The Fracture Process

2.1 Introduction
Fracture is often considered as a process in which increased loading suddenly causes
accelerated growth of a pre-existing crack. A closer study, however, reveals three dis-
tinct phases, 1) loading without crack growth, 2) stable crack growth, and 3) unstable
crack growth. Stable crack growth may, in principle, be controlled with the loading
device, so that, for instance, a prescribed slow crack growth may be obtained. This is
not possible for unstable crack growth, which occurs spontaneously.
Four distinctly different regions may be recognized in a crack edge vicinity. Nearest
the edge is the process region, discussed in the previous chapter. When the crack
edge advances, a wake of the process region is left behind. Outside the process region
there is generally a plastic region. When the crack edge advances a wake of the plastic
region is left behind. In this wake the material is again deforming elastically, because of
unloading, but reversed plastic flow may eventually occur, so t hat a secondary plastic
region appears behind the wake of the primary plastic region. The process region
and the primary and secondary plastic regions are the dissipative regions. Outside
them is the elastic region. In Fig. 2.1.1 the three phases of the fracture process are
illustrated, together with the process region and the (primary) plastic region with its
wake.
The present chapter will mainly deal with the opening mode, and some features
discussed may be recognized as being specific to this mode. However, several features
also carry over to the shearing modes.
2.2 Pre-existing cracks
P r e - e x i s t i n g c r a c k s a r e v e r y c o m m o n a n d v i r t u a l l y i m p o s s i b l e t o a v o i d i n l a r g e s t r u c -
t u r e s . I n s o m e s o l i d s , f o r i n s t a n c e g l a s s , t i n y s u r f a c e c r a c k s a p p e a r s p o n t a n e o u s l y a s
a r e s u l t o f c h e m i c a l a g e n t s , e v e n i n s e e m i n g l y n e u t r a l e n v i r o n m e n t s , s u c h a s a i r w i t h
n o r m a l h u m i d i t y . I n o t h e r c a s e s , c r a c k s a r e o p e n e d a s a r e s u l t o f t h e r m a l s t r e s s e s ,
c r e a t e d , f o r i n s t a n c e , a f t e r h e a t t r e a t m e n t ( h a r d e n i n g ) o r w e l d i n g . C r a c k s a r e a l s o
f r e q u e n t l y f o r m e d d u r i n g m a n u f a c t u r i n g o f t h e m a t e r i a l o r a s a r e s u l t o f m e c h a n i c a l
p r o c e s s e s d u r i n g m a n u f a c t u r i n g o r j o i n i n g s t r u c t u r a l p a r t s .
A p r e - e x i s t i n g c r a c k i s g e n e r a l l y n o t s i m p l y a s h a r p s l o t i n a v i r g i n m a t e r i a l . S u c h a
s l o t w o u l d b e o n l y a f e w i n t e r - a t o m i c d i s t a n c e s w i d e , b u t p r e - e x i s t i n g c r a c k s i n s t e e l s ,
27
28 2. THE FRACTURE PROCESS
Fig. 2.1.1 The three phases of the fracture process are: 1. Loading without crack growth,
but with increasing damage near the crack edge. 2. Stable crack growth. 3. Unstable crack
growth. The four different regions near the crack edge are: 1. The process region. 2. The
plastic region. 3. The wake of the plastic region. 4. The virgin elastic region.
for instance, may show openings of several hundred inter-atomic distances, and some-
times much more. The material state in the crack edge vicinity varies considerably,
depending on the history of crack formation. This variety calls for a philosophy of han-
dling fracture problems t hat does not need to consider the previous history, which,
moreover, is generally poorly known. On the other hand, it is, of course, desirable to
know whether the mechanism t hat caused cracking is still present. It is, for exam-
ple, i mport ant to recognize the existence of residual stresses t hat have caused cracks
during or after welding.
Most often, a pre-existing crack does not constitute a greater hazard t han a sharp
slot of the same size. Therefore, the simplifying assumption of a sharp slot, is gener-
ally appropriate for estimates on the likelihood of crack growth and fracture, and it
certainly makes a mathematical analysis much more tractable.
2.3 LOADING BEFORE CRACK GROWTH 29
Fi g. 2. 3. 1 Duri ng loading of an originally sharp crack, plastic flow near t he crack edgecauses
blunting. The bl unt ed region is somet i mes referred to as t he "st ret ched zone".
2.3 Loading before crack growth
Suppose that a crack is so oriented that the ambient stresses tend to open it. Even a
small load causes a separation of the crack faces, and a strain concentration appears
at the crack edge(s). In most materials, plastic flow follows, and during further loading
the strains or stresses become sufficiently high to initiate micro-separations: a process
region develops. Continued increase of the load causes growth of both the process
region and the plastic region. Eventually, coalescences occur between micro-separations
and the main crack: the crack starts growing.
The sequence of events is illustrated in Fig. 2.3.1. During loading without crack
growth, the plastic flow near the crack edge and the height increase of the process
region causes considerable blunting of the edge, forming the so-called stretched zone.
In some materials, for instance mild steel, the blunting may be visible by the naked
eye. A machine produced pre-existing crack may be substantially blunted; this may
lead to considerably increased resistance to onset of crack growth.
Blunting may be studied experimentally in different ways. It can be observed opti-
cally in a cut normal to the crack edge. Another way is to pour a mould into the crack,
which is withdrawn after the mould has solidified and the crack has been opened. In
a less direct way, a CMOD-measurement (Crack Mouth Opening Displacement), the
change in crack opening during loading is determined at the crack mouth, generally by
means of a clip-gauge; see Fig. 2.3.2. This method, which is extensively used in frac-
ture mechanics tests, is known as COD-determination (Crack Opening Displacement).
It is based on some estimated relation between crack blunting and mouth opening,
assuming that the crack has not grown.
30 2. THE FRACTURE PROCESS
i ' " I
i l i n i l 9
; /
STRAIN
GAUGES MACHINED CRACK
SLOT
Fig. 2.3.2 Clip-gauge measurement of crack mouth opening.
2. 4 Onset of crack growth
It is usually very difficult to detect when a crack st art s growing. Even the very con-
cept of incipient crack growth is difficult to define. Crack growth occurs when micro-
separations in front of the crack edge coalesce with the main crack, but the micro-
separations are unevenly spaced and of different sizes. They may even be of different
types along the crack edge. Some coalescences with the main crack may therefore occur
long before coalescences along the major part of the edge. Even from a macroscopic
point of view, crack growth may occur early along some part of the crack edge and
later at other parts, as at the "thumbnail effect".
The difficulty in identifying incipient crack growth is similar to t hat encountered in
the det ermi nat i on of the "elastic limit" from a tensile test. In t hat case the difficulty
is resolved by a convention, the idea of which is to define the yield stress as the
stress when a small, but yet safely detectable permanent elongation (usually 0.2%) has
occurred. The same idea, applied to crack growth, leads to definition of incipient crack
growth as the state when a small, but yet safely detectable amount of crack growth has
occurred. Ext raordi nary and sophisticated techniques should not be needed. Methods
to determine the amount of stable crack growth will be discussed in the next section.
A convention t hat allows unambiguous determination of incipient crack growth, like
the one discussed, may be needed for testing purposes. In theoretical t reat ment s, it
is nevertheless usually assumed t hat onset of crack growth occurs smoothly and si-
multaneously along the whole crack edge. Such idealizations are common in applied
mechanics: in elastic-plastic theories, for instance, the state is assumed t o be com-
pletely elastic until the yield condition is reached, and homogeneous plastic flow is
assumed to occur immediately afterwards.
The onset of crack growth depends on several factors: material properties, body
geometry (including crack geometry), load distribution, load magnitude and environ-
mental conditions. Time effects often play a part as a result of viscoplastic flow in the
process region and its vicinity. In other cases diffusion of impurity atoms towards the
process region may cause delayed onset of crack growth after load application. Time
effects will be more i mport ant the further the crack growth process proceeds toward
unstable crack growth.
Onset of stable crack growth is governed by a local condition, describing when the
2.5 STABLE CRACK GROWTH 31
) Aa
Fig. 2.5.1 Relation between stable crack growth, Aa, and outer load, P.
process region reaches a certain critical state. Wi t h experience from the development
of the process region up to onset of crack growth in a certain material, an imagined
observer who could overlook the whole process region and its immediate vicinity, but
not necessarily other parts of the body, would be able to tell when crack growth
is about to occur. In most cases of engineering interest, the development of size,
shape and deformations of the process region will always be the same in the same
material: the observer will not be able to see any differences, except those related to the
nonregular distribution of micro-separations. This independence on body and loading
geometry is what Barenbl at t (1959c) called autonomy, a concept t hat will be used
frequently in the present work. It has played a dominating role in fracture mechanics,
although often intuitively taken for granted rat her t han explicitly recognized. It should,
however, be remarked already here t hat there are several exceptions to autonomy; thus,
the loading stuation (in particular whether it produces crack face opening or sliding)
and environmental conditions have to be specified.
2.5 Stable crack growth
General properties of stable crack growth
Even though the total amount of crack growth during the stable phase often is much
smaller t han the crack length, and therefore might be difficult to detect, the outer
load generally has to be increased considerably, often by a factor of two or more. Fig.
2.5.1 shows a typical relation between the amount of stable crack growth and the outer
load.
In a rate-independent material, the rate of growth is directly related to the current
rate of loading. If the loading device, for instance the grips in a tensile testing machine,
can be manipulated, then it is possible to stop the growth or change the rate of growth
as desired. This possiblility, even if it only exists in principle, may be taken to define
the concept of stable crack growth. In a rate-dependent material, the concept of stable
crack growth is less well defined, but is often used if the contribution to crack growth
from the rate-dependence is small.
Comparatively small changes of load or grip cause substantial crack growth towards
the end of the stable phase, especially at small scale yielding. Viscoplastic effects may
then be significant, even if t hey have been negligible at earlier stages.
32 2. THE FRACTURE PROCESS
Fi g. 2. 5. 2 Example of loading geometry suppressing unstable crack growth, thus capable of
producing virtually unlimited stable crack growth.
d, t , t ,
Fig. 2.5.3 Example of loading geometry suppressing stable crack growth, thus capable of
producing unstable crack growth directly from a stationary crack.
The total amount of stable crack growth depends on several factors: material proper-
ties, environmental conditions, body geometry and loading geometry. In fact, virtually
unlimited amounts of stable crack growth may be obtained solely by choosing a suitable
loading geometry. Wedging of a plate is an obvious example, although conceptually
somewhat ambiguous, because the crack often grows through jumps. Another example
is shown in Fig. 2.5.2, showing conical crack surfacest. On the other hand, body and
loading geometries can be designed so as to suppress the stable phase entirely. Fig.
2.5.3 shows the idea of such designs.
In common engineering cases the total amount of stable crack growth depends very
much on the embedment of the process region in the plastic region. As a result it may
be either larger or smaller (but seldom much smaller) than the forward extent of the
t Such conical surfaces were obtained in spectacular experiments by Roesler (1956), using a cylindrical
indentor on a glass block.
2.5 STABLE CRACK GROWTH 33
plastic region at small scale yielding. An illustrative example is found from numerical
calculations by Tvergaard and Hutchinson (1992). A shallow embedment was obtained
by choosing a low ratio between cohesive strength and yield strength; this resulted in
stable crack growth about equal to the forwards extension of the plastic region. On
the other hand, a deep embedment, obtained by choosing a higher ratio, resulted in
stable growth amounting to several times the forwards extension of the plastic region.
Stable crack growth is governed by local conditions at the process region, but the
onset of unstable growth follows as a result of a global instability. This will be discussed
in Section 2.6. Stopping stable crack growth at some instant for examination, reveals
t hat the the blunting does not accompany the moving edge; this is again sharp apart
from the height extension of the process region; see Fig. 2.1.1. This reduction of
blunting seems to imply t hat the ratio between hydrostatic and deviatoric strains and
stresses in the process region vicinity increases after some amount of crack growth,
which might change the micro-separation type from voids to micro-cracks.
Measurement of the amount of crack growth
Measuring the amount of stable crack growth causes in general great experimental
problems. There are, however, exceptions. In thin plates, stable crack growth may
amount to several times the plate thickness, and it may then easily be observed on
the plate surfaces (see e.g. Brock 1968). Some uncertainty may prevail due to the
possibility of a thumbnail effect. It was once described to the aut hor t hat a failed
ship-plate showed a crack t hat continued inside the plate along a distance of about
I m, without penet rat i ng the surfaces. This part of the crack was detected because the
necking of the remaining ligaments was visible on the plate surfaces. This particular
case was certainly associated with unstable and rat her fast crack growth, but the
observation shows t hat conclusions drawn from cracks visible on the surface of a body
may be misleading.
Continuous recording of crack growth may be made by means of acoustical or elec-
trical impedance methods. Such methods do not always give a satisfactory accuracy,
but there has been substantial hope t hat recording of acoustic emission on engineer-
ing structures could give a warning about crack growth t hat might elude inspections.
Similarly, tremors in the eart h' s crust may give a warning about an impending earth-
quake.
Int ermi t t ent measurements may be carried out in a number of different ways on lab-
oratory test specimens. One simple way is to make compliance measurements: the stiff-
ness of the specimen decreases with increasing crack length. The specimen is unloaded,
whereby the elastic stiffness, or its inverse, the compliance, is recorded. Several deter-
minations, by cycles of unloading, reloading and further loading, may be performed
for this purpose during a test which otherwise is designed for monotone loading; see
Fig. 2.5.4. This met hod is frequently used and is fairly accurate for deeply cracked
specimens. It is not always remembered, however, t hat even a small number of load
cycles might significantly influence the growth process by low-cycle fatigue action; cf.
pages 617ff. A calibration procedure may use a machined slot, rat her t han the sharp
crack usually required for test specimens. In this way, crack growth is suppressed, and
by using slots of different lengths calibration curves can be produced.
A very accurate met hod of determining crack growth under l aborat ory conditions,
34 2. THE FRACTURE PROCESS
Fig. 2.5.4 Load-displacement (P-5) record, obtained by frequent unloading and reloading.
The change of slope in elastic regions gives a measure of the compliance changes during
loading.
STABLE [
CRACK'~
GROWTHL
r
i ' i i . , i : i l i , i i i i i i : i i i ! : ; i
FINAL FRACTURE
~, DYE MARKS
FATIGUE CRACK
MACHINED SLOT
Fig. 2.5.5 A dye may be used during laboratory testing to mark the position of the crack
edge at different stages of the stable phase.
consists of immersing the crack with a dye repeatedly during loading (Broberg 1975,
Tryding 1991). The specimen should be oriented with the crack mout h pointing up-
wards. The loading is kept constant for a while until the dye has dried. Because of
gravity, the dye concentrates near the crack edge, and the amount of crack growth can
be seen on the fracture surfaces after completed test from the dye markings; see Fig.
2.5.5. An advantage with the met hod is t hat not only the position but also the shape of
the crack edge at intervals, may be determined. An alternative, but somewhat brut al
method, is to oxidize the crack surfaces by heating the crack region, for instance by
means of an acetylene flame.
2.6 ONSET OF UNSTABLE CRACK GROWTH 35
Fig. 2.6.1 Load-displacement record, showing sudden, but rather small crack advances.
2.6 Onset of unstable crack growth
A central question in fracture mechanics concerns the circumstances leading to un-
stable crack growth, which is usually considered as synonymous with fracture. It is
the result of gl obal i ns t abi l i t y (Broberg 1973a). This implies involvement of the whole
body, including the loading device. This situation is well-known from the final frac-
t uri ng of a tensile testpiece, which occurs sooner in a soft t han in a stiff machine, and
also sooner for a long testpiece t han for a short. For a crack in a large plate, unstable
crack growth occurs at large scale yielding (i.e., for a relatively small crack) before the
P- Aa curve, Fig. 2.5.1, is levelling out, but at small scale yielding when the curve
is levelling out.
The cont ri but i on to stable crack growth by viscoplastic flow may become significant
towards the end of the stable phase, as often experienced for t hi n sheets, for instance
al umi ni um or celluloid sheets. It implies a conceptual difficulty, because onset of unsta-
ble crack growth is not controlled solely by the current loading situation, but also by
viscoplasticity. From a practical point of view, unstable crack growth is as unwant ed
if caused by viscoplastic flow as if by load increase. In tests, ample time should be
allowed for viscoplastic flow. Inspection of the load-displacement relation during the
test will generally give information about whet her the rate of loading is sufficiently
lOW.
As well as viscoplastic flow, other time-effects may be present, for instance diffusion
of i mpuri t y at oms toward the crack edge. Such effects might be very strong. An excess
of hydrogen in steel may cause fracture at comparat i vel y small loads; see e.g. Dieter
(1988). Wat er vapour may cause fracture in glass after a few weeks at a load which is
only half the load needed to cause fracture after some minutes; see e.g. Shand (1958).
Several other material combinations lead to environmentally assisted cracking; cf. page
9.
Generally, a st ruct ural part or test piece is rapidly fully broken by a fast runni ng frac-
ture, accompanied by a sharp sound immediately after onset of unstable crack growth.
Sometimes, however, some doubt may arise as to whet her unstable crack growth has
occurred or not. In these cases, a sudden, t hough very small, crack growth occurs,
whereupon stable crack growth continues during further loading, until an undisputable
fracture occurs. Such events appear as steps in a load versus displacement record; see
Fig. 2.6.1.
The cause of such sudden crack growth steps may be of different kinds. In some cases,
36 2. THE F RACTURE PROCESS
t h e o r i g i n c a n b e t r a c e d t o i n h o m o g e n e o u s m a t e r i a l . O n e e x a m p l e i s w e l d e d p l a t e s ,
w h e r e d i f f e r e n t r e g i o n s p o s s e s s d i f f e r e n t p r o p e r t i e s . U n s t a b l e c r a c k g r o w t h m a y b e
i n i t i a t e d i n t h e h e a t a f f e c t e d z o n e b u t b e a r r e s t e d i n t h e b a s e m a t e r i a l . I n o t h e r c a s e s
t h e b o d y s h a p e , o r t h e l o a d d i s t r i b u t i o n , i s s u c h t h a t a c r a c k i s s o o n a r r e s t e d a f t e r o n s e t
o f u n s t a b l e g r o w t h . O n e e x a m p l e i s c r a c k g r o w t h d u e t o t h e r m a l s t r e s s e s i n a p l a t e
o r a h o s e : s u c h s t r e s s e s m i g h t v a r y f r o m t e n s i l e t o c o m p r e s s i v e a l o n g t h e p r o s p e c t i v e
c r a c k p a t h . F r e q u e n t l y t h e e x p l a n a t i o n t o a p e r c e i v e d s u d d e n c r a c k g r o w t h s t e p i s d u e
t o a s o - c a l l e d p o p - i n p h e n o m e n o n , o c c u r r i n g o n l y i n t h e p l a t e i n t e r i o r . T h u s , i t i s a
t h u m b n a i l e f f e c t . T h e n e c k i n g r e g i o n s n e a r t h e p l a t e s u r f a c e s p r o v i d e h i g h e r r e s i s t a n c e
t o c r a c k g r o w t h , s o t h a t f u r t h e r i n c r e a s e o f t h e l o a d i s n e e d e d t o p r o d u c e u n s t a b l e
g r o w t h o v e r t h e w h o l e c r o s s - s e c t i o n o f t h e p l a t e .
2.7 Unstable crack growth
General considerations
A f t e r o n s e t o f u n s t a b l e c r a c k g r o w t h , t h e c r a c k e d g e g e n e r a l l y a c c e l e r a t e s t o a v e r y h i g h
v e l o c i t y , o f t e n s e v e r a l h u n d r e d m e t e r s p e r s e c o n d , a n d s o m e t i m e s t o a f e w t h o u s a n d
m e t e r s p e r s e c o n d . T h e e n e r g y r e q u i r e d f o r c o n v e r s i o n f r o m a s t a t i c t o a d y n a m i c s t a t e
o f t h e s t r u c t u r e i s p r o v i d e d b y s t r e s s - s t r a i n e n e r g y t r e l e a s e f r o m t h e b o d y , s o m e t i m e s
a s s i s t e d b y e n e r g y s u p p l y f r o m t h e l o a d i n g d e v i c e . A t g r i p c o n t r o l , t h e s o u r c e i s s t r e s s -
s t r a i n e n e r g y f r o m t h e b o d y , o n l y . A t l o a d c o n t r o l , u n s t a b l e c r a c k g r o w t h o c c u r s w h e n
t h e m a x i m u m l o a d i s r e a c h e d , i . e . a s s o o n a s t h e p r e c e d i n g s t a b l e g r o w t h t e n d s t o
o c c u r u n d e r c o n s t a n t l o a d . T h e s t r e s s - s t r a i n e n e r g y r e l e a s e d , t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e e n e r g y
s u p p l i e d f r o m t h e o u t e r l o a d g o e s t o k i n e t i c e n e r g y a n d t o w h a t i s r e q u i r e d b y t h e
d i s s i p a t i v e r e g i o n a t t h e c r a c k e d g e t o s u s t a i n c r a c k g r o w t h .
T h e g e n e r a l t h e o r e t i c a l u p p e r l i m i t o f c r a c k p r o p a g a t i o n v e l o c i t y i s t h e R a y l e i g h
w a v e v e l o c i t y f o r m o d e I c r a c k s ( B a r e n b l a t t a n d C h e r e p a n o v 1 9 6 0 , B r o b e r g 1 9 6 0 ,
C r a g g s 1 9 6 0 ) , t h e P w a v e v e l o c i t y f o r m o d e I I c r a c k s ( F r e u n d 1 9 7 9 , B u r r i d g e e t a l .
1 9 7 9 , B r o b e r g 1 9 8 9 a ) , a n d t h e S w a v e v e l o c i t y f o r m o d e I I I c r a c k s . F o r m o d e I I c r a c k
p r o p a g a t i o n , v e l o c i t i e s b e t w e e n t h e R a y l e i g h a n d t h e S w a v e v e l o c i t i e s a r e t h e o r e t i c a l l y
i m p o s s i b l e . T h e a r g u m e n t s f o r t h e o r e t i c a l l y p o s s i b l e a n d i m p o s s i b l e r e g i o n s w i l l b e
d i s c u s s e d i n S e c t i o n 6 . 2 . T h e g e n e r a l t h e o r e t i c a l u p p e r l i m i t s a r e h a r d l y r e a c h e d i n
r e a l i t y . F o r m o d e I c r a c k s , v e l o c i t i e s o f a b o u t 7 0 p e r c e n t o f t h e R a y l e i g h w a v e v e l o c i t y
h a v e b e e n o b s e r v e d ( S c h a r d i n 1 9 5 9 ) , b u t h a r d l y m o r e . F o r e a c h m a t e r i a l , a n u p p e r
l i m i t s e e m s t o e x i s t . T h e r e m i g h t b e s e v e r a l r e a s o n s f o r t h i s l i m i t a t i o n . O n e r e a s o n i s
t h e i n c r e a s i n g e n e r g y d e m a n d o f t h e p r o c e s s r e g i o n i n t h e h i g h v e l o c i t y r a n g e . A n o t h e r
i s o n s e t o f b r a n c h i n g . T h e s e p h e n o m e n a w i l l b e d i s c u s s e d i n S e c t i o n s 9 . 1 a n d 9 . 2 .
V e r y o f t e n , t h e m a x i m u m c r a c k e d g e v e l o c i t y r e a c h e d d e p e n d s o n l i m i t a t i o n s o f
t h e e n e r g y f l o w t o t h e c r a c k e d g e r e g i o n r a t h e r t h a n o n t h e m a t e r i a l . F o r t h e l o n g
s t r i p c o n f i g u r a t i o n ( s e e F i g . 2 . 7 . 1 ) u n d e r g r i p c o n t r o l l e d c o n d i t i o n s , t h e e n e r g y r e l e a s e
f r o m t h e s t r e s s - s t r a i n f i e l d p e r u n i t o f c r a c k g r o w t h i s l i m i t e d t o s o m e m a x i m u m v a l u e ,
g i v e n b y t h e i m p o s e d g r i p d i s p l a c e m e n t . T h i s m a y b e s h o w n b y m e a n s o f a v e r y s i m p l e
a r g u m e n t , c f . S e c t i o n 6 . 7 .
t T h i s e n e r g y i s a l s o c a l l e d s t r a i n e n e r g y o r s t o r e d e n e r g y .
2.7 UNSTABLE CRACK GROWTH 37
| |
51
ii i ~
Jw
Fig. 2.7.1 Crack growth in a long strip under grip control. Because no energy disappears
through the strip edges, and the only dissipative region is that at the crack edge, the energy
flow to the crack edge per unit of crack advance must equal the energy accumulated in the
strip per unit of length before introduction of the crack.
In the low velocity region, the energy demand for the dissipative regions may de-
crease somewhat with increasing crack velocity in some materials, but in other mate-
rials it increases, though at a much lower rate t han at high velocities. The differences
between different materials in the low velocity region may be related to material be-
haviour known from rapid tensile tests: the energy dissipation decreases in the low
velocity region with increasing loading velocity in some materials but increases in
other (Wihlborg 1976). This will be further discussed in Section 9.1.
A simple consideration shows t hat viscoplastic flow quite obviously plays an impor-
tant part in rapid crack growth. Suppose, for instance, t hat the linear dimensions of
the plastic region are of the order of i mm and t hat the crack edge velocity is of the
order of I m/s. A material point close to the crack pat h is then being swept over by
the plastic region during only i ms. Due to delay of the onset of plastic flow (Clark and
Wood 1949) and to viscoplasticity, a time duration of this magnitude will generally
impede plastic flow considerably.
Crack growth direction
A crack in an engineering structure will generally grow in a plane normal to the
maxi mum principal stress (tacitly understood as the stress at the crack site in the
absence of the crack). If the original crack orientation does not coincide with such
a plane, a smooth adjustment occurs after initial kinking, i.e. a change of direction,
which is abrupt at small scale of yielding; see Fig. 2.7.2. There are some exceptions
to this general rule. Cracks in anisotropic materials tend to follow planes of material
symmet ry rather t han loading symmetry. In a region of intense plastic flow, a crack
may grow under in-plane shear as, for instance, in a "cup and cone" fracture of a
tensile test piece. In the previous chapter, it was mentioned t hat a band of necking in
a thin sheet may outline the pat h for a crack, and this pat h is often not normal to the
overall maxi mum principal stress, cf. page 14.
Even at isotropy and small scale yielding, the crack may grow at approximately 45 ~
angle to the maxi mum principal stress, i.e., in a direction of principal shear stress.
This is extremely seldom experienced in engineering structures, except in some cases
of high-cycle fatigue, but it appears as a rule in earthquakes. The reason seems to
38 2. THE FRACTURE PROCESS
Fi g. 2. 7. 2 Cracks in engineering structures tend to grow in a plane normal to the maxi mum
principal stress. If the crack is not originally oriented so, a smooth adj ust ment towards this
direction occurs after initial kinking.
S
Fi g. 2. 7. 3 Examples of branching geometries.
be that the opening mode is suppressed by a high confining pressure (Nemat-Nasser
and Horii 1982, Horii and Nemat-Nasser 1985,1986, Melin 1986, Nemat-Nasser 1995).
By simulating such loading conditions at laboratory tests, crack propagation in the
direction of in-plane shear may be provoked even in PMMA (Broberg 1987b).
Branching
Branching of a propagating crack generally occurs only at high crack edge veloci-
ties, most often larger than one fifth of the Rayleigh wave velocity. In materials like
PMMA, branching generally does not occur until about 70% of the Rayleigh velocity is
reached (Paxson and Lucas 1973). The phenomenon appears to be associated mainly
with mode I crack growth, and it seems to be the major factor that sets an upper limit
to the maximum attainable crack edge velocity in many materials. In most cases, two
symmetrical crack branches are created, but sometimes there is asymmetrical branch-
ing and also branching with three or more branches. Fig. 2.7.3 shows examples of
branching geometries. Very often, multiple branching occurs, i.e. each branch encoun-
ters branching and so on. This creates sometimes very regular geometrical patterns;
see Fig. 2.7.4. Branching will be further discussed in Section 9.2.
2.8 THE PLASTIC REGION AND ITS WAKE 39
Fig. 2.7.4 Multiple branching.
2.8 The plastic region and its wake
General considerations
In contrast to the process region, the plastic region may usually be adequately analysed
by continuum mechanics. Thus, the concepts of stress and strain may be used, but the
occurrence of very large strains in the innermost parts of the plastic region (just outside
the process region) might necessitate large strain theories and also considerations of
void formation and growth, as in the Gurson model (Gurson 1977, Tvergaard 1981,
1982b, Tvergaard and Needleman 1988). It might appear contradictory to consider
void growth in a continuum theory, but this can be done if the number of voids is
large in each volume subjected to approximately uniform boundary conditions.
The most strained parts of the plastic region may sometimes be seen directly without
any special precautions, as a roughness on the body surface or, in some transparent
materials, like celluloid, as an opaque region. Certain techniques, for instance etching,
may be used to improve or develop the visibility of plastic flow. Plastic strains may
also be determined by using grids, as shown in Fig. 2.8.1, or moir~ methods.
The plastic region before unstable crack growth
The size of the plastic region at onset of unstable crack growth, measured for instance
as the largest linear extension from the crack edge, increases during loading until
unstable crack growth occurs. Fig. 2.8.2 shows, schematically, how the size of the
plastic region at the edge of a crack in a large plate can vary at onset of unstable
crack growth, depending on the crack length. It is smallest at the largest crack lengths
and largest at the smallest crack lengths.
As indicated in Fig. 2.8.2, not only the size of the plastic region but also its shape
is approximately the same for different crack lengths, if these are larger than a certain
minimum value. Then, autonomy prevails, not only for the process region, but also for
the plastic region, i.e. it holds for the whole dissipative region at the crack edge. This
is a case of small scale yielding, but the conventional definition of small scale yielding,
an ASTM condition to be discussed on page 581, is generous enough to include cases
40 2. THE FRACTURE PROCESS
CRACK
Fig. 2.8.1 Plastic strains in a celluloid sheet, revealed by a grid, applied on the sheet surfaces
before loading. (Sketched from Bergkvist and Andersson 1972)
I I
11 I l l
I I t l l
0
Fig. 2.8.2 Examples of how the size of the plastic region just before onset of unstable crack
growth can vary with the length of a crack in a large plate.
for which the size and shape of the plastic region may vary t angi bl y (Larsson and
Carlsson 1973).
Cases in which the plastic region is too large to qualify as small scale yielding, are
referred to as large scale yielding. For clarity, however, the concept net section plastic
flow will be used when a plastic region traverses a ligament from the process region
to an outer boundar y of the body.
Before crack growth, the strains in the plastic region at small scale yielding decrease
approxi mat el y as the inverse distance to the crack edge, except near the process region.
2.8 THE PLASTI C REGI ON AND ITS WAKE 41
E:P= 0
E p 0.1 E e
E p E 9
E p 3 E e
Fi g. 2.8.3 In most parts of the plastic region the plastic strains are smaller t han the elastic
ones.
MID-PLANE OF THE PLATE PLATE SURFACE
Fi g. 2. 8. 4 The shape of the small scale yielding plastic region at the opening mode in the
mid-plane of a plate t hat is much thicker than the linear extension of the plastic region, i.e.
dominated by plane strain conditions.
Thi s will be shown in Sections 5.3-5.5. A direct i mpl i cat i on of this fact is t hat t he
st rai ns in most par t s of t he plastic region are smaller t han t he elastic st rai ns, and in
t he peri pheral par t s much smaller; see Fig. 2.8.3. As a consequence, t he out er boundar y
of t he plastic region is poorl y defined. It is very sensitive to mat er i al inhomogeneities,
and, for numeri cal calculations, to t he numeri cal accuracy.
Fi gure 2.8.4 shows t he shape of t he openi ng mode small scale yielding plastic re-
gion in t he mi d-pl ane of a pl at e t hat is much thicker t han t he linear ext ensi on of t he
plastic region. Thi s region is t herefore subj ect to pl ane st rai n conditions. It has two
symmet r i cal lobes at appr oxi mat el y 70 ~ angle to t he st r ai ght f or war d direction. Its
st r ai ght f or war d linear ext ensi on is much smaller t han t he ext ensi on of t he lobes, indi-
cat i ng by pl ast i ci t y t heor y t hat t he two i n-pl ane pri nci pal stresses are appr oxi mat el y
equal in t he st r ai ght ahead of t he crack. Towards t he pl at e surfaces, however, pl ane
stress domi nat es, causing a qui t e different shape of t he plastic region, as shown in Fig.
2.8.4.
The shape of a plastic region at t he edge of a crack in a t hi n sheet is not as well
defined as in pl ane st rai n. If t he sheet is so t hi n t hat no significant mat er i al rel at ed
process region develops, t he plastic region may consist essentially of a necking region
as previ ousl y discussed; see Fig. 2.8.5. Al t ernat i vel y, a split necking region may de-
velop, if t he l i gament bet ween t he crack edge and t he sheet boundar y is short enough.
In a somewhat t hi cker pl at e, a mat er i al rel at ed process region may develop, but t he
42 2. THE FRACTURE PROCESS
NECKING
NECKING
Fi g. 2.8.5 Necking from a crack edge in a thin sheet. If the ligament between the crack edge
and the sheet boundary is short enough, split necking occurs.
boundar y of t he plastic region may be si t uat ed in t he pl ane stress regi ont . The shape
of such a region at small scale yielding is r at her rounded, as also shown in Fig. 2.8.1.
However, even in t hi n sheets, t he plastic region may be rounded. Bergkvi st and An-
dersson (1972) performed exper i ment s on PVC and celluloid. Tensile t est s reveal ed
al most perfect l y plastic behavi our for bot h mat eri al s, but wi t h a consi derabl e differ-
ence in ul t i mat e strain: 3.5% for a PVC sheet and 25% for a celluloid sheet. At t he
edge of a crack in t he PVC sheet a necking region developed, but in t he celluloid sheet
a r ounded plastic region was formed.
Very pecul i ar di st ri but i ons of large st rai ns have somet i mes been observed in pl at es
(Bergkvi st and Andersson 1972); see Fig. 2.8.1. They seem to be caused by i nt eract i on
bet ween pl ane st rai n and pl ane stress plastic regions in cases when t he i nner par t of
t he pl ast i c region is subj ect ed to pl ane st rai n and t he out er par t s to pl ane stress. The
i nt erference may cause a wavy pat t er n of plastic flow (Bergkvi st and Andersson 1972).
The pl ane st r ai n region is stiffer t han t he pl ane stress region, because deformat i ons
occur under appr oxi mat el y equal in-plane pri nci pal stresses. It can t herefore act as
a hinge when t he crack is bei ng opened. In fact, compressive i n-pl ane st rai ns have
been observed near a crack edge (Bergkvi st and Andersson 1972); see Fig. 2.8.1. Thi s
i ndi cat es t he possible existence of a small elastic enclave inside t he plastic region.
The di rect i ons of pri nci pal st rai n vary largely ar ound t he crack edge. Some r ot at i ons
occur duri ng loading, but t hey are general l y not very significant before crack growt h,
and t herefore appr oxi mat e pr opor t i onal loading prevails. Thi s implies t hat a t ot al
st r ai n t heor y may give reasonabl e est i mat es, and in a few cases an exact descri pt i on,
of t he st ress-st rai n di st r i but i on in t he plastic region.
In t he in-plane shear mode, t he shape of t he small scale yielding plastic region
depends on t he st rai n har deni ng and on t he elastic const ant s. One possible exampl e
is shown in Fig. 2.8.6. Ther e are mai nl y tensile stresses on one side of t he crack pl ane
and mai nl y compressive stresses on t he ot her side. The two sides do not necessarily
have t he same size and shape, because t he plastic flow propert i es may be different for
compressive and tensile stresses.
The pl ast i c region at ant i -pl ane shear may be anal yt i cal l y det er mi ned in a number
of cases. In t he simplest case, small scale yielding and perfect plasticity, t he pl ast i c
region is ci rcul ar (Hul t and McCl i nt ock 1956); see Fig. 2.8.7. It is also ci rcul ar at small
scale yielding and power-law st r ai n har deni ng (Rice 1967).
t Plane stress conditions dominate at distances from the crack edge that are longer than about half
the plate thickness; see page 205.
2.8 THE PLASTIC REGION AND ITS WAKE 43
Fi g. 2. 8. 6 The shape of the small scale yielding plastic region under in-plane shearing is not
necessarily symmetric with respect to the crack plane. Plus and minus signs indicate tensile
and compressive stress states, respectively.
Fi g. 2. 8. 7 Under anti-plane strain, the small scale yielding plastic region is circular. Arrows
pointing toward the reader are symbolized by Q and arrows pointing away are symbolized
by |
The plastic region during crack growth
During crack growth, rotations of the directions of principal strains occur in the plastic
region, necessitating an incremental strain theory. During the stable phase, the size
of the plastic region increases, due to increased loading of the body; see Fig. 2.1.1.
The shape of a small scale yielding plastic region does not change significantly during
this phase, except in cases when it grows into the plane stress region during stable
crack growth, after having been developed inside the plane strain region. The strain
gradients are smaller than before crack growth; see Sections 5.6-5.7.
The shape and size of a small scale yielding plastic region change during unstable
crack growth. The situation is highly complex. The growth of the process region with
increasing crack velocity, discussed in the preceding chapter, tends to increase the size
of the plastic region. The opposite trend is associated with rate dependent delayed
yielding and viscoplasticity (Broberg 1979a).
44 2. THE FRACTURE PROCESS
Fig. 2.8.8 Primary and secondary plastic regions.
The wakes of the primary plastic region and the process region; the
secondary plastic region
During crack growth, a wake is left behind the plastic region; see Fig. 2.1.1. The wake is
created t hrough unloading, whereby deformation changes again become purely elastic
and the plastic strains remain constant at each material point. Actually, a small part
of the rear boundary of the plastic region starts moving forwards already before crack
growth, because of unloading transferred from the process region, as shown in Fig.
2.3.1.
The process region also leaves a wake behind as it moves forward. This wake is very
insignificant and may be considered as consisting of passive material with very small
stiffness.
In some cases two disconnected plastic regions develop: to distinguish t hem the first
one is called the primary plastic region and the second one, which develops in the
wake of the pri mary plastic region, because of reversed plastic flow, is referred to as
the secondary plastic region. Fig. 2.8.8 shows one example. The height of the secondary
plastic region is considerably smaller t han the height of the pri mary one and may be
neglected in most contexts.