stressed state in the neighborhood of a plane crack perpendicular to the boundary of a half space. The crack surfaces are subjected to the action of shearing forces. The problem is reduced to two-dimensional hypersingular integral equations, and their regular kernels, taking into account interaction between the crack and boundary of the half space, are written in explicit form. The dependences of stress intensity factors on the angular coordinate are presented for different loads of the crack. Translated from Matematychni Metody ta Fizyko-Mekhanichni Polya, Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 112–120, January–March, 2008.