Finite element analysis of creep fracture initiation in a model superalloy material

Detailed finite element analyses were performed for a single edge-cracked specimen geometry under both plane stress and plane strain constraint for a superalloy material that obeys a power-law creep relationship. The objectives of these analyses were to elucidate the stationary creep crack-tip fields and to provide guidance for the experimental measurement of crack-tip deformations. New results demonstrate that, for both plane stress and plane strain, the angular variations in the creep strain fields do not agree with HRR-type predictions, although the radial variations are in agreement with HRR-type creep strain field predictions in a zone very near the crack tip. Thus, the use of experimental measurement of surface displacement and/or strain data for the location of HRR-type fields may not be possible, unless modifications to the existing HRR-type theory are made. It is also noted that the size of the stress-based HRR-dominance zone is only a fraction of the creep zone size in plane stress, and is very small (especially along =0°) compared to the creep zone size in plane strain. Furthermore, the dominance of the singular strain fields are at least two orders of magnitude smaller than the corresponding stress dominance zones. As such, unless the microstructural features of the material are smaller than the dimensions of the dominance zones, the basis for using stress or strain-based fracture parameters derived from the HRR-type fields for prediction of creep fracture initiation is unclear.     

三点弯曲-剪切试样的应力强度因子

利用一种边界元法研究具有偏移边裂纹的三点弯曲-剪切试样.该边界元方法由Crouch与Starfield提出的常位移不连续单元和笔者最近提出的裂尖位移不连续单元构成.在该边界元方法实施过程中,左、右裂尖位移不连续单元分别置于裂纹的左、右裂尖处,而常位移不连续单元则分布于除了裂尖位移不连续单元占据的位置之外的整个裂纹面及其他边界.算例说明这种边界元法不论对无限大还是对有限大平面弹性复杂裂纹问题的应力强度因子的计算都是非常有效的.对具有偏移边裂纹的三点弯曲-剪切试样的应力强度因子进行了详细的研究,给出了数值结果.     

Effect of Crack Propagation Directions on the Interlaminar Fracture Toughness of Carbon/Epoxy Composite Materials

The interlaminar fracture toughness of carbon/epoxy composite materials has been studied under tensile and flexural loading using width-tapered double cantilever beam (WTDCB) and end-notched flexure (ENF) specimens. This study experimentally examines the effect of various interfacial ply orientations, (0°, 45° and 90°) and crack propagation directions, (0°, 15°, 30° and 45°) in terms of the critical strain energy release rate. Twelve differently layered laminates were investigated. The fracture energy is deduced from the data according to the compliance method and beam theory. Beam theory is used to analyze the effect of crack propagation direction. The geometry and lay-up sequence of specimens are designed to probe various conditions such as skewness parameter and beam volume. Results show that fiber bridging occurred due to non-midplane crack propagation; this causes the difference in fracture energy calculated by both methods. For the construction of safer and more reliable composite structures, we obtain the optimal stacking sequence from the initial fracture energy in each mode.     

Crack propagation in notched specimens of porous silicon carbide under cyclic loading

Notched specimens of porous silicon carbide with porosity 37% were fatigued under four‐point bending at frequencies of 30 and 0.3 Hz. The fatigue life expressed in terms of time was rather insensitive to the test frequency, while that expressed in terms of cycles was much shorter for the case of 0.3 Hz than for 30 Hz. A time‐dependent mechanism of stress corrosion cracking was mainly responsible for crack propagation, and stress cycling enhanced the crack‐propagation mechanism. The crack length was estimated from the change in compliance of the specimen. The crack‐propagation curve was divided into stages I and II. In stage I, the crack‐propagation rate decreased even though the applied stress intensity factor became larger with crack extension, and then turned to increase in stage II. The transition from stage I to II took place at a crack extension of around 0.8 mm. This anomalous behaviour is caused by crack‐tip shielding due to microcracking and asperity contact. Fractographic observations showed that the fracture path was along the binder phase between silicon carbide particles, or more precisely along the interface between particles and binders.     

A perturbation solution for a crack in a power-law material under gross yielding

Abstract In order to develop an analytical method for quantifying the plastic-blunting behaviour of a short crack embedded in a notch plastic zone, the perturbation solution of He and Hutchinson is extended to include the effect of strain gradient. An edge-cracked plate subjected to a linearly varying remote strain is considered in this work to simulate the plastic deformation associated with a small crack at a notch root. The strain hardening of the material is assumed to obey a power-law. Comparison with finite-element (FE) computations demonstrates that this perturbation solution provides accurate values for the crack-tip opening displacement (CTOD) under gross-yielding conditions for a range of hardening parameters.     

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.     

Representation of Crack-Tip Plasticity in Pressure Sensitive Geomaterials: Large Scale Yielding

We model large scale Mohr-Coulomb yielding that accompany fractures in weak rocks, by means of dislocations. The basic equations are derived from a simple model of the crack tip plasticity which represents the plasticity by superdislocations placed at the effective centres of the crack tip process zone.     

Crack-tip fields in elastic-plastic material under plane stress mode I loading

New results on the crack-tip fields in an elastic power-law hardening material under plane stress mode I loading are presented. Using a generalized asymptotic expansion of the stress function, higher-order terms are found which have newly-discovered characteristics. A series solution is obtained for the elastic-plastic crack-tip fields. The expansion of stress fields contains both the and terms where t_i is real and t_k is complex; the terms σ⁽ⁱ⁾ _pq(θt_i) and σ^(k) _rsθt_k) are real and complex functions of θ respectively. Comparing the results with that for the plane strain mode I loading shows that: (1) the effect of higher-order solutions on the crack-tip fields is much smaller; and (2) the path-independent integral J also controls the second-order or third-order term in the asymptotic solutions of the crack-tip fields for most of the engineering materials (1 < n < 11) in plane stress, while the J-integral does not control the second and the third-order terms for the plane strain mode I case for n > 3. These theoretical results imply that the crack-tip fields can be well characterized by the J-integral, and can be used as a criterion for fracture initiation under plane stress mode I loading. This is in agreement with existing full-field solutions and experimental data that J at crack growth initiation is essentially independent of in-plane specimen geometry. The comparison confirms the theoretical asymptotic solutions developed in this study. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

拉伸载荷作用下无限大板中三角孔-裂纹问题

针对Bueckner原理普遍化,提出了一种求解远方载荷作用下无限大板中孔边裂纹问题的数值方法.通过把适于单一裂纹的Bueckner原理扩充到远方载荷作用下无限大板中孔边裂纹问题,将原问题分解为承受远方载荷不含孔边裂纹的均匀问题和在远方不承受载荷但在裂纹面上和孔的表面上承受面力的问题.算例说明本数值方法对分析无限大板中孔...