DETERMINATION O F CRITICAL / - I N T E G R A L

FOR W O O D
By Kirsti Riipola, 1 and Mikael Fonselius2

ABSTRACT: The determination of the critical /-integral value for wood is consid-
ered. The methods are based on the American Society for Testing and Materials
standard '7 I C , a measure of fracture toughness." A significant revision of the
method proposed in the /-integral standard is needed. Three possibilities for ana-
lyzing of the results are developed. The graphical method presupposes no knowl-
edge of the material properties and relies on the recorded /-integral versus crack
growth curve. The compliance method uses the compliance data recorded during
each loading and unloading cycle and the maximum load. The measured maximum
load can also be inserted in an equation based on the finite element method.
Another method based on the standard "plane strain fracture toughness of metallic
materials" is used to study the dependence between the critical /-integral and the
experimental and material parameters. The determined critical /-integral values
are independent of the analysis method. The effect of time is observed: The slower
/-integral tests give a lower value than the more rapid fracture toughness (Klc)
tests. The effects of moisture and the fracture system reflect the behavior of the
modulus of elasticity.

INTRODUCTION

The application of fracture mechanics to wood has been eagerly studied

since Porter's (1964) fundamental paper. In the absence of any suitable
standards, individual methods have been used to define fracture mechanics
parameters. At the Technical Research Centre of Finland in Espoo, Finland,
an extensive program has been carried out to find more reliable design
criteria for timber members with holes, cracks, and notches. Within this
program, determining fracture mechanics parameters for Finnish softwoods
was a central task.
Three kinds of material tests were carried out. The purpose of this paper
is to present a few methods to define the value of the critical 7-integral and
to consider their reliability when applied to wood. Besides the 7-integral
tests, fracture toughness tests in modes I and II were carried out (Fonselius
and Riipola 1992). The test methods were developed on the basis of Amer-
ican Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards for mode I
("Standard Test Method" 1981, "Standard Test for" 1981) so that the special
properties of wood were taken into account. A statistical analysis of the
results was carried out to verify the reliability of the test method. At the
same time, the effect of external and internal variables was studied.
Recently, draft ASTM standards for modes I and II testing of composites
have been discussed (P. Davies, unpublished report, 1988). These standards

'Sr. Res. Sci., Tech. Res. Ctr. of Finland, Forest Products Lab., PL 207, SF-
02151, Espoo, Finland.
2
Res. Sci., Tech. Res. Ctr. of Finland, Forest Products Lab., PL 207, SF-02151,
Espoo, Finland.
Note. Discussion open until December 1, 1992. Separate discussions should be
submitted for the individual papers in the symposium. To extend the closing date
one month, a written request must be filed with the A S C E Manager of Journals.
The manuscript for this paper was submitted for review and possible publication on
June 9, 1990. This paper is part of the Journal of Structural Engineering, Vol. 118,
No. 7, July, 1992. © A S C E , ISSN 0733-9445/92/0007-1741/$1.00 + $.15 per page.
Paper No. 26643.

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 will probably give impetus to the development of corresponding standards
for wood.
The usefulness of the critical /-integral as a fracture parameter is obvious,
if pure mode I is considered. The concept of fracture energy is simple and
understandable. It is easy and natural to formulate a fracture criterion based
on the critical fracture energy. If the mixed mode fracture is considered,
the situation is more complicated. Neither a fracture criterion for the mixed-
mode fracture energy nor any critical / i r values are available for wood.
Fracture criteria for mixed modes are based on the use of stress intensities
and fracture toughness values (Wu 1967; Williams and Birch 1976; Hunt
and Croager 1982; Mall et al. 1983). Williams (1988) emphasized the need
for such a mixed mode energy-based criterion but did not present one.

CRITICAL /-INTEGRAL JC

Specimens and Loading

The materials studied were spruce (Picea abies), pine (Pinus silvestris),
and laminated veneer lumber (LVL) made of spruce. The fracture systems
are defined as usual for orthotropic materials such as wood. The first letter
indicates the normal of the fracture plane and the second one the direction
of crack growth (L denotes longitudinal, T denotes tangential, and R denotes
radial). Illustrations of the fracture systems are frequently found in the
literature (e.g. Barrett and Foschi 1977).
For the /, tests, the same kind of specimen was used as for Ki tests (Fig.
1). For pine, the specimen orientation corresponded to fracture systems TL
and RL with intermediate orientations, and system TL for other materials.
The ASTM procedure ("Standard Test for" 1981) was followed because an
apparatus for metals testing was available (Wallin et al. 1984). The single-
specimen technique and the compliance method were used. The load, P,
was measured with an electric load cell. The opening of the crack, 8, was
measured with a clip gauge. In the / tests, the displacement should be
recorded on the load line. It was, however, measured on the specimen front

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FIG. 1. Mode I Specimen Used in /-Integral Tests

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 and adjusted analytically to correspond to the deformation at the load line.
The signals were analyzed by computer. The results can be drawn as a J
and Aa plot or a C and Aa plot, where / is the /-integral, C is the compliance
b/P (Figs. 2 and 3), and Aa is the crack growth. For wooden specimens, the
stable crack growth has an influence on the load under the unloading se-
quence, which is visible as a load drop during the constant load period. This
was taken into account when the crack lengths were calculated.
The number of samples for the / tests were 14 for pine, 12 for spruce,
and 13 for LVL.
Analysis of J Test Results
According to "Standard Test for" (1981), the value of the 7-integral is
calculated for every load value from the area, A, below the load-deformation
curve

J = Y(alw) (1)
b(w - a)
J (J/1112)

200

100

xo
0

10 20
Crack growth (mm)

FIG. 2. / and Aa Plot: + Pine; x Spruce; o LVL

C (mm/kN)

3-

1 H 1 1-
0 10 20
Crack growth (mm]
FIG. 3. C and Aa Plot: + Pine; x Spruce; o LVL

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 where b = the thickness of the specimen; w = the width of the specimen;
and a = the crack length as indicated in Fig. 1. The coefficient Y{alw) is
dependent on the specimen shape. For the compact tension (CT) specimen
with alw = 0.5, the standard gives the value Y{alw) = 2.265. The calculated
/-values are plotted against the measured or calculated crack growth (Fig.
2), and the critical value is found graphically with the construction of blunt-
ing lines. The construction of the blunting lines, as explained in the standard,
presupposes a good knowledge of the yield strength of the material. Because
the specimen deformation is taken into account in determining the critical
value, the isotropic or orthotropic material properties are, thus, also noticed.
The analysis method presented in "Standard Test for" (1981) is not ap-
plicable to wooden specimens. Because the yield strength of wood is not
well-known, the construction with blunting lines fails to give a good estimate
of the critical /-integral. In the vicinity of the stated crack growth of 1.5
mm, the / and Aa curve is very nonlinear. Thus, variations in the estimated
yield strength lead to great differences in the calculated critical value. Also,
the crack growth velocity is so high in the beginning that for a crack growth
between 0 mm and 1.5 mm, only a few measurement points can be found.

Graphical Method, Jgra

An analysis method free from the limitations of the standard has been
developed. This graphical method is based on the observation that for larger
values of crack growth, the appearance of the / and Aa curve is almost
linear (Fig. 2).
A regression line (master line) was calculated for all points that have /
greater than half the value corresponding to the maximum load and Aa less
than twice the value corresponding to the maximum load. The critical value
for /-integral / gra is defined as the intersection point of the /-axis and this
master line. The correlation for the master line was found to be 0.931 for
pine, 0.960 for spruce, and 0.965 for LVL.

Compliance Method, Jcom

The compliance method can also be used to evaluate a critical value, / com ,
for the /-integral. / c o m is calculated from

F
/ = - ^ (2)

Eq. (2) has been commonly used when the critical fracture energy is cal-
culated (Porter 1964; Debaise et al. 1966; Schniewind and Pozniak 1971;
Williams and Birch 1976). In the present case, the compliance depends on
the crack length, as shown in Fig. 3 and stated
In C = kx + k2 Aa (3)
where kx and k2 = regression constants. The mean values for the correlation
of (3) for the pine, spruce, and LVL were 0.999 each, and the standard
deviations were smaller than 0.0003. A limit value for the derivative of the
compliance for crack growth equal to zero has been used in the calculations

lim -j— = k2ek^ (4)

A ^ O dAa
A smaller discrepancy is caused because of the choice of the load value
P in (2). We have taken the maximum value as the critical value. The
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 measured maximum load value in the test, however, is dependent on the
preceding loading cycle, as observed during the / tests. This leads to a slightly
underestimated value for / com . The value of the derivative of compliance
corresponds to no crack growth. This is also a conservative approach. The
crack growth, however, starts before the maximum load is reached, which
has an opposite effect. The effects of these choices should be well within
the overall scatter of the results.

Finite Element Method, JFEM

A third possibility is to use the finite element calculation. The values of
the /-integral were calculated for a standard specimen with a thickness equal
to 25 mm and a loading of 1 N/mm. The relative values for the moduli of
elasticity were chosen to be EL: ER: ET = 17 : 1 : 0.6; shear moduli GLT
'• GLR : GRT = 1 : 1.1 : 0.05; with the Poisson constants vLT = 0.009; vLR
= 0.012; vTR = 0.1; vTL = 0.26; vRL = 0.20; and vRT = 0.06. A similar
calculation was made so that the material was assumed to be isotropic. In
this case, the modulus of elasticity was chosen to be the one in the direction
of the load.
The resulting values are shown in Table 1. The difference between the
orthotropic and isotropic values can be interpreted so that for the orthotropic
material, a value other than Y(a/w) = 2.265 should be used in (1). These
values are found by multiplying 2.265 with the ratio between the orthotropic
and isotropic /-values, and they are given in column 4.
If a specimen with a similar shape but another thickness or load is con-
sidered, the corresponding /-value is found by multiplication

/ F E M = 1.30 ^ (5)

where the coefficient 1.30 corresponds to the fracture system TL; and the
other calculated values are used for the other fracture systems. We have
chosen to use F max as the critical load value in (5), thus slightly overesti-
mating the true value.

//C-Values from KIC Tests

Another way of determining the critical /-integral values is to use the
multiple-specimens method. The fracture toughness tests as reported in
Fonselius and Riipola (1992) have been documented so that the area under
the load-deformation curve can be calculated to correspond to the critical
load, JPC, and the maximum load, JPmax. Again, the deformation is corrected
to correspond to the location of the loading pins. According to (1), two
/-integral values for every specimen can thus be found. The estimate for
the value is found when the /-values are plotted against the measured ratio

TABLE 1. Critical /-Integral Values in J/m2 from Finite Element Calculations

Fracture system Orthotropic Isotropic Y(alw)a
(1) (2) (3) (4)
TL 1.30 2.79 1.06
RL 0.93 1.67 1.26
TR 5.73 2.79 4.65
RT 5.28 1.67 7.16
"Values for orthotropic material.

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 between the maximum load and the critical load, Pm.dX: Pc. The value Pm.dX
: Pc equal to 1 can be assumed to represent zero crack growth, and both
JPc and JPm.dX converge to the same limit value for Pm.dX : Pc = 1 (Fig. 4).
Some corrections are made to the original report by Riipola and Fonselius
(1988). The measured crack opening is corrected to correspond to the de-
formation along the loading line. Previously, it was assumed that the de-
formation transducer measured the crack opening at the surface of the
specimen, and that the rotation center was at the crack tip. It is, however,
probable that the joint between the specimen and deformation transducer
is more rigid, so the deformation is measured along the axis of the defor-
mation transducer. The distance between the specimen surface and the axis
was 11 mm. Thus, a new correction factor of about 0.5 has been used,
instead of 0.7, which was used previously.
The value of Y{alw) = 2.265, as given for isotropic material, was used
when the values of the /-integral were calculated. In this paper, the values
in Table 1, column 4, were used.
The total number of Klc specimens was about 160 for pine, spruce, and
LVL. Sample sizes for the different orientations, specimen thicknesses, and
moisture contents varied between 16-30.

Validity of Test Result

All three analysis methods give similar results for the / tests. The differ-
ence between the values is about 15%, which is not too bad considering the
small number of specimens and the large scatter of the material properties
of wood.
For the compliance and graphical methods, it is important that the single-
specimen technique is used. If only one data point were achieved per spec-
imen, the scatter of the results would be so large that an analysis would not
make sense. The effect of scatter is reduced in the single-specimen technique
so that the standard deviation of the results is between 6% and 25%.
The crack is introduced by a thin saw cut. The loading procedure also
shows that a fatigue initiation would not work; the crack growth cannot be
managed.
Friction in the loading grips easily disturbs the test and gives rise to an

J (J/IJ12)

60-

40-

20-

0 -i • —"'* ' ' 1 ' < " ' 1

1 1.1 1.2
Pmax/Pc
FIG. 4. Use of /-Values from Klc Tests to Give Critical /-Integral Value: x Corre-
sponds to Pmax, o Corresponds to Pc

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 apparently negative crack growth or too small crack length values. The
crack length is controlled with a direct measurement before and after load-
ing. A suitable ink color makes it possible to see the crack growth. One
problem, however, is that the capillarity phenomenon may cause an uneven
suction of the ink in the earlywood and latewood.
The crack length can be calculated from the compliance and modulus of
elasticity, which are suitably measured for each specimen by loading and
unloading prior to the J test. The good linearity of (2) is at least partly
explained by the fact that the crack length is a calculated parameter. The
resulting measured crack length, however, is very near the calculated one
if the correction of the load drop is considered. During the unloading period,
the measured load drops because of stable crack growth. Also, the measured
final crack length is longer than that calculated if the load drop has not
been taken into account. Observe that this load drop is not due to the
viscoelastic nature of wood; this would lead to a shorter calculated crack
length than that measured.
Unstable crack growth was not present in our / tests. In the fracture
toughness tests, the TR and RT orientations had a tendency to unstable
crack growth.
The values found from Kt tests represents a more rapid loading. There-
fore, the values may differ from the previous values. The validity of the
fracture toughness tests is discussed in Fonselius and Riipola (1992). Crack
growth gives rise to the curved shape of the load-displacement curve. A
measure for the crack growth is the chosen ratio Pmd^:Pc- It is also used
to indicate in the fracture toughness tests that the apparent crack growth is
still acceptably low. Therefore, considering the values corresponding to
Pmw'-Pc equal to unity, it is a natural method of determining the critical
value corresponding to the zero crack growth.

RESULTING VALUES

For more detailed information, including a statistical analysis, the reader

is referred to the original report (Riipola and Fonselius 1988).

Critical /-Integral
Mean values for the /-integral found by the different methods are given
in Table 2. Because of the small number of specimens, 10-14, the coefficient
of variation is about 30% for the values found in the / tests. For the values
found in the fracture toughness tests, the coefficient of variation cannot be
given, but the difference between the two critical values and the mean value
is below 10% for pine and spruce and 25% for LVL.

TABLE 2. Critical /-Integral Values in J/ma with Proposed Graphical, Compliance,

and Finite Element Methods
Fracture
Species system /iCgra •MCcom AcfEM JlCK
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
Pine TL-RL 49.5 55.2 52.9 53.0
Spruce TL 22.8 25.6 21.8 30.7
Laminated veneer lumber TL 33.3 40.5 40.4 43.3
Note: K test values are also given, corresponding to TL.

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 TABLE 3. Critical /-Integral Values in J/m2 from Klc Tests
Fracture system Pine Spruce LVL
(1) (2) (3) (4)
TL 53.0 30.7 43.3
RL 58.3 51.1 72.8
TR 793 673 198
RT 735 573 370

Effect of Experimental Conditions and Material Parameters

The Ki tests were used to study whether there are any dependencies
between the /-integral and the experimental conditions or material param-
eters. In the comparisons, the value corresponding to the maximum load,
Jpm„x, was used.
These tests show that the size of the specimen (thickness between 20-50
mm) had no influence. Increasing moisture content increases the value of
the /-integral. Material parameters like density, annual ring width, and
amount of late wood also had an effect on the /-integral.
A loading rate in the range of 5-20 mm/min had no effect. However,
the values estimated in the relatively rapid K tests are larger than in the
relatively slow / tests. Compared with the / tests, the loading rates in the
K tests are high: The ^-specimens were broken in about 5 s, and the duration
of one loading cycle in the / test was 5 min. If the effect of time is similar
to that of the bending strength as given by the Madison curve, one would
expect the short term value to be about 20% higher.
If the critical values are considered, the orientation of the specimen is
greatly important. Considerably higher values are found when the crack
grows across the fiber for systems TR and RT, than for systems TL and RL
(Table 3). The behavior of the /-integral reflects the behavior of the modulus
of elasticity. Thus, the smaller the value for modulus of elasticity, the larger
the crack opening, and the larger the value found for the /-integral. The
correspondence between the / tests and the K tests is reasonable.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The critical /-integral has been evaluated with a graphical method that
needs no information regarding the strength of the material. This method
is useful for any composite material, and it gives results that compare well
with those found by the compliance method or finite element calculations.
The specimen thickness needed in the / tests seems to be of the same order
as in the K tests.
The value of the critical /-integral has also been calculated from the
fracture toughness (KIC) tests. These values fit well with the ones found in
the / tests for fracture system TL, when the effect of time is assumed to be
comparable with the Madison curve.
The usefulness of the /-integral as a fracture parameter is limited because
it is not insensitive to moisture or material parameters like density, annual
ring width, or amount of late wood. However, no problems concerning the
orthotropicity of the material are present, because the evaluation of the
/-integral is based on the deformation of the specimen. The behavior of the
/-integral reflects the behavior of the modulus of elasticity.
To date, neither mode II values for the critical /-integral have been
determined for wood, nor have mixed mode energy-based fracture criteria
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 been formulated. The critical /-integral discussed in this paper is a suitable
fracture parameter only for cases where pure or almost pure mode I loading
is responsible for the fracture.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The writers wish to thank Heli Talja, Licentiate of Technology, who

carried out the finite element calculations in the VTT Nuclear Engineering
Laboratory, Helsinki, Finland. We also gratefully acknowledge the govern-
mental financial support by VTT, Technical Research Centre of Finland in
Espoo, and by T E K E S , Technological Development Centre of Finland in
Helsinki.

APPENDIX I. REFERENCES

"Standard test method for plane-strain fracture toughness of metallic materials."

(1981). ASTM E399-81, American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia,
Pa.
"Standard test for Jlc, a measure of fracture toughness." (1981). ASTM E813-81,
American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, Pa.
Barrett, J. D., and Foschi, R. O. (1977). "Mode II stress-intensity factors for cracked
wood beams." Eng. Fract. Mech. 9(2), 371-378.
Debaise, G. R., Porter, A. W., and Pentoney, R. E. (1966). "Morphology and
mechanics of wood fracture." Mater. Res. Standards, 6(l0), 493-499.
Fonselius, M., and Riipola, K. (1992). "Determination of fracture toughness for
wood." J. Struct. Engrg.,ASCE, 118(7), 1727-1740.
Hunt, D. G., and Croager, W. P. (1982). "Mode II fracture toughness of wood
measured by a mixed mode test method." J. Mater. Sci. Lett. 1(2), 77-79.
Mall, S., Murphy, J. F., and Schottafer, J. E. (1983). "Criterion for the mixed mode
fracture in wood." J. Engrg. Mech. Div., ASCE, 109(3), 680-690.
Porter, A.W. (1964). "On the mechanics of fracture in wood." Forest Prod. J.,
XIV(8), 325-331.
Riipola, K., and Fonselius, M. (1988). "Evaluation of critical J-integral for wood
material." Res. Reports 528, Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo, Fin-
land, (in Swedish).
Schniewind, A. P., andPozniak,R. A. (1971). "On the fracture toughness of Douglas
fir wood." Engrg. Fract. Mech. 2(3), 223-233.
Wallin, K., Saarelma, H., Saario, T., and Varis, E. (1984). "Automatic fracture
toughness testing system at the Technical Research Centre of Finland." Res. Notes
398, Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo, Finland.
Williams, J. G. (1988). "On the calculation of energy release rates for cracked
laminates." Int. J. Fract. 36(3), 101-119.
Williams, J. G., and Birch, M. W. (1976). "Mixed mode fracture in anisotropic
media." Cracks and Fract. ASTM STP 601, American Society for Testing and
Materials, Philadelphia, Pa., 125-137.
Wu, E. M. (1967). "Application of fracture mechanics to anisotropic plates." J Appl.
Mech., Trans. ASME 34(4), 967-974.

APPENDIX II. NOTATION

The following symbols are used in this paper:

A = area under the load-displacement curve;

a = crack length;
b = specimen thickness;
C = compliance of specimen;
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r

Ex, Ey = moduli of elasticity;

Gxy = shear modulus;
J = fracture energy or /-integral;
Ku Kn = stress intensities;
k\, k2 = regression constraints;
P = load;
w = specimen ligament;
Y = shape factor;
Aa = crack growth;
5 = crack opening; and
vxy = Poisson constant.

Subscripts
C = critical value;
L = longitudinal direction of wood;
R = radial direction of wood;
T = tangential direction of wood;
x,y = directions along and normal to crack growth;
I = denotes mode I; and
II = denotes mode II.

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