The size of the crack -tip-yielding zone can be estimated by two methods: The Irwin approach,

where the elastic stress analysis is used to estimate the elastic- plastic boundary, and the strip
-yield model. Both

approaches lead to simple corrections for crack-tip-yielding. The term

plastic zone usually applies to metals, but will be adopted here to described inelastic crack- tip
behavior in a more general sense.
The Irwin approach
On the crack plane ( = 0), the normal stress yy in linear elastic material is given by equation
xx = yy =

KI

2 r . as a first approximation, we can assume that the boundary between elastic

and plastic behavior occurs when the stresses given by equation

xx = yy =

KI

2 r satisfy a

yield criterion. For plane stress conditions, yielding occurs when yy= YS, the uniaxial yield
strength of the material. Substituting yield strength into the left side of equation
xx = yy =

r y=

KI

2 r and solving for r gives a first- order estimate of the plastic zone size:

1 KI
2 ys

( )

(1)

If we neglect strain hardening, the stress distribution for r= ry can be represented by a horizontal
line at yy= YS, as figure 20 illustrates; the stress singularity is truncated by yielding at the
crack tip. The simple analysis in the preceding paragraph is not strictly correct because it was
based on an elastic crack- tip solution. When yielding occurs stresses must redistribute in order
to satisfy equilibrium. The cross-hatched region in figure 20 represents forces that would be
present in an elastic material but cannot be carried in size in order to accommodate these forces.
A simple force balance leads to a second-order estimate of the plastic zone size r p :

ry

ry

ys r p= yy dr =
0

KI
dr
2 r

Integrating and solving for

1 KI
r p=
2 ys

r p gives

( )

which is twice as large as ry, the rst-order estimate.

The effective crack length is defined as the sum of the actual crack size and aplastic zone
correction
aeff =a+r y
Where ry for plane stress is given by Equation (1). In plane strain, yielding is suppressed by the
triaxle stress state, and the Irwin plastic zone correction is smaller by a factor of 3:
r y=

1 KI
6 ys

( )

The effective stress intensity is obtained by inserting

geometry of interest:
K eff =Y (aeff ) a eff

aeff

into the K expression for the