Zhuang He

A brief review of recent three-dimensional studies of brittle fracture

Abstract3D crack problems are area where a further intensive research is required. 3D solutions can shed more light on fracture and fatigue phenomena, provide a more accurate evaluation of strength and fatigue life or justify the application of the classical solutions of plane theories of elasticity. These, in fact, are approximate theories even when the governing equations of these theories are solved exactly. The current paper aims to provide a brief summary of the latest investigations of 3D effects associated with crack geometries and brittle fracture. In particular, we present an overview of the coupled fracture modes and 3D vertex singularities, which are currently largely ignored in experimental and theoretical studies. We also describe a recently developed experimental method for the evaluation of the stress intensity factors. This review is concerned with the situation generally described in the literature as small scale plasticity. Large plastic deformations and other non-linear effects are beyond the scope of this article.

A simplified method for the evaluation of fatigue crack front shapes under mode I loading

Two-dimensional elastic or elasto-plastic models dominate the current fatigue crack growth assessment and life prediction procedures for plate components with through-the-thickness cracks. However, as demonstrated in many theoretical and experimental papers, the stress field near the crack tip is always three-dimensional and, as a result, the fatigue crack front is not straight. It is normally curved towards the plate faces. Over the past few years there were a number of very careful numerical studies focusing on the evaluation of fatigue crack front shapes. However, the application of the direct numerical techniques to fatigue phenomena is a very tedious and time consuming process and, sometimes, it is quite ambiguous. In the current paper we develop a simplified method for the evaluation of the front shapes of through-the-thickness fatigue cracks. Further, we validate the developed method against experimental results, investigate the influence of various parameters on the crack front shapes at stable (steady-state) propagation and analyse the differences in the results of fatigue crack growth evaluation obtained with two- and three-dimensional approaches.

On Influence of Non-Singular Stress States on Brittle Fracture

In the case of sufficiently brittle material the use of stress intensity factor as a fracture parameter alone is well justified within the Linear-Elastic Fracture Mechanics. This is because the singular stress field associated with the stress intensity factor is dominant near the crack tip. However, there are numerous experimental evidences that the critical stress intensity factor to cause fracture initiation (or fracture toughness) can be affected by the specimen geometry as well as loading conditions. To address this issue a number of twoparameter criteria have been proposed in the past, which often utilise non-singular terms of the classical asymptotic expansion of the stress field near the crack tip. Therefore, there is a problem of the selection of an appropriate parameter in addition to the stress intensity factor, which could account for various effects induced by the specimen geometry and loading on initiation of brittle fracture. This short paper demonstrates that brittle fracture conditions can be successfully predicted with various two-parameter criteria, and there are no clear advantages in the use of T-stress as the additional parameter in fracture criterion, in comparison with the next non-singular term, A1, of the asymptotic expansion.

An experimental method for evaluating mode II stress intensity factor from near crack tip field

A new experimental approach for evaluating stress intensity factor was recently suggested by the authors (He et al. in Int J Solid Struct 78–79:131-137, 2015b). It is based on a linear relationship between the remote stress intensity factor and the out-of-plane surface displacements in the close vicinity of the vertex point. Dimensionless considerations, 3D FEM and DIC technique were attracted to establish and validate this relationship. However, these new developments were limited to through-the-thickness cracks subjected to mode I loading only. This brief note extends the above-mentioned approach to mode II and, eventually, to mixed mode loading.

On the Correspondence between Two- and Three-Dimensional Elastic Solutions of Crack Problems

The classical two-dimensional solutions of the theory of elasticity provide a framework of Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics. However, these solutions, in fact, are approximations despite that the corresponding governing equations of the plane theories of elasticity are solved exactly. This paper aims to elucidate the main differences between the approximate (two-dimensional) and exact (three-dimensional) elastic solutions of crack problems. The latter demonstrates many interesting features, which cannot be analysed within the plane theories of elasticity. These features include the presence of scale effects of deterministic nature, the existence of new singular stress states and fracture modes. Furthermore, the deformation and stress fields near the tip of the crack is essentially three-dimensional and do not follow plane stress or plane strain simplifications. Moreover, in certain situations the two-dimensional solutions can provide misleading results; and several characteristic examples are outlined in this paper.

Effect of vertex singularities on the displacement and strain fields near a crack front

The current paper investigates the linear-elastic strain and displacement fields in vicinity to a crack front. It is demonstrated that a finite transverse strain exists along the front of a through-the-thickness crack. It is demonstrated that this finite strain is linked to the vertex singularities; and its magnitude is a function of the elastic properties, plate thickness and the intensity of the remote loading. Therefore, neither plane strain nor plane stress is an accurate assumption in the analysis of the strain and displacement field near the crack tip except in the case when the plate thickness is sufficiently large.