Failure instability of a debonded interface in the presence of a main crack

The problem of fracture initiating from an edge crack in a nonhomogeneous beam made of two dissimilar linear elastic materials that are partially bonded along a common interface is studied by the strain energy density theory. The beam is subjected to three-point bending and the unbonded part of the interface is symmetrically located with regard to the applied loading. The applied load acts on the stiffer material, while the edge crack lies in the softer material. Fracture initiation from the tip of the edge crack and global instability of the composite beam are studied by considering both the local and global stationary values of the strain energy density function, dW/dV. A length parameter l defined by the relative distance between the maximum of the local and global minima of dW/dV is determined for evaluating the stability of failure initiation by fracture. Predictions on critical loads for fracture initiation from the tip of the edge crack, crack trajectories and fracture instability are made. In the analysis the load, the length of the edge crack and the length and position of the interfacial crack remained unchanged. The influence of the ratio of the moduli of elasticity of the two materials, the position of the edge crack and the width of the stiffer material on the local and global instability of the beam was examined. A general trend is that the critical load for crack initiation and fracture instability is enhanced as the width and the modulus of elasticity of the stiffer material increase. Thus, the stiffer material acts as a barrier in load transfer.     

Growth of crack caused by temperature gradients with change in surface insulation

This work is concerned with thermoelastic stress and failure analysis of a centrally cracked panel subjected to temperature gradients while the insulation on the crack surface is varied. The corresponding temperature and thermoelastic stress fields are obtained by application of the finite element method. According to the strain energy density criterion, the crack grows incrementally when the maximum of the minimum strain energy density function reaches a critical value for a given material. Crack growth resistance curves involving plots of the strain energy density factor S versus the half crack length a are developed for crack surfaces with varying degree of heat resistance. The resulting curves are straight lines satisfying the condition dS/da = const. and useful for determining combined influence of thermal loading and structural geometry that lead to global instability.     

Strain energy density criteria for dynamic fracture and dynamic crack branching

Dynamic extension of Sih's fracture criterion based on strain energy density factor, r_c (dW/dV), is used to analyze dynamic crack propagation and branching. Influence of the nonsingular components, which are known as the higher order terms (HOT) in the crack tip stress field, on the strain energy density distribution at a critical distance surrounding the crack tip moving at constant crack velocity is examined. This r_c (dW/dV) fracture criterion is then used to analyze available dynamic photoelastic results of crack branching and of engineering materials.     

Damage accumulation and crack growth in bilinear materials with softening: Application of strain energy density theory

A pseudo-elastic damage-accumulation model is developed by application of the strain energy density theory. The three-point bending specimen is analyzed to illustrate the crack growth characteristics according to a linear elastic softening constitutive law that is typical of concrete materials. Damage accumulation is accounted for by the decrease of elastic modulus and fracture toughness. Both of these effects are assessed by means of the strain energy density functions in the elements around a slowly moving crack. The rate of change of the strain energy density factor S with crack growth as expressed by the relation dS/da = constant is shown to describe the failure behavior of concrete. Results are obtained for different loading steps that yield different slopes of lines in an S versus a (crack length) plot. The lines rotate about the common intersect in an anti-clockwise direction as the load steps are increased. The intersect shifts upward according to increase in the specimen size. In this way, the combined interaction of material properties, load steps and specimen geometry and size are easily analyzed in terms of the failure mode or behavior that can change from the very brittle to the ductile involving stable crack growth. An upper limit on specimen or structural size is established beyond which stable crack growth ceases to occur and failure corresponds to unstable crack propagation or catastrophic fracture. The parameters that control the failure mode are the threshold values of the strain energy density function (dW/dV)_c and the strain energy density factor S_c.     

Piezomagnetic and piezoelectric poling effects on mode I and II crack initiation behavior of magnetoelectroelastic materials

The ferrite and ferroelectric phase of magnetoelectroelastic (MEE) material can be selected and processed to control the macroscopic behavior of electron devices using continuum mechanics models. Once macro- and/or microdefects appear, the highly intensified magnetic and electric energy localization could alter the response significantly to change the design performance. Alignment of poling directions of piezomagnetic and piezoelectric materials can add to the complexity of the MEE material behavior to which this study will be concerned with.Appropriate balance of distortional and dilatational energy density is no longer obvious when a material possesses anisotropy and/or nonhomogeneity. An excess of the former could result in unwanted geometric change while the latter may lead to unexpected fracture initiation. Such information can be evaluated quantitatively from the stationary values of the energy density function dW/dV. The maxima and minima have been known to coincide, respectively, with possible locations of permanent shape change and crack initiation regardless of material and loading type. The direction of poling with respect to a line crack and the material microstructure described by the constitutive coefficients will be specified explicitly with reference to the applied magnetic field, electric field and mechanical stress, both normal and shear. The crack initiation load and direction could be predicted by finding the direction for which the volume change is the largest. In contrast to intuition, change in poling directions can influence the cracking behavior of MEE dramatically. This will be demonstrated by the numerical results for the BaTiO₃–CoFe₂O₄ composite having different volume fractions where BaTiO₃ and CoFe₂O₄ are, respectively, the inclusion and matrix.To be emphasized is that mode I and II crack behavior will not have the same definition as that in classical fracture mechanics where load and crack extension symmetry would coincide. A striking result is found for a mode II crack. By keeping the magnetic poling fixed, a reversal of electric poling changed the crack initiation angle from θ₀=+80° to θ₀=−80° using the line extending ahead of the crack as the reference. This effect is also sensitive to the distance from the crack tip. Displayed and discussed are results for r/a=10⁻⁴ and 10⁻¹. Because the theory of magnetoelectroelasticity used in the analysis is based on the assumption of equilibrium where the influence of material microstructure is homogenized, the local space and temporal effects must be interpreted accordingly. Among them are the maximum values of (dW/dV)_max and (dW/dV)_min which refer to as possible sites of yielding and fracture. Since time and size are homogenized, it is implicitly understood that there is more time for yielding as compared to fracture being a more sudden process. This renders a higher dW/dV in contrast to that for fracture. Put it differently, a lower dW/dV with a shorter time for release could be more detrimental.     

Fracture instability of notched cracked plates characterized by the strain energy density theory

The fracture instability of a mechanical system is analyzed by the strain energy density theory. The local relative minima of the strain energy density function dW/dV referred to local coordinate systems at each point of the body are distinguished from the global minimum of dW/dV, G, which is referred to a fixed global coordinate system. Failure by fracture starts from the maximum of the local minima of dW/dV, L, and passes from point G. The distance l between L and G along the fracture trajectory is introduced as a length parameter to characterized the fracture instability of the system. Numerical results are obtained and discussed for a cracked plate with two symmetrical notches subjected to a monotonically rising tensile stress perpendicular to the crack axis.     

Grain boundary oxidation and fatigue crack growth at elevated temperatures

Fatigue crack growth rate at elevated temperatures can be accelerated by grain boundary oxidation. Grain boundary oxidation kinetics and statistical distribution of grain boundary oxide penetration depth were studied.At a constant ΔK-level and at a constant test temperature, fatigue crack growth rate, da/dN, is a function of cyclic frequency, ν. A fatigue crack growth model of intermittent micro-ruptures of grain boundary oxide is constructed. The model is consustent with the experimental observations that, in the low frequency region, da/dN is inversely proportional to ν, and fatigue crack growth is intergranular.     

管道超声纵向导波裂纹检测数值模拟

简述了近年来超声导波技术的发展现状及其检测原理，并用有限元程序ANSYS对管道超声纵向导波裂纹检测进行了数值模拟。管道模型中，删除单元模拟管道周向裂纹，通过对管道一端端部周向各节点施加轴向瞬时位移载荷模拟纵向入射应力波，同端接收反射应力波，根据裂纹纵波回波信号到达时间和反射系数能较为精确地判断裂纹位置、周向开口裂纹长度、管壁减薄程度及裂纹截面积，但反射系数对管道轴向裂纹宽度不十分敏感。数值模拟结果与前人实验结果及理论计算结果吻合较好。     

Crack growth rate and cracking velocity in fatigue for a class of ceramics

Fatigue crack growth rate data and cracking velocity data are studied for a class of ceramics including SiC, TiB₂, Si₃N₄, ZrO₂ and Al₂O₃. Both sine and square wave cyclic loading are combined such that the data could be converted to cracking velocity for a given frequency of cyclic load. An effective stress intensity factor range is defined and used in an relation for computing the crack growth rate and cracking velocity. As for the metal alloys, the data for ceramics also fall into three regimes identified with near-threshold, stable growth and rapid crack extension, except that the slope of the da/dN (the crack growth rate) curves for ceramics are steeper in comparison with that for metals. Reported are the empirical constants in the relations for the crack growth rate and the cracking velocity for a variety of ceramics.     

Effect of stress ratio and specimen thickness on fatigue crack growth of CK45 steel

Presented are the effect of stress ratio and thickness on the fatigue crack growth rate of CK45 steel according to DIN 17200. Test results are obtained for constant amplitude load in tension with three stress ratios of R=0, 0.2 and 0.4 and three specimen thicknesses of B=6, 12 and 24 mm. Microgauge crack opening values were used to calculate ΔK_eff values from which the da/dN − ΔK_eff curves are obtained. Crack closure can be applied to explain the influence of mean stress and specimen thickness on the fatigue crack growth rate in the second regime of the two-parameter crack growth rate relation. An empirical model is chosen for calculating the normalized load ratio parameter U as a function of R, B and ΔK and, for correlating the test data.     

Prediction of thermally induced fracture from notch and crack front

The strain energy density criterion is applied to predict fracture trajectories emanating from existing notch and crack front in nonisothermal environments. When temperature gradients are raised sufficiently high across a notch or crack, the resulting fracture trajectories are non-self-similar and curved in shape. Influence of mechanical loading is also considered in addition to stresses induced by thermal changes. Increase in the applied mechanical load tends to shift or restore the fracture trajectories toward the plane of notch or crack symmetry. The notch sharpness can be varied by adjusting the ration of the minor to major axes of an elliptical cavity. Narrowing the notch primarily increases the local intensity of the strain energy density function dW/dV that is inversely proportional to the radial distance measured from the focal point of the ellipse. This singular character of dW/dV prevails, in general, for all materials and loadings. Numerical results are obtained and displayed graphically for several examples involving fracture trajectory shapes that are not intuitively obvious.     

Isoparametric shear spring element applied to crack patching and instability

In this work the isoparametric shear spring element is applied to the stress and energy analysis of a center-crack panel reinforced by a rectangular patch. In this model, only transverse shears are assumed to prevail in the adhesive layer. The stresses and crack-tip stress intensity factors are obtained for reinforcement on both sides and one side of the panel, and are found to be in agreement with those obtained by previous authors using the triangular shear spring element.Crack stability that tends to vary with patch thickness is determined from the local and global maximum of the minimum strain energy density function denoted, respectively, as [(dW/dV)_min^max]_L at point L and [(dW/dV)_min^max]_G at point G. The distance l between L and G gives the prospective path of subcritical crack growth and its magnitude provides a measure of the degree of crack stability. A patched panel with small l tends to be more stable than that with large l. By increasing the patch thickness beyond a certain value, l can be contained within the patch such that failure, if initiated, will be highly localized. Such a behavior is exhibited. Numerical results are provided to support the foregoing conclusion.     

Dynamic Crack Growth Past a Stiff Inclusion: Optical Investigation of Inclusion Eccentricity and Inclusion-matrix Adhesion Strength

Interactions between a dynamically growing matrix crack and a stationary stiff cylindrical inclusion are studied optically. Test specimens with two different bond strengths (weak and strong) and three crack-inclusion eccentricities (e = 0, d/2 and 3d/4, d being inclusion diameter) are studied using reflection mode Coherent Gradient Sensing (CGS) and high-speed photography. These variants produce distinct dynamic crack trajectories and failure behaviors. A weaker inclusion-matrix interface attracts a propagating crack while a stronger one deflects the crack away. The former results in a propagating crack lodging (‘key-hole’) into the inclusion-matrix interface whereas in the latter the crack tends to circumvent the inclusion. When the inclusion is in the prospective crack path, the maximum attained crack speed is much higher in the weakly bonded inclusion cases relative to the strongly bonded counterparts. For a crack propagating towards a weakly bonded inclusion, the effective stress intensity factor (K _e) value remains constant for each inclusion eccentricity considered. But these constant K _e values increase with increasing eccentricity. A distinct drop in K _e occurs when the crack is near the inclusion. In strongly bonded inclusion cases, on the other hand, monotonically increasing K _e before the crack reaches the inclusion is observed. A drop in K _e is seen just before the crack reaches the inclusion. The mode-mixity estimates are of opposite signs for weakly and strongly bonded inclusions in case of the largest eccentricity studied, confirming the observed crack attraction and deflection mechanisms.

Initiation and arrest of cracks on two pipeline steels at low temperature

Dynamic fracture toughness at initiationK _1d and fracture toughness at arrestK _1a were measured on two pipeline steel grades. Dynamic fracture toughness was measured at a very high loading rate with the help of split Hopkinson pressure bars. The values ofK _1d andK _1a are compared. The purpose of this work is to examine the possibilities of using dynamic fracture toughness at crack initiation as a lower bound of crack arrest toughness. This work has practical applications because crack arrest tests are difficult to perform, give scattered results and are costly and time consuming. This procedure shows that it is possible to economize and rationalize using intelligent technology.     

Determination of the dynamic stress intensity factorsK I d andK II d,for a mixed-mode propagating crack

In this paper, the dynamic propagation problem of a mixed-mode crack was studied by means of the experimental method of caustics. The initial curve and caustic equations were derived under the mixed-mode dynamic condition. A multi-point measurement method for determining the dynamic stress intensity factors,K _I ^d , andK _II ^d , and the position of the crack tip was developed. Several other methods were adopted to check this method, and showed that it has a good precision. Finally, the dynamic propagating process of a mixed-mode crack in the three-point bending beam specimen was investigated with our method.     

The effect of contact stress intensity factors on fatigue crack propagation

Using the technique of Dimensional Analysis the phenomenon of crack closure is modelled using the concept of a contact stress intensity factor Kc. For constant amplitude loading, a simple expression, Kc_max = g(R) ΔK, is obtained without making idealized assumptions concerning crack tip behaviour. Further, by assuming that crack closure arises from the interaction of residual plasticity in the wake of the crack and crack tip compressive stresses, the function g(R) is shown to be constant for non-workhardening materials. This implies that any dependency of Kc_max on R must be attributed to the workhardening characteristic of the material. With Kc known, an “effective” stress intensity factor Ke may be calculated and incorporated into a crack growth law of the form da/dn = f(ΔKe). From analysis, it can be deduced that for a workhardening material, Kc_max will decrease as R increases and the effective stress intensity factor will increase. This means that the fatigue crack propagation rate will increase with R, in accordance with experimental observations.     

An anti-plane propagating crack in a functionally graded piezoelectric strip bonded to a homogeneous piezoelectric strip

Summary A finite crack propagating at constant speed in a functionally graded piezoelectric strip (FGPS) bonded to a homogeneous piezoelectric strip is considered. It is assumed that the electroelastic material properties of the FGPS vary exponentially across the thickness of the strip, and that the bimaterial strip is under combined anti-plane mechanical shear and in-plane electrical loads. The analysis is conducted for the electrically unified crack boundary condition, which includes both the traditional permeable and the impermeable ones. By using the Fourier transform, the problem is reduced to the solution of Fredholm integral equations of the second kind. Numerical results for the stress intensity factor and the crack sliding displacement are presented to show the influences of the crack propagation speed, electric loads, FGPS gradation, crack length, electromechanical coupling coefficient, properties of the bonded homogeneous piezoelectric strip and crack location.     

压电压磁材料中正n边形孔边裂纹分析

基于电磁复合材料力学,运用Stroh型公式和复变函数方法,针对压电压磁材料中含正n边形孔边裂纹反平面问题进行了研究。利用Schwarz-Christoffel变换技术,结合Cauchy积分公式和留数定理,导出了磁电全非渗透型边界条件下任意正n边形裂纹尖端场强度因子和能量释放率的解析解。当缺失磁场时,所得解退化为已有结果,以此验证方法的有效性。通过数值算例,对比分析了n=3,n=4和n=5三种特殊情形对应的孔口边长、裂纹长度和受到的力、电和磁载荷对等效场强度因子和无量纲能量释放率的影响规律。研究结果发现,正n边形孔洞的尺寸和裂纹长度均会促进裂纹扩展,且前者的影响更显著一些;正n边形边的数量增加会阻止裂纹的扩展;在磁电全非渗透型边界条件下,机械载荷始终促进裂纹的扩展,电位移载荷可以促进或抑制裂纹的扩展,磁载荷对裂纹的扩展贡献较少。本研究结果适用于任意正n边形孔边裂纹求解问题,为压电压磁材料元器件的优化设计和断裂特性分析提供了新思路。     

基于电磁声激励Lamb波的裂纹深度检测

本文采用电磁声传感器接收单一S₀模态激励,测量Lamb波在板中不同深度的槽形裂纹处的反射与透射,用于对已知扩展长度的表面裂纹进行深度测量。然后分析了Lamb波模态的频散与波动特性,由超声Lamb波的波结构,近似计算了S₀模态入射到裂纹时的反射系数。计算结果与实验结果一致。结果表明,Lamb波在有限长裂纹处的反射系数可采用二维模型中的反射系数求解公式近似求解。采用电磁超声传感器接收单一S₀模态激励,重复测量稳定性高,适用于Lamb波反射系数的测量。Lamb波的反射系数与裂纹深度有很好的对应关系,可用于板表面已知长度裂纹的深度测量。