Three-dimensional asymptotic antiplane shear stress fields at the front of interfacial crack/anticrack type discontinuities in trimaterial bonded plates

An eigenfuntion expansion method is employed for obtaining three-dimensional asymptotic displacement and stress fields in the vicinity of the front of a crack/anticrack type discontinuity weakening/reinforcing an infinite pie-shaped trimaterial plate, of finite thickness, formed as a result of bimaterial (matrix/semiconductor/ARC plus reaction product/scatterer) deposit over a substrate (fiber/ARC/semiconductor). The wedge is of general (unsymmetric) geometrical configuration, and is subjected to antiplane shear (mode III) far field loading. Each material is isotropic and elastic, but with different material properties. The material 2 or the substrate is always taken to be a half-space, while the wedge aperture angle of the material 1 is varied to represent varying composition of the bimaterial deposit. Numerical results pertaining to the variation of the mode III eigenvalues (or stress singularities) with various wedge aperture angles of the material 1 (reaction product/scatterer), are also presented. Hitherto generally unavailable results, pertaining to the through-thickness variations of stress intensity factors for symmetric parabolic load and its skew-symmetric counterpart that also satisfy the boundary conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of the trimaterial plates under investigation, form also an important part of the present investigation.     

Three-dimensional asymptotic stress fields at the front of a trimaterial junction

A recently developed eigenfunction expansion method is employed for obtaining three-dimensional asymptotic displacement and stress fields in the vicinity of the junction corner front of an infinite pie-shaped trimaterial wedge, of finite thickness, formed as a result of bimaterial (matrix plus reaction product or contaminant) deposit over a substrate or reinforcement. The wedge is subjected to extension/bending (mode I), inplane shear/twisting (mode II) and antiplane shear (mode III) far field loading. Each material is isotropic and elastic, but with different material properties. The material 2 (substrate) is always taken to be a half-space, while the wedge aperture angle of the material 1 is varied to represent varying composition of the bimaterial deposit. Numerical results pertaining to the variation of the mode I, II, III eigenvalues (or stress singularities) with various moduli ratios as well as the wedge aperture angle of the material 1 (reaction product/contaminant), are also presented. Hitherto unavailable results, pertaining to the through-thickness variations of stress intensity factors for symmetric exponentially decaying distributed load and its skew-symmetric counterpart that also satisfy the boundary conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of the trimaterial plates under investigation, bridge a longstanding gap in the stress singularity/interfacial fracture mechanics literature.     

On three-dimensional singular stress/residual stress fields at the front of a crack/anticrack in an orthotropic/orthorhombic plate under anti-plane shear loading

A novel eigenfunction expansion technique, based in part on separation of the thickness-variable, is developed to derive three-dimensional asymptotic stress field in the vicinity of the front of a semi-infinite through-thickness crack/anticrack weakening/reinforcing an infinite orthotropic/orthorhombic plate, of finite thickness and subjected to far-field anti-plane shear loading. Crack/anticrack-face boundary conditions and those that are prescribed on the top and bottom (free, fixed and lubricated) surfaces of the orthotropic plate are exactly satisfied. Five different through-thickness crack/anticrack-face boundary conditions are considered: (i) slit crack, (ii) anticrack or perfectly bonded rigid inclusion, (iii) transversely rigid inclusion (longitudinal slip permitted), (iv) rigid inclusion in part perfectly bonded, the remainder with slip, and (v) rigid inclusion located alongside a crack. Explicit expressions for the singular stress fields in the vicinity of the fronts of the through-thickness cracks, anticracks or mixed crack–anticrack type discontinuities, weakening/reinforcing orthotropic/orthorhombic plates, subjected to far-field anti-plane shear (mode III) loadings, are presented. In addition, singular residual stress fields in the vicinity of the fronts of these cracks, anticracks and similar discontinuities are also discussed.     

Transformation zones, crack shielding, and crack-growth resistance of Ce-TZP/alumina composite in mode II and combined mode II and mode I loading

Crack-tip transformation zones, crack shielding and crack-growth-resistance (R-curve) behaviors of a transformation-toughened ceria-partially stabilized zirconia–alumina (Ce-TZP/alumina) composite were studied in mode II and combined mode I and mode II loading using compact-tension-shear (CTS) specimens. The mode II and mode I stress intensities for both the initial straight cracks and the subsequent kinked cracks were assessed by the method of caustics using geometrically equivalent specimens of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The angle of formation of the transformation zones as well as of extension of the cracks increased systematically with increasing ratio of the mode II and the mode I stress intensities and approached a value of θ^*=−72° in pure mode II loading. This angle was close to the angle for maximum hoop tension in the stress field of a mode II crack (θ^*=−70.5°). A crack-initiation toughness envelope was constructed on a K_I–K_II diagram using the critical loads for incremental crack extension. The crack-initiation toughness in pure mode II loading was less than the corresponding toughness in mode I loading. This result was consistent with calculations that indicated no shielding from the asymmetric and elongated zones developed in mode II loading. The fracture toughness measured for the kinked cracks at long kink lengths approached the maximum fracture toughness measured for a mode I crack.     

Prediction of crack growth direction for mode I/II loading using small-scale yielding and void initiation/growth concepts

Under the assumption that the processes which control the direction of crack growth in 2024-T3 aluminum are directly related to void initiation and growth, a theoretical framework is developed to predict the direction of crack growth. The basic premise of the framework is that, depending on the mode mixity of the remotely applied loading, either σ _m /σ_eff or σ_eff triggers the nucleation and growth of voids hence, fracture. The theoretical development uses linear elastic assumptions and two terms in the asymptotic expansion to describe the stress field in the vicinity of the crack tip for a mixed-mode I/II ARCAN specimen. Predictions based on the theory indicate that: (a) the transition from Mode~I type to Mode~II type crack propagation can be accurately quantified, and (b) the direction of crack growth is reasonably well predicted for both types of crack propagation. In addition, a qualitative, but microstructurally based, physical rationale for the observed phenomena is presented. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Three-dimensional asymptotic stress field in the vicinity of the circumference of a bimaterial penny-shaped interfacial discontinuity

An eigenfunction expansion method is presented to obtain three-dimensional asymptotic stress fields in the vicinity of the circumference of a bimaterial penny-shaped interfacial discontinuity, e.g., crack, anticrack (infinitely rigid lamella), etc., located at the center, edge or corner, and subjected to the far-field torsion (mode III), extension/bending (mode I), and sliding shear/twisting (mode II) loadings. Five different discontinuity-surface boundary conditions are considered: (1) bimaterial penny-shaped interface anticrack or perfectly bonded thin rigid inclusion, (2) bimaterial penny-shaped interfacial jammed contact, (3) bimaterial penny-shaped interface crack, (4) bimaterial penny-shaped interface crack with partial axisymmetric frictionless slip, and (5) bimaterial penny-shaped interface thin rigid inclusion alongside penny-shaped crack. Solutions to these cases except (3) are hitherto unavailable in the literature. Closed-form expressions for stress intensity factors subjected to various far-field loadings are also presented. Numerical results presented include the effect of the ratio of the shear moduli of the layer materials, and also Poisson’s ratios on the computed lowest real parts of eigenvalues for the case (5). Interesting and physically meaningful conclusions are also presented, especially with regard to cases (1) and (2).     

Estimation of the plastic zone by finite element method under mixed mode (I and II) loading

Material fracture by opening (mode I) is not lonely responsible for fracture propagation. Many industrial examples show the presence of mode II and mixed mode I + II. The present work consists in the elaboration of a code to estimate the size of the plastic zone at the crack tip under mode I, mode II and mixed mode I + II loading. The computations are made according to Von Mises and Tresca criteria. The results obtained are compared to those measured by experiments.     

Effect of compressive transverse normal stress on mode II fracture toughness in polymeric composites

Effect of transverse normal stress on mode II fracture toughness of unidirectional fiber reinforced composites was studied experimentally in conjunction with finite element analyses. Mode II fracture tests were conducted on the S2/8552 glass/epoxy composite using off-axis specimens with a through thickness crack. The finite element method was employed to perform stress analyses from which mode II fracture toughness was extracted. In the analysis, crack surface contact friction effect was considered. It was found that the transverse normal compressive stress has significant effect on mode II fracture toughness of the composite. Moreover, the fracture toughness measured using the off-axis specimen was found to be quite different from that evaluated using the conventional end notched flexural (ENF) specimen in three-point bending. It was found that mode II fracture toughness cannot be characterized by the crack tip singular shear stress alone; nonsingular stresses ahead of the crack tip appear to have substantial influence on the apparent mode II fracture toughness of the composite.     

Computation of the stress intensity factors for repaired cracks with bonded composite patch in mode I and mixed mode

In this study, the finite element method is used to analyse the behaviour of repaired cracks with bonded composite patches in mode I and mixed mode by computing the stress intensity factors at the crack tip. The effects of the patch size and the adhesive properties on the stress intensity factors variation were highlighted. The plot of the stress intensity factors according to the crack length in mode I, shows that the stress intensity factor exhibits an asymptotic behaviour as the crack length increases. In mixed mode, the obtained results show that the Mode I stress intensity factor is more affected by the presence of the patch than that of mode II.     

Mixed mode I/II fracture of 2024-T3 friction stir welds

For the first time, a series of mixed mode I/II fracture experiments have been performed on both base material and three families of friction stir welds (FSWs) in 6.4 mm thick, 2024-T351 aluminum plate; the FSW joints are designated hot, medium and cold due to the level of nominal weld energy input per unit weld length (specific weld energy) during the joining process.Results from the fracture tests indicate that the measured critical crack opening displacement (COD) at a fixed distance behind the crack tip properly correlates both load-crack extension response and microstructural fracture surface features for both the base metal and all FSWs, providing measure of a quantitative fracture toughness. The COD values also indicate that transition from mode I to mode II dominant crack growth occurs at lower loading angles for FSW joints having higher specific weld energy input, with a truly mixed mode I/II COD measured during crack growth in the medium FSW joint. Using results from recent detailed FSW metallographic studies, specific features in the fracture process are correlated to the FSW microstructure. Finally, the observed ductile crack growth path in all three welds tends to exit the under-matched FSW weld region as the far-field applied shear loading is increased, with the medium FSW being the only case where the flaw remained within the FSW region for all combinations of shear and tensile loading.     

Three‐dimensional mixed‐mode (I and II) crack‐front fields in ductile thin plates — effects of T‐stress

It has been well‐established that the non‐singular T‐stress provides a first‐order estimate of geometry and loading mode (e.g. tension versus bending) effects on elastic–plastic crack‐front field under mode I loading conditions. The objective of this paper is to exam the T‐stress effect on three‐dimensional (3D) crack‐front fields under mixed‐mode (modes I and II) loading. To this end, detailed 3D small strain, elastic–plastic simulations are carried out using a 3D boundary layer (small‐scale yielding) formulation. Characteristics of near crack‐front fields are investigated for a wide range of T‐stresses (T/σ₀ = ?0.8, ?0.4, 0.0, 0.4, 0.8). The plastic zones and thickness and angular and radial variations of the stresses are studied, corresponding to two values of the remote elastic mixity parameters M_e = 0.3 and 0.7, under both low and high levels of applied loads. It is found that different T‐stresses have a significant effect on the plastic zones size and shapes, regardless of the mode mixity and load level. The thickness, angular and radial distributions of stresses are also affected markedly by T‐stress. It is important to include these effects when investigating the mixed‐mode ductile fracture failure process in thin‐walled structural components.     

Microstructure and mixed mode I/II fracture of AA2524-T351 base material and friction stir welds

Mixed mode I/II experiments for base material AA2524 indicate that (a) transition from a local opening mode of fracture to a local shear mode of fracture occurs in AA2524 at much lower levels of far-field shear loading than observed in AA2024, showing the increased potential for mode transition in the cleaner aluminum alloy AA2524 and (b) the measured critical crack opening displacement (∣COD_crit∣) in AA2524 is isotropic and equal to the maximum measured value (LT orientation) in AA2024.Mixed mode I/II experiments in AA2524 friction stir weld specimens show that (a) changes in microstructure and particularly, reduction in constituent particle volume fraction result in virtual elimination of fracture along constituent particle bands, (b) AA2524 has an increased tendency to transition from local mode I to local mode II crack growth during stable tearing and (c) specific features observed during the fracture process (e.g. mode transition) are shown to be directly correlated to both metallurgical differences in the FSW microstructure and local variations in the measured COD_crit.     

The effect of second principal stress on the fatigue propagation of mode I surface crack in Al2O3/Al alloy composites

Using a plate made of A2017-T6 metal matrix composites reinforced with 10 volume % and 20 volume % Al₂O₃ particles and Al alloy possesses the same composition as matrix alloy, the crack propagation rate da/dN of a mode I surface crack by the simultaneous action of plane bending and cyclic torsion are studied. And the effects of crack tip opening stress σ_top, crack opening displacement COD, biaxial stress ratio C (=second principal stress/first principal stress) and the surface roughness of crack section are examined. When stress intensity factor range ΔK is lower than the specific level, da/dN decreases with the increase of volume fraction of Al₂O₃ in C=0 and C=−0.55. But, da/dN of Al alloy becomes minimum in C=−1 and the effect of Al₂O₃ particles disappears. σ_top rises with the increase of volume fraction of Al₂O₃ particles and the decline of C. On the other hand, COD doesn’t always rise with the decline of C. These phenomena can be explained by the residual compressive stress formed at the surface layer of the specimen by the fatigue test and the surface roughness of crack section.     

Triaxiality at crack tip for combined Lankford's coefficient and degree of anisotropy subjected to mixed-mode (I/II) fracture

Structural parts used in boilers, turbines, ships, and many household purposes are manufactured through sheet metal forming processes. During manufacturing, the micro structure of the material is deformed and micro cracks along with anisotropic properties get induced. Present research deals with a thin sheet metal plate containing a central crack subjected to mixed mode (I+II) loading. With special reference to Lankford's coefficient and degree of anisotropy, the effect of anisotropic triaxiality on crack initiation angle has been investigated. The result reveals the combinations of Lankford's coefficient and degree of anisotropy for which crack initiation angle do not change.     

Study of the relationship between J-integral and COD parameters under mixed mode I + II loading in aluminum alloy Ly 12

In this paper, the relationship between the J-integral and COD under mixed mode I+II loading was proposed and investigated. The J-integral was calculated by the Finite Element Method, and COD was defined by Rice`s model and measured by a duplicating method in an aluminum alloy Ly12. The critical values of the J-integral and COD for a stable mixed crack initiation were also determined by a resistance curve. It shows that: (1) the mixed J-integral, J _M, and the mixed COD satisfy the relations of J _M=dn₀CTOD+ds₀CTSD and J _M=d_yieldCOD, where dn, ds and d are coefficients; CTOD and CTSD are the mode I and mode II components of COD, respectively; ₀ and ₀ are the tensile and shear stresses at the crack tip strip, respectively, and (2) the initiation values of the J-integral and COD of mixed stable crack growth increase with an increasing mode II component, the J _IIC value is 2 times greater than that of J _IC, and the COD_i for a pure mode II crack is 6 times greater than that of COD_i for a pure mode I crack.     

Three-dimensional mixed mode I+II+III singular stress field at the front of a {\varvec{(}}\mathbf{111 }{\varvec{)}[}\bar{\mathbf{1 }}\bar{\mathbf{1 }}\mathbf 2 {\varvec{]}\times [}\mathbf 1 \bar{\mathbf{1 }}\mathbf 0 {\varvec{]}} crack weakening a diamond cubic mono-crystalline plate with crack turning and step/ridge formation

A heretofore-unavailable mixed Frobenius type series, in terms of affine-transformed x-y coordinate variables of the Eshelby–Stroh type, is introduced to develop a new eigenfunction expansion technique. This is used, in conjunction with separation of the z-variable, to derive three-dimensional mixed-mode I+II+III asymptotic displacement and stress fields in the vicinity of the front of a semi-infinite through-thickness $(111)[\bar{{1}}\bar{{1}}2]\times [1\bar{{1}}0]$ crack weakening an infinite diamond cubic mono-crystalline plate. Crack-face boundary conditions and those that are prescribed on the top and bottom (free, fixed or lubricated) surfaces of the diamond cubic mono-crystalline plate are exactly satisfied. Explicit expressions for the mixed mode I+II+III singular stresses in the vicinity of the front of the through-thickness crack, are presented. Most important mixed modes I+II+III response is elicited even though the far-field loading is only mode I or II or III or any combination thereof. Finally, atomistic modeling of cracks requires consideration of both the long range elastic interactions and the short range physico-chemical reactions, such as bond breaking. The Griffith-Irwin approach does not take the latter into account, and nano-structural details such as bond orientation must be accounted for. A new mixed-mode I+II+III crack deflection criterion elucidates the formation of steps and/or triangular ridges on the crack path. The planes of a multiply deflected crack are normal to the directions of broken bonds. Additionally, the mixed-mode (I+II+III) crack deflection and ridge formation are found to be strongly correlated with the elastic stiffness constants, ${c}^{\prime }_{14}$ and ${c}^{\prime }_{56}$ , of the diamond cubic single crystal concerned.