Chapter 4

Nonlinear Fracture Mechanics

 Basis for Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM)

Recall from Chap.2 that Small Scale Yielding Conditions (SSY) provide
the basis for applying LEFM (K-based) concepts to structural metals :

Plastic yielding occurs near the crack tip.

SSY requires 2 conditions :

Plastic zone size rp should be small
compared to crack length and other
geometrical dimensions.

Elastic singular field (K-field) should

provide a good approximation to actual
stresses / strains in an annular region
surrounding the crack tip & plastic zone.
 Small Scale Yielding (SSY) Condition

Under SSY : K provides unique measure of / fields near crack tip

despite plastic yielding
Fracture Initiation: K = Kc
Stability of crack growth: KR (a) - R curve

Recall under SSY :

At same KI : smaller ys (low strength alloy) will

give larger plastic zone size.
 Motivation for studying Nonlinear Fracture Mechanics

Not possible to satisfy SSY condition in low to intermediate strength metals

Undergo extensive plastic deformation prior to crack growth.

K-based crack tip fields and fracture characterization is not valid.

Need Elastic-Plastic crack tip fields.

In tough metals with high tearing resistance :

Stable crack growth following crack initiation can be very extensive.

Load carrying capacity is substantially augmented with small amounts of

crack growth

SSY (K-based) stability analysis can give misleading estimates of load

bearing capacity.
 Topics to be discussed

J integral (Energy Release rate) - counterpart of G of LEFM.

Elastic - plastic stationary crack tip fields - Hutchinson, Rice, Rosengren
(HRR) solution.
Ductile Fracture criterion (Jc based & CTOD-based).
J-Integral Testing :
Multiple specimen procedure
Single specimen procedure (Rice-Paris-Merkle Deep crack Formula)
ASTM E-813 JIc test procedure
Constraint effects on ductile fracture (J-Q theory).
J-controlled crack growth & stability analysis
Engineering approach to elastic-plastic fracture analysis (Handbook - style).
 Energy Release Rate

Consider a homogeneous body characterized by deformation plasticity theory

(like Nonlinear Elasticity Theory) :
Incremental plasticity theory
Deformation plasticity theory

Total stress vs Total strain relation Incremental stress strain

relationship.
Ignores path or history of deformation
leading to the present state. Accounts for past history of
loading.
Physically not satisfactory.

For monotonic, proportional loading (ij(t) = c(t) ijo) : Deformation & Incremental
plasticity theories coincide.
 Energy Release Rate

Within a small strain framework, let W(ij) be Strain Energy Density Function.
Stresses ij = W / ij
Consider a planar, cracked specimen in
series with a nonlinear elastic spring M.

P : Generalized load / thickness

m : Elongation quantity of spring
T = + m (Total displ prescribed)
Let U be strain energy of spring /
thickness :
~
dU ~
P = = U ( m )
d m
 Energy Release Rate

Total Potential Energy (PE) of the system :

= U (,a) + U ~ ( ) (*)
m

U(, a)= P( , a) d Strain energy of cracked nonlinear elastic body (per unit
o
thickness)
For crack advance in its own plane (in x-direction) :

Defn: Energy Release Rate = Rate of decrease of PE wrt crack advance

under fixed T

J=- (similar to G of LEFM)
a T

(*) U U ~
d = da + d + U d m
a
a

U U U
= da + P (d + d m ) = da + Pd = da
a a a
T
 Energy Release Rate

Energy Release rate J is given by :

U P
J=- = ( , a ) d (**)
a 0 a

Graphical interpretation of (**) :

Remarks :

J is independent of characteristics of
spring M (like G of LEFM is independent
of CM).

(**) applies for limiting cases of

prescribed load & displacement.
 Energy Release Rate
For a linear elastic body with compliance C(a) :

J reduces to G of LEFM.
 Alternate Expression for Energy Release Rate

Consider the cracked nonlinear elastic body subjected to prescribed load P

(per unit thickness).
Recall strain energy U(,a) per unit thickness :

U(, a)= P( , a) d
o

Integrating above equation by parts :

Graphical interpretation of

Potential energy :

Energy release rate J :

 Line Integral Definition of J

Definition of energy release rate J in terms of stresses & displs in cracked

body.

Claim : Consider a closed contour enclosing a planar region A having no

stress singularities (in a homogeneous nonlinear elastic body). Then the
following line integral I on vanishes.

Note : n - Unit outward normal to .

Indices (i,j) (x,y)
Repeated indices summation
(e.g.) : ijnj = xx nx + xy ny if i = x
ijnj ui /x = ?
 Proof of Claim
By Greens theorem :

Integrating by parts :
 Proof of Claim

First term in I becomes :

By applying Divergence Theorem, RHS of above becomes :

Above two eqns.

 Line Integral Definition of J

Consider a planar, cracked body of

homogeneous, nonlinear elastic material.

Traction To prescribed on portion ST of outer

boundary and displacements on Su.

Let * be vanishing contour of arbitrary shape

surrounding crack tip starting from lower crack Fig.(a)
face & ending on upper crack face.

(x1, x2) : Fixed Cartesian frame with x1 //l to crack

line.
Fig.(b)
A : area enclosed between outer boundary S, *
and crack faces + and - .

n : Unit outward normal to *

ij, ij : Stresses / strains at a point in A.

 Line Integral Definition of J
Potential energy of the system before crack extension (Fig.(a)) :

Consider quasi-static extension of the crack in x-direction by infinitesimal

amount a with external traction To held fixed.

Let vanishing contour * translate with the tip.

Stresses & strains after crack extension by a : (ij + ij) , (ij + ij)

Potential energy of the system after crack extension by a :

 Line Integral Definition of J
To first order in a, one can show (see Rice, in Fracture (ed.Liebowitz)) :

n1 : x1 component of unit outer normal to * (see Fig.(a)) .

Eq.(1) Eq.(3) gives :

Note ui 0 on Su where displacements are prescribed.

 Line Integral Definition of J
Since the material is assumed as homogeneous nonlinear elastic :

From above, we get by using Divergence theorem:

 Line Integral Definition of J
Using eq.(5) in eq.(4) and simplifying :

On translating contour * : (.)/a = (.)/x1

Taking limit a 0, we get Energy Release Rate as :
 Path Independence of J-Integral

Consider closed contour = - + c + + - *

Note does not include any stress singularities.
Hence from Claim proved earlier :

On + and - integrand vanishes (n1 = 0 & ijnj = 0)

Energy Release Rate J :

(for any open contour c

surrounding crack tip).
 Example 1 Small scale yielding conditions

Choose c to fall within the annular

region surrounding the tip where the K-
field applies.

Using stresses & displacements

based on elastic K-field in J-integral we
can show :

(for Mode I plane strain)

(for Mode I plane stress)

 Example 2 Thin cracked strip subjected to normal
displacements
Consider crack of length a in a strip of width 2h
(a >> h).

Top & bottom surfaces of the strip are held by

rigid grips & displacements V are applied in y
directions.
Consider open contour ABCDEF taken far away
from crack tip.

On BC & DE : n1 = 0 ; ui/x1 = 0 (fixed-grip condition);

JBC = JDE = 0.
On AB & EF : ij = 0 (stress state is unloaded) JAB = JEF = 0
On CD : n1 = 1 ; n2 = 0 ; 22 = V/h ; 11 = 12 = 0; 22 = E22 = EV/h
W = (22 22) = EV2/(2h2) ;
Wn1 ij njui/x1 = EV2/(2h2) - 0 (ui/x1 = 0 far ahead)
 Stationary crack tip fields HRR solution
Ref : J.W.Hutchinson, JMPS, (1968), V.16, p.13 & p.337.
J.R.Rice & Rosengren, JMPS, (1968), V.16, p.1.

Stress & strain fields near the tip of a stationary crack within plastic zone.

Consider 2D plane strain / plane stress & Mode I loading.

Material is characterized by small strain J2 deformation theory of plasticity.

Sij = ij - 1/3 kk ij Deviatoric stress tensor

J2 = Sij Sij Second invariant of stress deviator

= 3 J2 Effective stress (reduces to uniaxial stress)

 J2 Deformation Theory of Plasticity

Uniaxial Behaviour :
o, o Uniaxial tensile yield stress and yield strain (o = o/E)

Under uniaxial tension : xx = ; all other ij 0 = 3 J2 =

Assume uniaxial stress-strain behaviour is modeled by Ramberg-Osgood

relation :
n

= +
o o o

n : Hardening exponent
: Dimensionless material constant

Note Above eqn models monotonic n = 1 : Elastic

loading ; Cannot describe unloading. n : Non-hardening limit
n : Less hardening
 J2 Deformation Theory of Plasticity

Extension to multi-axial states :

n 1
(1 + ) (1 2 ) 3 Sij
ij = Sij + kk ij + o
E
 3E
  2

 
o o

Elastic Strain e Plastic Strain

p
ij ij

Since strain singularity is expected at the tip : ijp >> ije in a small
neighborhood D of the crack tip.

In this region D :

n 1
ij 3 Sij

o 2 o o
 Singularity Analysis using J-integral

Consider an open circular contour c of radius

r centered at the crack tip.

Since J is path independent take r 0.

For finite, non-zero value of J as r 0 we require :

LHS of above eqn involves (stress) (strain).

 Singularity Analysis using J-integral

For power-law hardening materials : ~ n

Hutchinson, Rice & Rosengren proposed following form for plastic crack
tip fields :

as r 0

Kp : Plastic intensity factor : Dimension ~ L1/(n+1)

 Determination of angular functions

Airys stress function U(r, ) defined so that stresses satisfy equilibrium

equations :

Based on stress singularity deduced above as r 0 :

Stresses derived from above form for U as r 0 :

where s = (2n+1)/(n+1)
 Determination of angular functions

Use strain stress relation (J2 deformation theory with power law
hardening) and substitute into compatibility condition :

Obtain 4th order nonlinear ODE in for U(, n)

BCs on the crack face ( = ) and symmetry condition ahead of tip ( = 0) :

2-point BVP or nonlinear

eigenvalue problem

HRR solved for U(, n) for various n using Runge-Kutta method.

 HRR crack tip fields

We can derive a relation between Kp and J by substituting the crack

tip fields into :

J Kp relation : J = ooKpn+1 In

In constant dependent on hardening exponent n.

n=1 n

Plane Stress In 5 In 3

Plane Strain In 6 In 4
 HRR crack tip fields

Rewriting HRR fields in terms of J :

1/ n+1

[ ]
ij , = o
J

oo I n r
[~ (, n), ~ (, n)]
ij

n/ n+1
J ~ (, n)
ij = o ij as r 0
oo I n r

n/ n+1
J
ui = r1/ n+1 ~
ui ( , n )
o o I n

: Dimensionless angular functions depending on n ,

plane strain / plane stress, Mode I / Mode II
(Determined by HRR & tabulated by C.F.Shih for
various values of n)
 HRR crack tip fields Mode I, plane strain
Angular stress / plastic strain functions for two n values

Intense plastic strain concentration (rp) from = 45 to 135.

Note rr & are small all around the crack tip.
High & rr & hydrostatic stress directly ahead of the crack tip.
 HRR crack tip fields Mode I, plane strain
Near-tip slip-line field and angular stress distribution for perfectly plastic
case.

Prandtl slip-line field

Fully continuous stress field.

Constant stress sectors COD

ahead of tip (from = 0 to 45)
and BOA behind tip (from = 135
to 180) .

High elevation of opening and

hydrostatic stresses ahead of tip.

Centered fan BOC (focusing slip

lines) above tip (from = 45 to
135).

Singular plastic strains p ~ O(1/r)

in centered fan region.
 HRR crack tip fields Mode I, plane stress
Angular stress / plastic strain functions for two n values

Intense plastic strain concentration (especially p) from = 0 to 80.

Much smaller magnitude of & rr as compared to plane strain case.
 HRR crack tip fields Mode I, plane stress

Near-tip slip-line field and angular stress distribution for perfectly plastic
case.

Hutchinson slip-line field

Stress field not fully continuous.

Constant stress sectors BOC

(from = 79 to 152) and BOA
(from = 152 to 180) . Stress
discontinuity along OB.

Biaxial stress state ahead of tip.

Centered fan COD (focusing slip

lines) ahead of tip (from = 0 to
79).

Singular plastic strains p ~ O(1/r)

in centered fan region.