Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Chapter - 4
Chapter - 4
Chapter- 4 Page 1
Chapter- 4 Page 2
Chapter- 4 Page 3
Chapter- 4 Page 4
Chapter- 4 Page 5
Chapter- 4 Page 6
Chapter- 4 Page 7
Reference
Elements of Fracture Mechanics by Prashant Kumar
Chapter- 4 Page 8
Relation between GI and Kl
Monday, April 12, 2021 4:09 PM
Energy release rate GI is a global parameter and deals with energy. On the other
hand, stress intensity factor KI is a local parameter which deals with displacement
and stress fields in the vicinity of the crack. Although the approaches are entirely
In order to maintain clarity the extended crack and its associated parameters are
referred by the prime system; i.e., crack length a + Δa is designated as a' and the SIP
based on a' is denoted by K'. At a distance s, which is at a distance (Δa - s) from the
extended crack tip, the displacement of a crack face (u2) is determined for plane stress
is given by
Chapter- 4 Page 1
For θ = 180o and r = (Δa - s), the displacement u2 is
Now, each crack face in the portion Δa is moved in through the distance u2(s) with
the help of the traction σ22 so that the crack faces touch each other. The magnitude
of stress σ22 is evaluated from the stress field of the unextended crack of length a,
Thus, the crack is closed by length Δa. Irwin argued that the total elastic work
required by σ22 in closing the crack is equal to the energy released. Balancing the
Chapter- 4 Page 2
Since Δa can be chosen as small as we like, ΔKI can be made small enough to be
ds = 2 Δa sinα cosα dα
Chapter- 4 Page 3
The relation is simple, but is rigorous only for brittle materials in which
Chapter- 4 Page 4
Therefore for a plane stress,
In case all three modes are present, the energy of each mode is added
up to GTOT, as
Chapter- 4 Page 5
CRITICAL STRESS INTENSITY FACTOR
Tuesday, April 13, 2021 12:03 AM
If the SIF of a crack approaches or exceeds an upper limit of the stress intensity factor,
the crack may grow. The upper limit is known as the critical stress intensity factor which
is a material property and is usually denoted by the symbol KIc for Mode I cases (KIIc and
In order to provide a feel of stress intensity factor and the critical stress intensity factor,
an analogy is made with stress and yield stress of a solid. Stress is a parameter which
represents internal loading within the solid and yield stress is the limit on stress, beyond
Similarly, stress intensity factor is a parameter to measure the severity of stress at the
crack tip. But, critical stress intensity factor is the limit on the SIF, such that if the SIF
exceeds the critical stress intensity factor, the crack may grow.
Thus, in order to predict the growth of a crack in a component, the designer should find
two values: (i) the SIF determined through analysis for the geometry of the component,
crack configuration and applied loads and (ii) the critical SIF determined through
If the stress intensity factor exceeds the critical stress intensity factor, the designer
should do something, such as reducing the loads on the component, modifying the
Chapter- 4 Page 1
One difficulty, faced during the experimental determination of the critical SIF for the
material of the component, is that critical SIF is found to be dependent on the thickness
of a plate. In fact, the critical SIF is independent of the thickness only in the case of a
thick plate, because the plate is then loaded in the plane strain. One question remains-
what is the criterion of assuring that the plane strain conditions prevail? The size of the
plastic zone in the vicinity of the crack tip decides it. If the plate thickness is significantly
greater than the size of the plastic zone, then the conditions of plane strain exist.
Thus, we find that the critical SIF becomes a property of the material only for plane
strain cases. Therefore, in handbooks and literature, the values of critical SIFs of
commonly used materials (steel, aluminum, titanium, brass, etc.) are given for plane
strain conditions.
Critical stress intensity factor for thin plates depends on the plate thickness and its
value is rarely provided as a function of thickness in literature. However, the critical SIF
of a plane stress case is higher than the corresponding value in a plane strain. A
designer may find that a component is subjected to plane stress, but critical SIF is
available only for plane strain. He may safely use the critical SIF of the plane strain
Chapter- 4 Page 2
Fracture Toughness vs Thickness
spaceships), using the critical SIF of a plane strain as material property may be too
conservative, because structural plates are mostly used in plane stress. Adopting
applications, where the factor of safety is of the order of 1.1 for many
Chapter- 4 Page 3
In such a situation, stress intensity factor is determined by preparing a test-
automobiles, roof trusses, locomotive carriages, pipe lines, etc.) the conservative
approach of using the critical SIP of the plane strain may be quite practical and
useful.
• Orientation of the crack with respect to the grains at the crack tip.
• Test method.
Chapter- 4 Page 4
Chapter- 4 Page 5