Crack-tip fields in anisotropic shells

Asymptotic crack-tip fields including the effect of transverse shear deformation in an anisotropic shell are presented. The material anisotropy is defined here as a monoclinic material with a plane symmetry at x ₃=0. In general, the shell geometry near the local crack tip region can be considered as a shallow shell. Based on Reissner shallow shell theory, an asymptotic analysis is conducted in this local area. It can be verified that, up to the second order of the crack tip fields in anisotropic shells, the governing equations for bending, transverse shear and membrane deformation are mutually uncoupled. The forms of the solution for the first two terms are identical to those given by respectively the plane stress deformation and the antiplane deformation of anisotropic elasticity. Thus Stroh formalism can be used to characterize the crack tip fields in shells up to the second term and the energy release rate can be expressed in a very compact form in terms of stress intensity factors and Barnett–Lothe tensor L. The first two order terms of the crack-tip stress and displacement fields are derived. Several methods are proposed to determine the stress intensity factors and `T-stresses'. Three numerical examples of two circular cylindrical panels and a circular cylinder under symmetrical loading have demonstrated the validity of the approach.     

A Crack Emanating from a Wedge In Dissimilar Anisotropic Materials Under Antiplane Shear

A crack in a composite wedge consisting of two dissimilar anisotropic materials under concentrated antiplane loads is analyzed. The problem of a crack in an isotropic composite wedge is solved first by using the Mellin transform and the Wiener-Hopf method. Using a linear transformation of the original composite wedge into an isotropic composite wedge consisting of dissimilar isotropic materials, the antiplane displacement and stresses for the anisotropic composite wedge are obtained from the solution for the transformed wedge. The stress intensity factor for the crack in the original anisotropic composite wedge is obtained from the solution of the crack in the transformed wedge. Special attention is given to the asymptotic problem of a wedge crack in an anisotropic bimaterial. Numerical computations are carried out to obtain the energy release rate for various apex angles and anisotropic parameters as a function of crack angle.     

Mixed-mode dynamic crack propagation in graded materials under thermo-mechanical loading

Mixed-mode dynamic crack growth behavior in functionally graded materials (FGMs) under thermo-mechanical loading is studied. Asymptotic analysis in conjunction with displacement potentials has been used to develop thermo-mechanical stress fields for a mixed mode propagating crack in a FGM. The shear modulus, mass density, thermal conductivity and coefficient of thermal expansion of the FGM are assumed to vary exponentially along the gradation direction. First, asymptotic temperature fields are derived for an exponential variation of thermal conductivity and later these temperature fields are used in deriving stress fields. Using asymptotic thermo-mechanical stress fields the variation of maximum shear stress, circumferential stress and strain-energy density as a function of temperature around the crack tip are generated. Finally, utilizing the minimum strain-energy density criterion and the maximum circumferential stress criterion, the crack growth direction for various crack-tip speeds, non-homogeneity coefficients and temperature fields are determined.     

Dominance of asymptotic crack tip fields in elastic functionally graded materials

The stress field surrounding an edge crack in an elastic functionally graded plate is calculated using two dimensional finite element analysis. The property gradient direction is parallel to the crack line and loading is constrained to be symmetric such that a pure mode I situation is achieved. The extent of dominance of asymptotic fields is evaluated by comparing the stress field calculated from the finite element analysis to that calculated by asymptotic equations. Two separate forms of the asymptotic stress fields, one for homogeneous materials and another for continuously nonhomogeneous materials are used. The shape and extent of the dominance regions of each asymptotic field and their dependence on crack length and material nonhomogeneity is also presented. Under the pure mode I conditions considered here, it is seen that both asymptotic fields exist around the crack tip with the one for homogeneous materials in general being embedded in the one for continuously nonhomogeneous materials. The ligament length is seen to primarily control the extent of development of the asymptotic stress field for nonhomogeneous materials. The steepness of the material gradient affects the relationship between the two asymptotic stress fields and therefore the extent of their dominance.     

A perturbation analysis of combined mode I and III dynamic crack propagation

Summary In the present paper the asymptotic stress and deformation fields of dynamic crack extension in materials with linear plastic hardening under combined mode I (plane strain and plane stress) and anti-plane shear loading conditions (mode III) are investigated. The governing equations of the asymptotic crack-tip fields are formulated from two groups of angular functions, one for the in-plane mode and the other for the anti-plane shear mode. It was assumed that all stresses and deformations are of separable functional forms ofr and , which represent the polar coordinates centered at the actual crack tip. Perturbation solutions of the governing equations were obtained. The singularity behavior and the angular functions of the crack-tip in-plane and the anti-plane stresses obtained from the perturbation analysis show that, regardless of the mixity of the crack-tip field and the strain-hardening, the in-plane stresses under the combined mode I and mode III conditions have stronger singularity in the whole mixed mode steady-state crack growth than that of the anti-plane shear stresses. The anti-plane shear stresses perturbed from the plane strain mode I solutions lose their singularity for small strain hardening, whereas the angular stress functions perturbed from the plane stress mode I have a nearly analogous uniform distribution feature compared to pure mode III cases. An obvious deviation from the unperturbed solution is generally to be observed under combined plane strain mode I and anti-plane mode III conditions, especially for a large Mach number in a material with small strain-hardening; but not under plane stress and mode III conditions. The crack propagation velocity decreases the singularities of both pure mode and perturbed crack-tip fields.     

Asymptotic crack-tip fields in anisotropic power law material under antiplane shear

A hodograph transformation in conjunction with an appropriate affine transformation are both used to investigate the strain and stress fields near the crack tip in an anisotropic power law material under antiplane shear. Stress and strain exponents as well as angular distributions for the asymptotic stress and strain fields are obtained analytically. All the stress strain exponents are independent of material anisotropy, and the effect of material anisotropy on the asymptotic stress and strain field is discussed including higher order terms.     

Non‐oscillatory and non‐singular asymptotic solutions to stress fields at interface cracks

This work concerns the complex oscillatory singularities revealed in Williams's asymptotic solutions to stress fields around arbitrary interface cracks, which are the foundation of phenomenological interface fracture mechanics. First, we highlight the fatal discrepancy between the asymptotic stress fields for cracks in a homogeneous material obtained by assigning an identical material on both regions embracing an interface crack, and the solutions directly derived from cracks in a single material. Next, following a brief introduction to Williams's formulation process, we adopt the method of repeatedly eliminating variables instead of solving the determinant equation for the coefficient matrix to reformulate the asymptotic analysis of stress fields at arbitrary interface cracks. The resultant stresses get rid of oscillatory character. Further, under two specific loading conditions, namely, remotely uniaxial tension or shear, non‐oscillatory and non‐singular asymptotic solutions to stress fields around interface cracks are obtained.     

Determination of high‐order fields for multianisotropic material antiplane V‐notches and inclusions by the asymptotic expansion technique and an overdeterministic method

In this paper, the singular behavior for anisotropic multimaterial V‐notched plates is investigated under antiplane shear loading condition. Firstly, the elastic governing equations are transformed into eigen ordinary differential equations through introducing the asymptotic expansions of displacements near the notch tip. The stress singularity exponents, including the higher‐order terms, and the corresponding eigen angular functions are then obtained by solving the established equations by using the interpolating matrix method. Thus, using the combination of the results from finite element analyses and the derived asymptotic expansion, an overdeterministic method is employed to calculate the amplitudes of the coefficients in the asymptotic expansions. Finally, the stress and displacement fields in the vicinity of the notch tip, consisting of both singular terms and higher‐order terms, are determined. The effects of material properties and geometry characteristic on the singular behaviour of the notch tip are discussed in detail.     

A solution method for finding dynamic stress intensity factors for arbitrarily oriented cracks in transversely isotropic materials

The transient elastodynamic response of a transversely isotropic material containing a semi-infinite crack under uniform impact loading on the faces is examined. The crack lies in a principle plane of the material, but the crack front does not coincide with a principle direction. Rather, the crack front is at an angle to a principle direction and thus the problem becomes more three-dimensional in nature. Three loading modes are considered, i.e., opening, in-plane shear and anti-plane shear. The solutions for the stress intensity factor history around the crack tip are found. Laplace and Fourier transforms together with the Wiener-Hopf technique are employed to solve the equations of motion directly. The asymptotic expression of stress near the crack tip leads to a closed-form solution for the dynamic stress intensity factor for each loading mode. It is found that the stress intensity factors are proportional to the square root of time as expected. Results given here converge to known solutions in transversely isotropic materials with a crack oriented along a principle direction and isotropic materials as special cases. The results of this analysis are used to find approximate strain energy release rates for dynamically loaded penny shaped cracks.     

Analytical forms of higher-order asymptotic elastic-plastic crack-tip fields in a linear hardening material under antiplane shear

An analytical study of the higher-order asymptotic solutions of the stress and strain fields near the traction-free crack tip under antiplane shear in a linear hardening material is investigated. The results show that every term of the asymptotic fields is controlled by both elasticity and plasticity and all the higher-order asymptotic fields are governed by linear nonhomogeneous equations. The first four term solutions are presented analytically and the first four terms are described by two independent parameters J and K ₂. The amplitude of the second order term solution is only dependent on the material properties, but independent of loading and geometry. This paper focuses on the case with traction-free crack surface boundary conditions. The effects of different crack surface boundary conditions, such as clamped and mixed surfaces, on the crack-tip fields are also presented. Comparison of multi-term solution with leading term solution, and finite element solution in an infinite strip with semi-infinite crack under constant displacements along the edges is provided.     

Determination of Stress Intensity Factor for Cracks in Orthotropic Composite Materials using Digital Image Correlation

Abstract: This paper focuses on the application of the digital image correlation (DIC) technique to determine the stress intensity factor (SIF) for cracks in orthotropic composites. DIC is a full‐field technique for measuring the surface displacements of a deforming object and can be applied to any type of material. To determine the SIF from full‐field displacement data, the asymptotic expansion of the crack‐tip displacement field is required. In this paper the expansion of the crack tip displacement field is derived from an existing solution for strain fields. Unidirectional fibre composite panels with an edge crack aligned along the fibre were tested under remote tensile loading and the displacements were recorded using DIC. The SIF was calculated from the experimental data by fitting the theoretical displacement field using the least squares method. The SIF thus determined was in good agreement with theoretical results and therefore demonstrates the applicability of the derived displacement field and DIC technique for studying fracture in composites.     

Rotation at the crack tip and COD of mode I crack in anisotropic plate

Rigid body rotation is obtained at the points near crack tip of mode I crack in infinite anisotropic plate. Using Lekhnitskii's complex analysis procedure the rotation is expressed in terms of complex potentials and complex parameters of the material. A relation of crack tip rotation is obtained by incorporating the stress intensity factor and complex parameters for the known crack configuration. An equation of crack opening displacement is derived. For the case of plates made of composite materials the features of crack tip rotation and crack edge profile due to mode I loading are described.     

Mixed mode asymptotic crack tip fields in orthotropic materials: Derivation and range of dominance

In the first part of this work the asymptotic stress field distribution surrounding a crack in a generally orthotropic solid (i.e. one in which the material and loading axes do not coincide) is derived. The resulting crack tip stress intensity factors are also related to the energy release rate of the cracked solid. In any physical situation, however, the range of dominance of these asymptotic fields will be limited, and will depend on specific geometry and loading parameters. Thus, the second part of this work deals with the range of dominance of the derived stress fields in edge cracked bending loaded fiber reinforced composite plates. The lower and upper limits of the range of dominance of the solution are respectively determined from three-dimensional and two-dimensional full field finite element solutions. The comparison of full field solutions with the asymptotic result provides information on the latter's range of dominance. In all cases the effects of mixed mode loading are considered.     

Dynamic asymptotic mode III crack tip field in rate dependent materials

The asymptotic field at a dynamically growing crack tip in strain-rate sensitive elastic-plastic materials is investigated under anti-plane shear loading conditions. In the conventional viscoplasticity theory, the rate sensitivity is included only in the flow stress. However, it is often found that the yield strength is also affected by previous strain rates. The strain rate history effects in metallic solids are observed in strain rate change tests in which the flow stress decreases gradually after a rapid drop in strain rate. This material behavior may be explained by introducing the rate sensitivity in the hardening rule in addition to the flow rule. The strain-rate history effect is pronounced near the propagating crack where the change of strain rates take place. Effects of the rate dependency in the flow rule and the hardening rule on the crack propagation are analyzed. The order of the stress singularity in the asymptotic field is determined in terms of material parameters which characterize the rate sensitivity of the material. The results show that an elastic sector is present in the wake zone when the rate-dependency is considered only in the hardening rule. Terminal crack propagation speed is determined by applying the critical stress fracture criterion and the critical strain criterion to the asymptotic fields under the small scale yielding condition.     

Elastic-plastic analysis of an arbitrarily-oriented mode III crack touching an interface

In this paper we investigate a semi-infinite crack terminating at an arbitrarily oriented interface between two elastic-plastic materials under an anti-plane shear loading. An analytical solution is first developed for general power-law hardening materials under a mode III loading. If both materials have the same hardening exponent, the formulation results in a nonlinear eigenequation which can be solved numerically. The stress singularities are determined as a function of two material constants: the hardening exponent n and parameter G which represents the relative resistance of the two materials. In addition to the power of the singularity, the stress, strain and displacement asymptotic fields are also determined. If the hardening exponents are not the same, the leading order terms of an expansion model ensure the stress continuity across the interface. The results show that the stress singularity mainly depends upon the material having the larger hardening exponent, with the highest stresses in the material having the smaller hardening exponent. By taking the hardening exponent n , the perfectly plastic bimaterial problem is studied. It has been found that if the crack lies in the less stiff material, the entirely plastic asymptotic fields around the crack tip can be determined. On the other hand, if the crack lies in the stiffer material, the crack-tip fields are partially elastic and partially plastic. For both cases, unique asymptotic fields can be determined explicitly. For those cases when the materials present a strain hardening property, different mathematical models are established.     

Low‐cycle fatigue life prediction of various metallic materials under multiaxial loading

This paper proposed a simple life prediction model for assessing fatigue lives of metallic materials subjected to multiaxial low‐cycle fatigue (LCF) loading. This proposed model consists of the maximum shear strain range, the normal strain range and the maximum normal stress on the maximum shear strain range plane. Additional cyclic hardening developed during non‐proportional loading is included in the normal stress and strain terms. A computer‐based procedure for multiaxial fatigue life prediction incorporating critical plane damage parameters is presented as well. The accuracy and reliability of the proposed model are systematically checked by using about 300 test data through testing nine kinds of material under both zero and non‐zero mean stress multiaxial loading paths.     

Free end effect on the stress and displacement distributions in a cracked composite strip

Taking into account the marked anisotropic character of carbon fibre composite materials, a small parameter related to material properties is introduced. The stress field in a semi-infinite strip with a semi-infinite crack whose tip is close to the strip free end is investigated through a singular perturbation method. For slow crack propagation, the quasi-static character of the stress field is established. An accurate asymptotic solution is derived, which allows the interaction between the strip free end and the stress field around the crack tip to be studied. For the carbon–epoxy material investigated, this interaction becomes negligible when the distance between the crack tip and the strip free end is greater than 1.5h, where h is the strip half-height.     

Mixed-mode K-calculations in anisotropic materials

The crack tip stress singularities for anisotropic materials are derived using the finite difference method and they are compared to other derivations. Subsequently, these asymptotic fields are implemented into a local stress method, enabling the determination of the mixed-mode stress intensity factor distribution along an arbitrary crack in an anisotropic material. Comparison with the interaction integral method shows that the local method yields excellent results and exhibits a better robustness with respect to irregular meshes.     

Asymptotic fields ahead a crack for a class of non linear materials under mode III

The paper considers the mechanical fields near the tip of a crack deformed by an anti-plane shear at infinity for a class of non linear elastic materials. For brittle material rupture occurs when a maximal stretch is reached. Taking account of this critical value, the crack is replaced by a totally damaged zone of finite thickness named a quasicrack. Inside this domain, the stress is identically zero and the shape of the boundary between damaged and undamaged body is found analytically.     

Analyse the role of the non‐singular stress in brittle fracture by BEM coupled with eigen‐analysis

A coupled model resulting from the boundary element method and eigen‐analysis is proposed in this paper to analyse the stress field at crack tip. This new combine method can yield several terms of the non‐singular stress in the Williams asymptotic expansion. Then the maximum circumferential stress (MCS) criterion taken the non‐singular stress into account is introduced to predict the brittle fracture of cracked structures. Two earlier experiments are re‐examined by the present numerical method and the role of the non‐singular stress in the brittle fracture is investigated. Results show that if more terms of non‐singular stress are taken into account, the predicted crack propagation direction and the critical loading by MCS criterion are much closer to the existing experimental results, especially for dominating mode II loading conditions. Moreover, numerical results manifest that Williams series expansion can describe the stress field further from the crack tip if more non‐singular stress terms are adopted.