Continuum and Micromechanics Treatment of Constraint in Fracture

Dodds, Robert H., Jr.; Shih, C.F.; Anderson, T.L.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/14190 Copy

Description

Title

Continuum and Micromechanics Treatment of Constraint in Fracture

Author(s)

• Dodds, Robert H., Jr.
• Shih, C.F.
• Anderson, T.L.

Issue Date

1992-11

Keyword(s)

• Fracture mechanics
• Finite element analysis
• Micromechanics
• Biaxial tension
• Uniaxial tension

Abstract

Two complementary methodologies are described to quantify the effects of crack-tip stress triaxiality (constraint) on the macroscopic measures of elastic-plastic fracture toughness, J and CTOD. In the continuum mechanics methodology, two parameters, J and Q, suffice to characterize the full range of near-tip environments at the onset of fracture. J sets the size scale of the zone of high stresses and large deformations while Q scales the near-tip stress level relative to a high triaxiality reference stress state. The material's fracture resistance is characterized by a toughness locus, Jc(Q), which defines the sequence of J-Q values at fracture determined by experiment from high constraint conditions (Q=O) to low constraint conditions (Q < 0). A micromechanics methodology is described which predicts the toughness locus using crack-tip stress fields and critical J-values from a few fracture toughness tests. A robust micromechanics model for cleavage fracture has evolved from the observations of a strong, spatial self-similarity of crack-tip principal stresses under increased loading and across different fracture specimens. The micromechanics model employs the volume of material bounded within principal stress contours at fracture to correlate Jc values for different specimens and loading modes. This report explores the fundamental concepts of the J-Q description of crack-tip fields, the fracture toughness locus and micromechanics approaches to predict the variability of macroscopic fracture toughness with constraint under elastic-plastic conditions. Computational results are presented for a surface cracked plate containing a 6: 1 semi-elliptical, a=t/4 flaw subjected to remote uniaxial and biaxial tension. Crack-tip stress fields consistent with the J-Q theory are demonstrated to exist at each location along the crack front. The micromechanics model employs the J-Q description of crack-front stresses to interpret fracture toughness values measured on laboratory specimens for fracture assessment of the surface cracked plate. The computational results suggest only a minor effect of the biaxial loading on the crack tip stress fields and, consequently, on the propensity for fracture relative to the uniaxial loading.

Publisher

University of Illinois Engineering Experiment Station. College of Engineering. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Series/Report Name or Number

Civil Engineering Studies SRS-573

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/14190

Sponsor(s)/Grant Number(s)

• U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. Division of Engineering.
• Contract No. N61533-90-K-0059
• Contract No. N00167-92-K-0038

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