Growth Characteristics of a Through Crack in a Plate Specimen
Abstract
This report describes the results of a theoretical study of the problem of a through crack in a tensile plate specimen. Experimental observations indicate that the crack front grows stably in the specimen interior forming a 'thumb nail' shape prior to unstable fracture. The amount of interior growth before fracture is found to depend on both geometry (relative specimen thickness), the material properties, and the amount of yielding which tends to delay the onset of rapid fracture. The goal of this work is to study the interaction of material nonlinearity with geometry and their combined effect on the fracture process. To this end, two-dimensional elastic-plastic and three- dimensional elastic calculations have been performed. The finite element method, specialized to crack problems, is the tool used to obtain numercial results. Predictions on the increments of growth along the crack front are made on the basis of the strain energy density theory that assumed crack trajectory to coincide with path of minimum strain energy density function. Related three-dimensional elastic-plastic calculations are currently being developed to complete the modeling of the ductile fracture process in plate specimens.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1976
- Accession Number
- ADA030758
Entities
People
- B. V. Kiefer
- George C. Sih
- P. D. Hilton
Organizations
- Lehigh University