Chapter 1

Introduction and motivation

1.1 Introduction
There is still not full confidence in the capability of the actual failure criteria for compos-
ites to predict satisfactorily either the onset of the damage in form of cracks or the crack
propagation in these materials. Finite Fracture Mechanics (FFM) (Leguillon 2002) in-
troduces a new approach to characterize crack onset and may afford a new insight into
the analysis of the failure mechanisms in composites.
As an ultimate objective of this work, to be attained at the end of the PhD work,
the author want to apply this formulation to study theoretically and experimentally
the onset and propagation of a crack in composite materials on micro-level, namely the
problem of the fiber-matrix debonding (Mantič 2009).
In the present work, FFM concepts are applied to characterize damage in a sim-
ple configuration, comparing semianalytical predictions with the experimental results
obtained. A rectangular plate with a central hole subjected to uniaxial tension at the
outer boundary (Li and Zhang 2006), depicted in Figure 1.1 is studied with the objec-
tive to elucidate the size effect in failure load, by testing for several hole diameters. The
plate material is polymethyl metacrylate (PMMA). The influence of testing parameters
such as test velocity on the material characterization is also studied and discussed.

1.2 Stress concentration at holes: a brief bibliographic revi-

sion
Study of stress concentration at holes in plates subjected to tension is an old subject.
The first author that developed an analytical solution for the stress distribution, in a
stressed elastic plate containing a circular hole was Kirsch (1898). His equations are
intensively used, and this work is no exception.
An interesting discussion can be found in the work of Swain (Swain 1924). The
problem of the validity of Kirsch equations when the hole is microscopic or there is no
hole, because Kirsch formulas do not depend on the hole size. Thus no matter the size
of the hole, the stress concentration is always three, and the author ”claims” that at
the limit this formula proves that 3 is equal to 1.
In the work of (Sinclair and Meda 2001) are also referred some anomalies in Lamé’s
solutions for elastic solids with holes, and once more the problem of when the hole
2 1. Introduction and motivation

Figure 1.1: Geometry and loading of the plate with hole and emanating cracks.

disappears or it is very small, the known equations do not remain valid. The authors
introduced cohesive laws on hole surfaces has they shrink and those anomalies were
removed

1.3 Motivation and objectives

As it was said, the main motivation of this thesis is to develop and apply the FFM
concepts to the problem of a plate with central hole, subjected to tension load. By
doing it to this non-solved plate with hole problem (Li and Zhang 2006, Hebel and
Becker 2006, Leguillon et al. 2007, Zhang and Li 2008, Hebel and Becker 2008, Hebel
et al. 2010), constitutes a true challenge and a motivation.
The main objectives are:
• To study with great deep the mechanical and fracture properties of PMMA and
polymers in general, because epoxy resin is of the same family and is one of the
most used in composites.
• To understand the methods of fabrication and what that implies when testing
testing polymer specimens.
• To study crack onset in plates with holes, by understanding the strain rate effects.