Dynamic Fracture Under Plane Wave Loading.
Abstract
A new plate impact experiment is described to study dynamic fracture processes that occur under sub-microsecond loading. The experiment is designed to make the measurements amenable to interpretation within the framework of fracture mechanics. A disc containing a mid-plane, pre-fatigued, edge crack that has been propagated halfway across the diameter is impacted by a thin flyer plate of the same material. A comprehensive pulse propagates through the specimen and reflects from the rear surface as a step, tensile pulse with a duration of 1 microsecond. This plane wave loads the crack and caused initiation and propagation of the crack. The motion of the rear surface is monitored during this event using a laser interferometer system. The location of the crack front is mapped before and after the experiment using a focussed ultrasonic transducer. Experiments have been conducted on a hardened 4340 VAR steel, at temperatures ranging from room temperature to - 100 C. Crack advance increases monotonically with increasing impact velocity and with decreasing temperature. A finite difference method is used for numerical simulation of the experiments.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1986
- Accession Number
- ADA178594
Entities
People
- G. Ravichandran
- R. J. Clifton
Organizations
- Brown University