Mode II Brittle Fracture Assessment Using ASFPB Specimen

The four-point bend specimen subjected to anti-symmetric loading (ASFPB) is frequently used for determining pure mode II fracture resistance of rock materials. It is shown in this paper that, when the applied loads are close to the crack plane, the ASFPB specimen does not provide pure mode II condition, since the effect of mode I also appears in crack tip deformation. A set of fracture test were also conducted on a type of marble using ASFPB configuration. The test results showed that fracture resistance is strongly dependent on the loading distance from the crack plane. The effective fracture toughness increases when the distance between the loading points and the crack plane decreases. It is shown that the enhanced fracture resistance of marble samples could be mainly because of very large negative T-stresses that exist for the mentioned loading situations.     

Prediction of the influence of flaws on the fatigue strength under biaxial loading

A method for the prediction of the fatigue strength of flaw-containing components subjected to in-phase biaxial loading is presented based upon a knowledge of the materials fatigue strength in bending. A key aspect of the method is the relationship between stress concentration factors and stress intensity factors. The fatigue strength is taken to be that stress needed to overcome a materials resistance to crack propagation, and a material constant, r_e, is used to relate fatigue strength and the threshold for crack propagation. Continuous crack growth in components containing flaws occurs when the driving force for crack propagation exceeds the resistance to crack growth which is created by the need to exceed the threshold level as well as to overcome the effects of crack closure. Good agreement between the predictions and experimental results was obtained.     

Numerical simulations of dynamic interfacial crack growth allowing for crack growth away from the bond line

Dynamic crack growth is analyzed numerically for a plane strain bimaterial block with an initial central crack subject to impact tensile loading. The material on each side of the bond line is characterized by an isotropic hyperelastic constitutive relation. Potential surfaces of decohesion are interspersed in the material on either side of the bond line and along the bond line. The cohesive surface constitutive relation allows for the creation of new tree surface and dimensional considerations introduce a characteristic length into the formulation. Full transient analyses are carried out. The resistance to crack initiation, the crack speed history and the crack path are predicted without invoking any ad hoc failure criterion. Three calculations are carried out for a PMMA/Al bimaterial. The imposed loading and the properties of the adjacent materials are kept fixed, while the bond line strength is taken to be 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 of the strength of PMMA. The nominal crack speed decreases with increasing bond line strength. When the bond line strength is 1/4 that of PMMA, the crack remains on the bond line although there is an attempt at branching off the bond line. For the intermediate case, a bond line strength 1/2 that of PMMA, repeated branching of the main crack off the bond line into the PMMA occurs, together with micro-crack nucleation on the bond line. The crack branches off the bond line into the PMMA when its strength is 3/4 that of PMMA, with the main direction of growth being parallel to the bond line, but with the crack progressively drifting further into the PMMA.     

The effect of glass bead content on the mechanical properties of acrylonitrile/styrene/acrylate copolymer

The influence of glass bead content and the loading rate on the mechanical properties of polyacrylonitrile/styrene acrylate (ASA) copolymer was investigated. For this copolymer, tensile yield strength and work to fracture were significantly reduced as the bead content was increased. Tensile yield strength decreased linearly with increasing glass bead content according to the Leinder equation. It was found that the variation of tensile yield strength with log (loading rate) follows that of Eyring's equation for yielding. The presence of the weldline reduced the tensile yield strength of both unfilled and filled materials. Flexural modulus and flexural strength also varied in a predictable fashion with glass bead concentration. The increase in modulus with glass bead content followed Kerner's equation.Crack growth resistance values of the unfilled ASA and its composites were measured at three loading rates using the generalized locus method. It was found that the resistance to steady crack propagation,J _R, was a sensitive function of glass bead content and loading rate. Within the range of these experiments,J _R decreased with increasing glass bead content and loading rate.     

Effect of loading rate on the failure resistance of economically alloyed steels at low temperatures

Results are presented for an experimental study of the effect of cooling to 77 K on the dynamic crack resistance and impact strength of steels ON9 and 07Kh13N4AG20. Features are noted for the change in failure resistance of these metals in the temperature range 293-77 K with an increase in loading rate to 1.5 m/sec. It is established that crack resistance characteristics of the test steels are somewhat higher in the case of dynamic loading than with static loading, but impact strength of the materials decreases with cooling.Translated from Problemy Prochnosti, No. 10, pp. 43–46, October, 1990.     

Fracture stability and residual strength assessment of reinforced concrete beams

In conventional analysis and design procedures of reinforced concrete structures, the ability of concrete to resist tension is neglected. Under cyclic loading, the tension-softening behavior of concrete influences its residual strength and subsequent crack propagation. The stability and the residual strength of a cracked reinforced concrete member under fatigue loading, depends on a number of factors such as, reinforcement ratio, specimen size, grade of concrete, fracture properties, and on the tension-softening behavior of concrete. In this work, a method is proposed to assess the residual strength of reinforced concrete beams subjected to cyclic loading. The crack extension resistance based approach is used for determining the condition for unstable crack propagation. The effect of reinforcement is modeled as a closing force counteracting the effect of crack opening produced by the external moment. The effect of percentage reinforcement and specimen size on the failure of reinforced beams is studied. Finally, the residual strength of the beams are computed by including the softening behavior of concrete.     

Manifestation of Hydrogen and Low-Temperature Brittleness in Near-Threshold Cyclic Crack Resistance of Materials

We experimentally show that the realization of conditions of plane deformation at the tip of a fatigue crack is not sufficient for guaranteeing the unique dependence of the crack growth rate on the range of the stress intensity factor, which is explained by the effect of crack closure. We describe advantages and disadvantages of the effective range of the stress intensity factor as a parameter that determines the mechanical conditions for the propagation of a fatigue crack. We analyze the phenomenon of positive influence of strengthening factors (a decrease in the temperature of testing and hydrogenation) on the cyclic crack resistance of materials in a low-amplitude range of loading determined with regard for the effect of crack closure. The decrease in the crack growth rate and the increase in fatigue thresholds are intensified as the level of loading decreases and the ductility of materials increases. Differences in the influence of strengthening factors in low- and high-amplitude ranges of loading are explained by different mechanisms of fracture controlled by the shearing strength and the tensile strength, respectively. We give several examples of the mechanical behavior of materials that show the inversion of the influence of hydrogen on the resistance to fracture: fatigue fracture of smooth steel specimens in gaseous hydrogen, high-temperature corrosion fatigue of preliminary hydrogenated titanium alloys, and the influence of hydrogenation on the wear resistance of structural steels in the process of friction and cavitation and on the parameters of cutting of a tool steel.     

Dynamic crack resistance of steel pipe mains during crack initiation, growth, and arrest

Methods for evaluating the strength and crack resistance of steel pipe mains over a wide range of temperatures and loading rates are given. A large volume of data taken from complex studies on the dynamic strength and crack resistance of two types of pipe steels during crack initiation and arrest is examined. A quantitative analysis of the microstructure of these steels in three mutually perpendicular planes is given.Translated from Problemy Prochnosti, No. 7, pp. 3–16, July, 1993.     

Environmentally-controlled non-equilibrium crack propagation in ceramics

A general framework is developed for environmentally-controlled non-equilibrium crack propagation and applied to ceramic materials that exhibit microstructurally-controlled fracture resistance variations. Increasing fracture resistance with crack length, arising from frictional interlocking of predominantly intergranular fracture surfaces, is modelled by the influence of a localized line force behind the crack tip. An indentation fracture mechanics analysis incorporates the fracture resistance variation to describe the inert strength of ceramic materials as a function of dominant flaw size. Non-equilibrium fracture is modelled as the competition between thermally-activated bond-rupture and bond-healing processes, in which the activation barriers are modified by the net mechanical energy release rate acting on a crack. The resulting dependence of crack velocity on mechanical energy release rate is used to describe the strength of ceramic materials as a function of applied stressing rate in a reactive environment. The deconvoluted crack velocity behavior allows both the macroscopic reactive environment fracture resistance and the atomistic lattice traps for fracture to be determined. An implication is that fracture resistance variations are more important in determining observed fracture behavior in reactive environments than in inert environments.     

Effect of preliminary deformation on the brittle-failure resistance of steels in the presence of cracks. Report 1. The effect of single-overload conditions

Investigations were carried out into the effect of the temperature-force parameters of preliminary loading (PL) on the resistance to brittle failure in static loading of 15Kh2MFA heat-resisting vessel steel in two structural conditions and the embrittled metal of a welded joint in 10KhMFT steel. The results show that the brittle-fracture resistance increases rapidly after preliminary loading in materials with a high yield limit. It is shown possible to utilize the effect of preliminary loading directly during hydraulic tests of a vessel of a power plant reactor. It is also shown that the effect of PL operates only at relatively long crack lengths. The results show that the main factor determining the effect of PL is blunting of the crack tip after preliminary loading, whereas the residual compressive stresses, formed in the region of the crack tip in the loading stage, have no marked effect on the PL effect.Translated from Problemy Prochnosti, No. 9, pp. 3–11, September, 1992.     

FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH BEHAVIOUR AND FRACTURE RESISTANCE IN CERAMICS

Fatigue crack growth and the fracture resistance curve (R-curve) were investigated in a polycrystalline alumina (AD90) and a silicon carbide whisker-reinforced alumina composite (Al₂O₃-SiC_w) at room temperature in air using a combined loading technique for stabilizing crack growth, and a surface film technique for monitoring crack length. Fatigue crack growth was evaluated successfully with those experimental techniques. Load shedding tests were performed until the crack became dormant, in order to determine the threshold stress intensity factor K_th. Subsequently, the specimens were used for quasi-static crack growth tests under a monotonic loading condition. The R-curves were determined in this experiment; however, fracture resistance did not increase markedly with crack growth. Detailed observations of the crack growth behaviour revealed that the flat R-curve was attributed to the shielding effect of the fatigue crack tip wake. Thus, the fatigue precrack introduced by the load shedding test was not regarded as an ideal crack for determining the R-curve. Fractographic observations were performed to investigate the mechanistic difference between fatigue and quasi-static crack growth. It was found that the cyclic loading produced fretting damage in the wake region and it reduced the shielding effect of the fatigue cracks. Based on the experimental results, the relationship between the fatigue crack growth and the R-curve is discussed as is the significance of K_th as a material parameter.     

On modelling cracks in orthotropic plates under biaxial loading: synthesis and summary

The model of a crack with a process zone is considered and generalized to orthotropic materials. It is assumed that a material in the process zone satisfies a strength condition of arbitrary form. Based on the crack model, the fracture of an orthotropic cracked plate under biaxial loading is studied. The crack is directed along one of the anisotropy axes with external loads being applied in parallel and perpendicularly to it. The influence of the biaxiality of external loading on the critical state of the cracked plate is analysed within the framework of the critical crack opening displacement and critical J ‐integral criteria. Numerical solution is obtained using the Mises‐Hill and Gol’denblat‐Kopnov strength criteria. Theoretical results are compared with experimental data obtained by testing specimens made of structural metals.     

Evaluation of the strength of structural materials with cracks under complex loading

We develop an experimental procedure and geometry of the specimens for the evaluation of the characteristics of crack growth resistance of structural materials for various macromechanisms of fracture (modes I, II, and III). We plotted diagrams of the limiting-equilibrium state of a body containing a crack (its strength) under complex proportionally increasing loading.     

Resistance Against the Intrinsic Rate of Fracture Mechanics Parameters for Polymeric Materials Under Moderate Impact Loading

This study contributes towards understanding crack toughness as resistance against the intrinsic rate of fracture mechanics parameters. Up to now only few investigations have been done under moderate impact loading conditions. Based on experimental investigations using the crack resistance (R) concept, it has been shown that the stop block method combined with the multiple-specimen technique is a unique method for polymers under impact loading conditions in comparison with different R-curve methods. Other methods for the determination of R curve such as the low-blow technique are normally not applicable for polymers due to their time-dependent mechanical properties. The crack-tip opening displacement (CTOD) rate is a measurement of the rate sensibility of stable fracture process depending on the type of deformation, which can provide deep insights into the micromechanics and activation mechanisms during the fracture processes. In the polymeric materials mostly investigated, one can understand the stable crack propagation with three-stage processes; crack-tip blunting/crack initiation, non-stationary stable crack growth and steady-state stable crack growth (an equilibrium state). In this stable crack propagation, the values of normalized CTOD rate converge rapidly to a ‘matrix’-specific threshold. The stop block method in the multiple-specimen technique assures the criteria of the time-independent strain field around the crack tip and constant crack speed therewith and the J-integral is a valid toughness parameter.     

Near‐threshold behaviour of shear‐mode fatigue cracks in metallic materials

This review paper presents a brief state‐of‐the art of the research on long fatigue shear‐mode cracks and describes some recent results on effective crack growth thresholds and mode I branching conditions achieved by the authors for ARMCO iron, titanium with two different microstructures, nickel and stainless steel. A special technique for preparation of fatigue precracks enabled us to substantially suppress the crack closure (friction) effects at the beginning of the experiment, and the measured threshold values could be considered to be very close to the effective ones. In all investigated materials, the effective thresholds under the remote mode II loading were found to be about 1.7 times lower than those under the remote mode III loading. Effective thresholds under mode II loading of investigated materials were found to follow a simple formula assembled by the shear modulus G, the magnitude of Burgers vector b and a goniometrical function n_α of the mean deflection angle that depends on the number of available crystallographic slip systems. These quantities determine the intrinsic material resistance to mode II crack propagation at the threshold. A simple criterion for mode I branching in terms of effective threshold values well reflects a transition from the shear‐mode to the opening‐mode controlled crack propagation at the threshold. The associated transition deflection angle of 40° is a material independent constant.     

Exponential slow crack growth of glass and advanced ceramics—dynamic fatigue

The life prediction analysis based on an exponential crack‐velocity formulation was made and examined using a variety of experimental data on glass and advanced structural ceramics in constant stress‐rate (‘dynamic fatigue’) loading at ambient and elevated temperatures. The data fit to the relation of strength versus ln (stress rate) was very reasonable for most of the materials. The major limitation in the exponential crack‐velocity formulation, however, was that the inert strength of a material must be known a priori to evaluate the important SCG parameter, n, a significant drawback as compared with the conventional power‐law crack‐velocity formulation.     

CRACK EXTENSION UNDER MIXED-MODE LOADING IN AN ANISOTROPIC MODE–ASYMMETRIC MATERIAL IN RESPECT OF RESISTANCE TO FRACTURE

Abstract— Recently, a crack path fracture criterion was proposed by Kfouri and Brown, based on maximum energy release rates at the tip of short kinks emanating from an existing crack when the main crack is subjected to mixed-mode loading. Assuming a ‘mode asymmetry’ in respect of the fracture resistances of the material, K_Ir, and K_IIr, for pure mode I and pure mode II, respectively, i.e., K_IIr, differing from K_Ir, generally, the modified criterion proposed that the resistance to fracture is a function of the ratio q (=k₂/k₁) of the mode II to the mode I stress intensity factors at the tip of the kink. The aim of the present paper is to extend the modified criterion by presenting it in a form that takes into account material fracture resistance anisotropy in addition to the fracture resistance mode asymmetry previously described. Note however that the material's elastic properties are still assumed to be isotropic. A short FORTRAN computer program has been written to predict the kink angle under mixed-mode loading for cracks in materials with mode asymmetry and material anisotropy with respect to their fracture resistance properties, and the inclination angle, θ, defining the direction of the main crack in the material. The values of four parameters, r₀, r₉₀, s and θ, described in the text, characterising the material fracture resistance asymmetrical and anisotropic properties and the orientation of the main crack, are prompted by the program, which provides, almost instantaneously, the kink angles under various loading modes and much additional relevant information. The effects of the variation of these parameters, treated singly or in combination, and the discontinuous “catastrophic” character of many of the responses at certain “transition” values of the parameters, are illustrated further. In the discussion it is recognised that the translation of the results of the analysis of a highly idealised situation to actual practical problems on real materials encountered in practice, is not straightforward but, notwithstanding, since material fracture resistance anisotropy and fracture resistance mode asymmetry may well be present in the real world, the possible influence of these factors perhaps needs to be taken into account in studies on crack paths.     

Evaluation of Fracture Parameters by Double-G,Double-K Models and Crack Extension Resistance for High Strength and Ultra High Strength Concrete Beams

This paper presents the advanced analytical methodologies such as Double- G and Double - K models for fracture analysis of concrete specimens made up of high strength concrete (HSC, HSC1) and ultra high strength concrete. Brief details about characterization and experimentation of HSC, HSC1 and UHSC have been provided. Double-G model is based on energy concept and couples the Griffith's brittle fracture theory with the bridging softening property of concrete. The double-K fracture model is based on stress intensity factor approach. Various fracture parameters such as cohesive fracture toughness (K_Ic^c), unstable fracture toughness (K_Ic^un) and initiation fracture toughness (K_Icⁱⁿⁱ) have been evaluated based on linear elastic fracture mechanics and nonlinear fracture mechanics principles. Double-G and double-K method uses the secant compliance at the peak point of measured P-CMOD curves for determining the effective crack length. Bi-linear tension softening model has been employed to account for cohesive stresses ahead of the crack tip. From the studies, it is observed that the fracture parameters obtained by using double - G and double - K models are in good agreement with each other. Crack extension resistance has been estimated by using the fracture parameters obtained through double - K model. It is observed that the values of the crack extension resistance at the critical unstable point are almost equal to the values of the unstable fracture toughness K_Ic^un of the materials. The computed fracture parameters will be useful for crack growth study, remaining life and residual strength evaluation of concrete structural components.     

Fatigue and Damage Tolerance of Glare

Methods have been developed to describe the fatigue initiation and propagation mechanisms in flat panels as well as mechanically fastened joints and to determine the residual strength of large flat panels. Glare shows excellent crack growth characteristics due to the mechanism of delamination and fibre bridging. The fatigue insensitive fibres restrain the crack opening and transfer load over the crack in the metal layers. During the initiation phase fibre bridging does not occur and the behaviour is dominated by the metal initiation properties. Mechanically fastened joints introduce additional effects such as secondary bending, load transfer and aspects related to the fastener installation. The residual strength of Glare is dependent on the amount of broken fibres and the delamination size and can be described with the R-curve approach.The impact resistance of Glare is related to the aluminium and glass/epoxy properties and is significantly higher than the impact resistance of monolithic aluminium. The same has been proven for fire resistance. Depending on the Glare grade and thickness, the outer aluminium layer will melt away, whereas the other layers will remain intact due to carbonisation of the glass/epoxy layers and delamination of the laminate. The air in the delaminations will act as insulation, keeping the temperatures at the non-exposed side relatively low.     

Ensuring structural damage tolerance of russian aircraft

This paper considers most common problems related with structural integrity of civil aircraft in Russia taking into account the development of regulatory requirements, prevention of multiple site fatigue damages, improvements of crack resistance of structural materials, optimizations of aircraft type structures, development of methods for residual strength analyses of stiffened structures as well as for crack growth rates under random service loading spectra, experimental results for crack resistance degradation, methods to prevent structural failure for long operated aircraft due to corrosion.