Longitudinal Shear of an Elastic Wedge with Cracks and Notches

We study the problem of longitudinal shear of an infinite wedge with cracks and notches. The integral representations of the complex stress potential are constructed in terms of the jumps of displacements and stresses on curvilinear contours identically satisfying the boundary conditions imposed on the faces of the wedge (stresses or displacements are equal to zero). By using these representations, we deduce singular integral equations of the analyzed problem for a wedge weakened by a system of cracks and holes of any shape. In some cases (a crack along the bisectrix of the wedge, a crack along a circular arc whose center is located at the edge of the wedge, and a circular notch near the edge of the wedge), we obtain exact closed solutions.     

A new boundary integral equation method for analysis of cracked linear elastic bodies

Abstract

A novel integral equation method is developed in this paper for the analysis of two‐dimensional general anisotropic elastic bodies with cracks. In contrast to the conventional boundary integral methods based on reciprocal work theorem, the present method is derived from Stroh's formalism for anisotropic elasticity in conjunction with Cauchy's integral formula. The proposed boundary integral equations contain boundary displacement gradients and tractions on the non‐crack boundary and the dislocations on the crack lines. In cases where only the crack faces are subjected to tractions, the integrals on the non‐crack boundary are non‐singular. The boundary integral equations can be solved using Gaussian‐type integration formulas directly without dividing the boundary into discrete elements. Numerical examples of stress intensity factors are given to illustrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the present method.     

Edge cracks in a transversely isotropic hollow cylinder

The analytical solution for the linear elastic, axisymmetric problem of inner and outer edge cracks in a transversely isotropic infinitely long hollow cylinder is considered. The z = 0 plane on which the crack lies is a plane of symmetry. The loading is uniform crack surface pressure. The mixed boundary value problem is reduced to a singular integral equation where the unknown is the derivative of the crack surface displacement. An asymptotic analysis is done to derive the generalized Cauchy kernel associated with edge cracks. It is shown that the stress intensity factor is a function of three material parameters. The singular integral equation is solved numerically. Stress intensity factors are presented for various values of material and geometric parameters.     

Energy release rate calculations for an interface mode III edge crack based on a conservation integral

The M-integral is applied to the calculation of energy release races for interface edge cracks of the Mode III type. Specifically, for an edge crack along the interface between two elastic wedges of different opening angles and dissimilar elastic properties, and that is subjected to point loads at the apex, a relation is derived among the length of the crack, the energy release race of the crack, the applied loads, the wedge angles and the material parameters.     

Boundary integral equation method for conductive cracks in two and three-dimensional transversely isotropic piezoelectric media

Using the fundamental solutions and the Somigliana identity of piezoelectric medium, the boundary integral equations are obtained for a conductive planar crack of arbitrary shape in three-dimensional transversely isotropic piezoelectric medium. The singular behaviors near the crack edge are studied by boundary integral equation approach, and the intensity factors are derived in terms of the displacement discontinuity and the electric displacement boundary value sum near the crack edge on crack faces. The boundary integral equations for two dimensional crack problems are deduced as a special case of infinite strip planar crack. Based on the analogy of the obtained boundary integral equations and those for cracks in conventional isotropic elastic material and for contact problem of half-space under the action of a rigid punch, an analysis method is proposed. As an example, the solution to conductive Griffith crack is derived.     

Diffraction of shear waves by an edge crack in an elastic wedge

Low frequency diffraction of plane harmonic shear (SH) wave by an edge crack in an elastic wedge of arbitrary vertex angle is studied. Kontorowich-Lebedev transform is used to solve the mixed boundary value problem under consideration. For low frequency case, i.e. wavelength large compared to the length of the crack, the displacement field is obtained by successive approximation of the resulting Wiener-Hopf equation. For the limiting case of an elastic half space the results agree with those obtained by the method of matched asymptotic expansions.     

Modeling of surface and subsurface crack behavior under contact load in the presence of lubricant

A new mathematical model for lubricated elastic solids weakened by cracks is proposed. Surface and subsurface cracks are taken into account, and the interaction of lubricant with elastic solids within cavities of surface cracks is regarded as the most interesting aspect of the problem. The boundary conditions characterizing the behavior of lubricant within crack cavities such as pressure rise in crack cavities fully filled with lubricant as well as other boundary and additional conditions are derived. The problem is reduced to a system of integro-differential equations with nonlinear boundary conditions in the form of alternating equations and inequalities. A new iterative numerical method is developed for solution of the proposed problem. The method guarantees conservation of lubricant volumes trapped within closed crack cavities and allows for all three functions (normal and tangential displacement jumps and normal stress applied to crack faces) characterizing the problem solution to be determined simultaneously. Examples of numerical results for surface and subsurface cracks are presented and numerical and asymptotic results for small subsurface cracks are compared to each other. The numerical analysis indicates that depending on a surface crack orientation its normal stress intensity factor may be two or more orders of magnitude higher than the one for a similar subsurface one.     

Antiplane electro‐mechanical field of a piezoelectric finite wedge under a pair of concentrated forces and free charges

Abstract

This paper presents general antiplane electro‐mechanical field solutions for a piezoelectric finite wedge subjected to a pair of concentrated forces and free charges. The boundary conditions on the circular segment are considered as traction free and insulated. Using finite Mellin transform methods, the stress and electrical displacement in all fields of the piezoelectric finite wedge are derived analytically. Singularity orders and intensity factors of stress and electrical displacement can be obtained too. After being reduced to a problem of an antiplane edge crack or an infinite wedge in a piezoelectric medium, the results compare well with those of previous studies.     

A remeshing algorithm for three-dimensional crack growth and intersection with surfaces or cracks in non-coplanar planes

A recent procedure developed for crack growth in which three-dimensional stress intensity factors are calculated by boundary integral equations is used to compute fatigue crack growth as cracks grow in accordance with Paris’ law and also intersect each other or other surfaces. This paper concentrates on describing the remeshing algorithms needed as the cracks grow and when they intersect each other or other surfaces. The algorithms produced treat crack growth; prior to intersections, after intersection with a free surface, after intersection of a crack edge with a crack surface away from its edge, and after intersection of coplanar cracks.The method is applied here to the growth of an initially circular crack at the centre of a block under uniform tensile traction on the faces parallel to the crack. The crack grows to intersect either a free surface of the block or the centre of a square crack in an orthogonal plane.     

Comparison of elastic interaction of a dislocation and a crack for four bonding conditions of the crack plane

A comparison of elastic interaction of a dislocation and a crack for four bonding conditions of the crack plane was made. Four cases of single crystalline material, sliding grain boundary, perfectly bonded interface, and sliding interface were considered. The stress intensity factors arising from edge and screw dislocations and their image forces for the above four cases were compared. The stress intensity factor at a crack tip along the perfectly bonded interface arising from screw dislocation can be obtained from that in a single crystalline material if the shear modulus in the single crystalline material is replaced by the harmonic mean of both shear moduli in the bimaterial. The stress intensity factor at a crack tip along the sliding interface arising from edge dislocation in the bimaterial can be obtained from that along the sliding grain boundary in the single material if the μ/(1−ν) in the single material is substituted by the harmonic mean of μ/(1− ν) in the bimaterial where μ and ν are the shear modulus and Poisson's ratio, respectively. The solutions of screw dislocation near a crack along the sliding grain boundary and sliding interface are the same as that of screw dislocation and its mirror image. Generally, the effect of edge dislocation for perfectly bonded interface on the crack propagation is more pronounced than that for the sliding interface. The effect of edge dislocation on the crack propagation is mixed mode for the cases of perfectly bonded interface and single crystalline material, but mode I fracture for the cases of sliding interface and sliding grain boundary. All curves of Fx versus distance r from the dislocation at interface to the right-hand crack tip are similar to one another regardless of dislocation source for both sliding interface and perfectly bonded interface. The level of Fx for m=0 is larger than that for m=−1. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Prediction of interfacial crack path: a direct boundary integral approach and experimental study

This paper presents the development of a higher-order direct boundary integral-displacement discontinuity method for crack propagation in layered elastic materials. The method is based on the dual boundary integral equations of linear elasticity which are solved by means of a quadratic boundary element formulation. The analytical solution for a point force within a bonded half-plane region is used to derive the kernel functions of the boundary integral equations. Square-root displacement-discontinuity elements are used to model the crack tips, and stress intensity factors may be computed using the numerically predicted values of the displacement discontinuity components at the midpoints of these crack-tip elements. An algorithm based on the maximum tensile-stress criterion is then developed and incorporated into the boundary element model to predict the paths of cracks propagating in layered elastic materials.In the experimental part of this study, crack profiles for straight-through-cracked, compact-tension specimens of the anodically bonded silicon/Pyrex glass system are measured by profilometry. The plane strain prediction of the crack-propagation path is compared with the experimentally measured crack profiles. Consistent with the prediction, the interfacial crack is observed to kink away from the strong, anodically-bonded interface and propagate into the more compliant glass layer. The predicted initial kink angle of 26° agrees very well with the average measured value of 28°. The measured path of the crack is also in very good agreement with the predicted path over about the first 120 microns of crack growth with increasing deviation observed beyond that.     

Approximate Green's functions for singular and higher order terms of an edge crack in a finite plate

An edge crack in a finite plate (FSECP) subjected to wedge forces is solved by the superposition of the analytical solution of a semi-infinite crack, and the numerical solution of a FSECP with free crack faces, which is solved by the Williams expansion. The unknown coefficients in the expansion are determined by a continuous least squares method after comparing it with the direct boundary collocation and the point or discrete least squares methods. The results are then used to validate the stress intensity factor (SIF) formula provided by Tada et al. that interpolates the numerical results of Kaya and Erdogan, and an approximate crack face opening displacement formula obtained in this paper by Castigliano's theorem and the SIF formula of Tada et al. These approximate formulae are accurate except for point forces very close to the outer edge, and can be used as Green's functions in the crack-closure based crack growth analysis, as well as in interpreting the size effect of quasi-brittle materials. Green's functions for coefficients relevant to the second to the fifth terms in the crack tip asymptotic field are also provided. Finally, a FSECP with a uniform pressure over a part of the crack faces is solved to illustrate the application of the obtained Green's functions and to further assess their accuracy by comparing with a finite element analysis.     

Strain energy release rates for an interface crack in orthotropic media--a finite element investigation

Strain energy release rate (SERR) components for an interface crack in two-dimensional orthotropic media were obtained using finite element (FE) analysis. The elastic analysis of interface cracks results in oscillatory singularity. This is prevalent over a very small zone near the crack-tip, where the traction free crack faces undergo unacceptable deformations resulting in the interpenetration of crack faces. The individual and total strain energy release rates are calculated using modified crack closure integral (MCCI) method. Although the total SERR converges, it is observed that the individual SERR components are dependent on the values of the smallest element size (Δa) at the crack-tip. It is observed that both the crack opening and sliding displacements are oscillatory when the interpenetration is allowed in the contact zone. The contact zone length (r_c) calculated using Suo's analytical expression [Singularities, interfaces and cracks in dissimilar anisotropic media. Proc. Royal Soc. London, Ser A427 (1990) 331] is in good agreement with the results from FE analysis and MCCI calculations. However, for the chosen material properties, the estimated contact zone length based on the analytical expression proposed by Ni and Nemat-Nasser [J. Mech. Phys. Solids 39 (1991) 113] exhibits a large deviation from the present FE results. It is seen that the mode-II behavior dominates the crack growth, even under mode-I loading.     

Frictional contact analysis of multiple cracks by incremental displacement and resultant traction boundary integral equations

Based on the merits of the dual boundary element technique, a modified dual boundary element technique is extended to deal with the frictional contact of a finite plate with arbitrarily distributed multiple cracks. Besides establishing the incremental displacement boundary integral equation on the outer boundary, the resultant traction boundary integral equation on one of the crack surfaces is also developed. Since the resultant traction instead of incremental traction on the crack surface is introduced, the computed resultant contact tractions under sliding condition satisfy the Coulomb's friction law directly. Hence, as compared with the authors' previous work, only very few computation iterations are required by this method to accurately describe the contact situations of crack surfaces. As a result, not only the linear cracks, but also other types of multiple cracks, for example, curved and kinked cracks, can be tackled. The effects of friction and interaction among cracks on the computation of stress intensity factors are also displayed.     

Penny-shaped crack in an elastic layer bonded to dissimilar half spaces

Two axially symmetric mixed boundary value problems in an elastic dissimilar layered medium are considered. It is assumed that an elastic layer is bonded to two semi-infinite half spaces along its plane surfaces, and contains a penny-shaped crack parallel to the interfaces. In the first problem the two half spaces are assumed to have the same elastic properties and the crack is located in the mid-plane of the layer. In the second problem we consider the case of three different materials and arbitrary crack location in the layer. The numerical examples are given for a constant pressure on the crack surface. The stress intensity factors are evaluated and are plotted as functions of the layer thickness-to-crack radius ratio or the relative distance of the crack from an interface.     

Elastic analysis of an edge dislocation and two collinear cracks of different length

The elastic interaction between an edge dislocation and two collinear internal cracks of different length has been investigated. The effect of the distance between two collinear cracks on the crack shielding and image force on the edge dislocation were examined. The effect of the length of the right-hand-side crack on the shielding of the left-hand-side crack and the image force of the dislocation were also considered. The dislocations in the crack play an important role in fracture. Three conditions consisting of an edge dislocation emitting from the right-hand-side crack, originating elsewhere, and emitting from the left-hand-side crack are discussed. We compared the mechanical behavior between edge and screw dislocations near two collinear cracks. Newton's third law is satisfied in this system. Three special cases are discussed.     

Transient shear waves in a wedge subjected to rapid tearing

The surface of an elastic wedge is subjected to sudden antiplane surface tractions and displacements sufficient to cause tearing. The subsequent crack instability is investigated. The wedge faces subtend an angle κπ with the line of antisymmetry, along which the crack propagates with a constant velocity v. For the externally applied disturbances that are considered here, and for constant crack tip velocities, the particle velocity and $\text{?t}{}_{\mathrm{\theta z}}$ are functions of $\text{r}\text{t}$ and θ only, which allows Chaplygin's transformation and conformai mapping to be used. The theory of analytic functions is then used. For various values of the crack propagation velocity, the dependence of the elastodynamic stress intensity factor, and energy flux into the crack tip, on the wedge angle 2κπ is investigated.     

Plane stress crack-line fields for crack growth in an elastic perfectly-plastic material

Mode-I crack growth in an elastic perfectly-plastic material under conditions of generalized plane stress has been investigated. In the plastic loading zone, near the plane of the crack, the stresses and strains have been expanded in powers of the distance, $\text{y}$, to the crack line. Substitution of the expansions in the equilibrium equations, the yield condition and the constitutive equations yields a system of simple ordinary differential equations for the coefficients of the expansions. This system is solvable if it is assumed that the cleavage stress is uniform on the crack line. By matching the relevant stress components and particle velocities to the dominant terms of appropriate elastic fields at the elastic-plastic boundary, a complete solution has been obtained for ?_y in the plane of the crack. The solution depends on crack-line position and time, and applies from the propagating crack tip up to the moving elastic-plastic boundary. Numerical results are presented for the edge crack geometry.     

Multiple Zener-Stroh crack problem in an infinite plate

Summary. In this paper, the multiple Zener-Stroh crack problem is studied. We choose the distributed dislocations as unknown functions in the integral equation. The crack faces are assumed to be traction free. The applied generalized loading for cracks is the initial displacement jump (abbreviated as IDJ), which in turn is the increment of displacement when a moving point goes around the crack in a closed loop. A system of singular integral equations is obtained. After solving the integral equations, the stress intensity factors at crack tips can be evaluated immediately. Numerical examples are given. It is found that interactions between Zener-Stroh cracks are quite different from those for the Griffith cracks, in the qualitative and quantitative aspects.AcknowledgementThe research project is supported by National Natural Foundation of China.     

Virtual crack closure technique for an interface crack between two transversely isotropic materials

The virtual crack closure technique makes use of the forces ahead of the crack tip and the displacement jumps on the crack faces directly behind the crack tip to obtain the energy release rates \({{\mathcal {G}}}_I\) and \({\mathcal {G}}_{II}\). The method was initially developed for cracks in linear elastic, homogeneous and isotropic material and for four noded elements. The method was extended to eight noded and quarter-point elements, as well as bimaterial cracks. For bimaterial cracks, it was shown that \({\mathcal {G}}_I\) and \({\mathcal {G}}_{II}\) depend upon the virtual crack extension \(\varDelta a\). Recently, equations were redeveloped for a crack along an interface between two dissimilar linear elastic, homogeneous and isotropic materials. The stress intensity factors were shown to be independent of \(\varDelta a\). For a better approximation of the Irwin crack closure integral, use of many small elements as part of the virtual crack extension was suggested. In this investigation, the equations for an interface crack between two dissimilar linear elastic, homogeneous and transversely isotropic materials are derived. Auxiliary parameters are used to prescribe an optimal number of elements to be included in the virtual crack extension. In addition, in previous papers, use of elements smaller than the interpenetration zone were rejected. In this study, it is shown that these elements may, indeed, be used.