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Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

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Procedia Structural
Structural IntegrityIntegrity
Procedia500
(2017) 920–927
(2016) 000–000
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

2nd International Conference on Structural Integrity, ICSI 2017, 4-7 September 2017, Funchal,
2nd International Conference on Structural Integrity,
Madeira, ICSI 2017, 4-7 September 2017, Funchal,
Portugal
Madeira, Portugal
A Fracture Mechanics Study of a Compact Tension Specimen:
APortuguese
XV Fracture
Digital Image Mechanics
Correlation,
Conference Study
on Fracture, PCFof2016,
Finite aElement
Compact and
10-12 February Tension
Meshless
2016, Paço Specimen:
Methods
de Arcos, Portugal
Digital Image Correlation, Finite Element and Meshless Methods
Behzad V. Farahania,b,
Thermo-mechanical *, Paulo J. Tavares a
of aa,, Jorge
highBelinha
a,b
, P.turbine
M. G. P. Moreiraof a
Behzad V. Farahania,b,*, modeling Paulo J. Tavares Jorge pressure
Belinha a,b
, P. M. G. P. blade Moreiraa an
airplane gas turbine engine
INEGI, Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Dr. Roberto Frias Street, 400, 4200-465,
a

INEGI, Institute of Science and Innovation

a
Porto,
in Mechanical andPortugal.
Industrial Engineering, Dr. Roberto Frias Street, 400, 4200-465,
b
FEUP, Faculty of Engineering, University ofPorto,
Porto,Portugal.
Dr. Roberto Frias Street, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal.
b
FEUP, Faculty of Engineering, Universityaof Porto, Dr. Roberto
b Frias Street, 4200-465,
c Porto, Portugal.
P. Brandão , V. Infante , A.M. Deus *
AbstractaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1, 1049-001 Lisboa,
Abstract Portugal
This
b
study
IDMEC, mainly aims
Department to determine
of Mechanical the stressInstituto
Engineering, intensity factor Técnico,
Superior range (SIF) for a compact
Universidade tension
de Lisboa, (CT) specimen
Av. Rovisco under uniaxial
Pais, 1, 1049-001 Lisboa,
This
tensile study loading
fatigue mainly aims
state. toAdetermine
2D theoptical
full-field stress intensity
technique, factor range
Portugal
Digital (SIF)Correlation
Image for a compact (DIC),tension
is (CT)
used to specimen
acquire the under uniaxial
experimental
c
tensileCeFEMA,
solution. fatigue Department
loadingthe
Therefore, of
state.Mechanical
A 2D full-field
deformation Engineering,
contour optical Instituto
technique,
is measured Superior
forDigitalTécnico,
several Image Universidade
crack Correlation de(DIC),
growth lengths. Lisboa, isAv.
In Rovisco
used Pais,is1,
to acquire
addition, SIF the1049-001 Lisboa,
experimental
experimentally
solution. Therefore, the deformation contour is measured for Portugal
several crack growth lengths. In addition, SIF is experimentally
characterized together with a numerical overdetermined algorithm for different crack lengths. Besides, the strain variation with
characterized
respect to the together
notch tipwith a numerical
is captured. Theoverdetermined
innovation of this algorithm
study isforthedifferent
combination crack of lengths. Besides, theDIC
an experimental strain variationwith
procedure witha
respect
numerical to overdetermined
the notch tip is algorithm.
captured. The innovation
Moreover, to of this
assess the study is the combination
performance of the proposed of an experimental
fracture model, DIC
the procedure
problem is with a
resolved
Abstract
numerical
using advanced overdetermined
discretizationalgorithm.
techniques, Moreover,
such astotheassess
Finite theElement
performance Method of the
(FEM)proposed
and the fracture model,
Meshless the problem
Radial is resolved
Point Interpolation
using
Method advanced
During(RPIM). discretization
Thus, the cracked
their operation, techniques,
modernCT such
specimen
aircraft as the Finite Element
is elasto-statically
engine components are Method
modeled (FEM) and the
usingtoabove-mentioned
subjected Meshless
increasingly demanding Radial Point
numerical operating Interpolation
approaches. Hence,
conditions,
Method
FEM(RPIM).
theespecially model
the is Thus,
high the cracked
analyzed
pressure with
turbine CT (HPT)
ABAQUS specimen©, is elasto-statically
allowing
blades. computemodeled
Suchtoconditions the mode
cause using
theseI SIF above-mentioned
partsresults numerical
for different
to undergo crack
different approaches.
typeslengths Hence,
in addition
of time-dependent
the FEM contours.
to degradation,
strain modelone is analyzed
of whichwith
Likewise, isthe ABAQUS
foregoing
creep. A model ©, using
allowing
procedure theis to compute
repeated
finite forthethe
element mode
RPIM
method I (FEM)
SIF results
analysis
wasand for encouraging
differentincrack
developed, lengths
numerical
order in
to be able addition
results are
to predict
to strain
achieved.
the contours.
creep SIF Likewise,
Thebehaviouris determined
of HPT the blades.
foregoing
with a maximum procedure
Flight is repeated
dataenergy
records release
(FDR) for the
ratefor aRPIM
criterion inanalysis
specific front ofand
aircraft, encouraging
theprovided
crack tipby in numerical
aFEM results
study,
commercial while are
in
aviation
achieved.
company,
RPIM Thewere
study, itSIF is determined
is used to obtain
calculated within with thea maximum
thermal energy release
and overdetermined
same mechanical forrate
dataalgorithm
threecriterion ininthe
different
used front
flight
DIC ofcycles.
the crack
study. In tip into
order
Overall, FEM
the createstudy,
the while
experimental in
3D model
and
RPIM
needed
numerical study,
SIFitthe
for is FEM
calculated
results areanalysis,within
compared the the
a with
HPT same
blade overdetermined
scrapsolution
reported was scanned, algorithm
(ASTM and used
E647) in the DIC
its exhibiting
chemical study. Overall,
acomposition
reasonable the experimental
and material
agreement. properties andwere
numerical
obtained.SIF The results are compared
data that was gathered withwas the fed
reported solution
into the FEM (ASTM model and E647) exhibiting
different a reasonable
simulations were agreement.
run, first with a simplified 3D
© rectangular
2017 The Authors.block shape, in order
Published to better B.V.
by Elsevier establish the model, and then with the real 3D mesh obtained from the blade scrap. The
©
© 2017
2017The
overall Authors.
expected Published
behaviour byinElsevier
terms B.V.
Peer-review
Peer-review
The Authors.
under
under
Published
responsibility
responsibility of
by
the theofScientific
of Elsevier displacement
Scientific
B.V. Committee
Committee
was observed,
of of2017
ICSIlife,
in particular at the trailing edge of the blade. Therefore such a
ICSI 2017.
model can under
Peer-review be useful in the goalofofthe
responsibility predicting
Scientific turbine blade
Committee given
of ICSI a set of FDR data.
2017.
Keywords: Compact Tension Specimen; SIF range; FEM; RPIM; Fracture Mechanics.
© 2016 Compact
Keywords: The Authors. Published
Tension bySIF
Specimen; Elsevier B.V. RPIM; Fracture Mechanics.
range; FEM;
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of PCF 2016.

Keywords: High Pressure Turbine Blade; Creep; Finite Element Method; 3D Model; Simulation.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +351 225082151.

* Corresponding
E-mail address:author. Tel.: +351 225082151.
behzad.farahani@fe.up.pt
E-mail address: behzad.farahani@fe.up.pt
2452-3216 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Peer-review underThe
2452-3216 © 2017 responsibility of theby
Authors. Published Scientific Committee of ICSI 2017.
Elsevier B.V.
Peer-review underauthor.
* Corresponding responsibility
Tel.: +351of218419991.
the Scientific Committee of ICSI 2017.
E-mail address: amd@tecnico.ulisboa.pt

2452-3216 © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of PCF 2016.
2452-3216  2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of ICSI 2017
10.1016/j.prostr.2017.07.113
 Behzad V. Farahani et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 5 (2017) 920–927 921
2 Behzad V. Farahani et al./ Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

1. Introduction

This work describes a hybrid experimental/numerical approach for Stress Intensity Factor, SIF, calculation for a
cracked compact tension (CT) specimen in the presence of a uniaxial tensile fatigue loading. The experimental data
was analyzed using a 3D full-filed optical technique, Digital Image Correlation (DIC). The material, geometrical and
mechanical characteristics were fully considered.
Generally, to study crack growth and evaluate the remaining life of a certain structural component, rigorous
numerical/experimental analyses are performed to evaluate SIFs. The ability to tolerate a substantial amount of
damage is a demand for contemporary structures, hence it has become increasingly important to enhance
methodologies to anticipate failure in fatigue damaged components. The fracture mechanics theory in conjunction
with crack growth laws, i.e. Paris’ law, is commonly employed to analyze and predict crack growth and fracture
behavior of structural components.
To evaluate the SIF, determining the stress data using optical techniques, new numerical techniques were
developed in recent years, for DIC method, see e.g. [(McNeill et al. 1987), (Tavares et al. 2015)]; for thermoelastic
stress analysis (TSA), see e.g. (B. V. Farahani et al. 2016). Using the experimental data in conjunction with an
overdeterministic approach (Pastrama et al. 2008) , the SIF is experimentally determined, and a computational
verification was conducted. Sanford et al. (Sanford & Dally 1979) used this overdetermined approach in fracture
mechanics to process photoelastic data in experimental SIFs evaluation. When compared with other procedures, the
overdeterministic approach has the advantage of using an unlimited number of data points. As a result, errors can be
minimized and the accuracy of calculations increased.
Numerically, in the early age of the fracture mechanics, two numerical techniques have been applied to the solution
of cracked problems consisting of Finite Element Method (FEM) with remeshing and Boundary Element Methods
(BEM). Nevertheless, these approaches possessed some significant disadvantages dealing with the cracked structures.
For instance, in FEM, it is cumbersome to automatically remesh finite elements. In the same way, remeshing on a
large part associated with the finite elements are restricted in BEM analyses (Belytschko, Gu, et al. 1994). Later on,
an advanced discretization technique, the Element Free Galerkin (EFG), has been adopted by Belytschko et al.
(Belytschko, Lu Y, et al. 1994) and Lu et al. (Lu et al. 1994) to solve elastic problems. The main advantage of this
approach is the fact that it requires only a set of nodes to construct the discrete problem domain. An extensive
computational study of the cracked structures solved by EFG methods was performed by Belytschko et al.
(Belytschko, Gu, et al. 1994).
The SIF calculation for intricate crack configurations in finite plates generally presents significant difficulties.
Thus, Byskov (Byskov 1970) proposed a comprehensive numerical FEM to resolve such mentioned problems by
focusing on specific cracked elements, in which the stiffness matrix is associated with the crack elements. In 1976,
Hillerborg et al. (Hillerborg et al. 1976) focused on the crack formation analysis in concrete by fracture mechanics
theory combined with FEM.
Moreover, a new technique has been proposed by Belytschko et al. (Belytschko & Black 1999) to analyse the 2D
cracked problems within FEM, in which a minimal remeshing was required. After that, a recent approach was
established by Moës et al. (Moës et al. 1999) where a Haar function was applied to evaluate the crack growth. So, this
technique permits the whole crack to be represented independently of the mesh.
Likewise, Meshless methods have been a futuristic topic and a trend in the computational field in a variety of
science and engineering problems. Comparing with conventional computational methods, such as the FEM and the
BEM, meshless methods follow a local approximation combined with a flexible domain discretization. In these
advanced discretization techniques, the nodes do not form a mesh, since there is no previous relation between them.
The meshless method possesses some benefits to solve demanding problems in fracture and damage mechanics
particularly where the computational efforts are considered. As an illustration, a comprehensive study on meshless
methods to analyse the linear elastic fractured problem was proposed in 2000 by Rao et al. (Rao & Rahman 2000). It
was shown that the crack propagation could be significantly simplified since remeshing is not required, in opposition
to the FE analysis. Considering the mixed mode loading conditions, the meshless method results agreed well with the
FE and experimental solution showing the great success of the forgoing approach. Later on, the foregoing authors
extended their methodology, based on the Galerkin meshless method, to evaluate the stress intensity factor rate on
several linear structures in the presence of a single crack (Rao & Rahman 2002). In addition, they have succeeded to
reproduce the first-order derivative of the stress intensity factor in terms of the crack size for mode I and II loading
conditions. Good agreements were accomplished for the meshless method results compared to the FE and finite
difference method. Then, a coupled numerical method on fracture mechanics was presented by the same authors in
922 Behzad V. Farahani et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 5 (2017) 920–927
Behzad V. Farahani et al./ Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 3

2001 (Rao & Rahman 2001). They employed the EFG and FEM to study the material behaviour in the vicinity of the
crack and in areas far away from the crack, respectively. Therefore, the SIF was evaluated for the mode I and II loading
states for the 2D cracked models.
This preliminary work aims to determine the mode I SIF range, ∆𝐾𝐾I , the crack propagation and strain fields on the
specimen. For this purpose, DIC was used to analyse the experimental data. Besides, the problem was resolved through
two advanced discretisation techniques, FEM and Radial Point Interpolation meshless (RPIM) methods to assess the
performance of the numerical approaches. The SIF was therefore calculated from the captured data together with an
overdeterministic algorithm. An acceptable agreement amongst all obtained results was accomplished.

2. Analysis

A standard CT specimen (as shown in Fig. 1) was used for a cyclic fatigue crack growth test. It is desirable to
measure the mode I SIF range, (∆𝐾𝐾𝐼𝐼 ), for a variety of crack lengths where the specimen is loaded under tensile state.
According to the Standard Test Method for Measurement of Fatigue Crack Growth Rates (ASTM International 2015),
the following expression is applicable to calculate ∆𝐾𝐾𝐼𝐼 for a fractured CT specimen:

∆𝑃𝑃 2+𝛼𝛼
∆𝐾𝐾𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = (0.886 + 4.64𝛼𝛼 − 13.32𝛼𝛼 2 + 14.72𝛼𝛼 3 − 5.6𝛼𝛼 4 ) (1)
𝐵𝐵√𝑊𝑊 (1−𝛼𝛼)3⁄2

Fig. 1. A standard CT specimen

where W and B are the specimen width and thickness, respectively. In addition, ∆𝑃𝑃 presents the applied load range
and a is the crack length measured in each cyclic fatigue stage. In this case, 𝑎𝑎𝑛𝑛 was measured as 𝑎𝑎𝑛𝑛 = 8.46 (𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚).
The presented expression is valid for 𝑎𝑎⁄𝑊𝑊 ≥ 0.2 (Newman 1974; Srawley E. 1976). The initial crack size and
maximum crack extension is evaluated where the uncracked ligament (W-a) is greater than the maximum acceptable
SIF.
So, ∆𝐾𝐾 for any crack length derived from Equation (1) was used to verify the experimental and numerical models.
In addition, the internal fields obtained from numerical analyses are compared with the experimental DIC one.
To compute SIF from experimental DIC data, a numerical algorithm was defined to process the strain field
extracted from DIC. This function joins the overdeterministic SIF calculation algorithm and the stress computation
based on the principal stresses in the vicinity of a straight front crack under mode I conditions. For the plane problem
of a homogeneous isotropic solid, Williams expansion series for plane stress state were used where the significance
of 𝐾𝐾𝐼𝐼 is demonstrated in Equation (5), (Williams & Pasadena 1957).
𝑛𝑛
𝑛𝑛 −1 𝑛𝑛 𝑛𝑛 𝑛𝑛 𝑛𝑛
𝜎𝜎𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = ∑∞
𝑛𝑛=1 (𝐴𝐴𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 ) 𝑟𝑟 2 {[2 + (−1)𝑛𝑛 + ] 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 ( − 1) 𝜃𝜃 − ( − 1) 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 ( − 3) 𝜃𝜃} (2)
2 2 2 2 2
𝑛𝑛
𝑛𝑛 −1 𝑛𝑛 𝑛𝑛 𝑛𝑛 𝑛𝑛
𝜎𝜎𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = ∑∞
𝑛𝑛=1 (𝐴𝐴𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 ) 𝑟𝑟 2 {[2 − (−1)𝑛𝑛 − ] 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 ( − 1) 𝜃𝜃 + ( − 1) 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 ( − 3) 𝜃𝜃} (3)
2 2 2 2 2
 Behzad V. Farahani et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 5 (2017) 920–927 923
4 Behzad V. Farahani et al./ Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

𝑛𝑛
𝑛𝑛 −1 𝑛𝑛 𝑛𝑛 𝑛𝑛 𝑛𝑛
𝜏𝜏𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = ∑∞
𝑛𝑛=1 (𝐴𝐴𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 ) 𝑟𝑟 2 {− [(−1)𝑛𝑛 + ] 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 ( − 1) 𝜃𝜃 + ( − 1) 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 ( − 3) 𝜃𝜃} (4)
2 2 2 2 2

𝐴𝐴𝐼𝐼1 =
𝐾𝐾𝐼𝐼 (5)
√2𝜋𝜋

Since for Mode I the relevant stress is the opening stress, 𝜎𝜎𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 , the algorithm will be applied using this component.
So, only Equation (3) of the Williams expansion series is considered in the present study.

2. Experimental Procedure

A pre-cracked CT specimen made of Aluminium alloy AA6082-T6 was chosen for this study. It has the dimensions
𝑊𝑊 = 40 [𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚] and thickness 𝐵𝐵 = 𝑊𝑊 ⁄20 = 2 [𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚]. The material properties were considered as: Young’s modulus
𝐸𝐸 = 70 (𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺) and Poisson’s ratio 𝜈𝜈 = 0.33. A set of DIC cameras was setup to acquire the strain data on the cracked
region. DIC cameras were positioned in front of the specimen with a horizontal distance of l = 1000 (mm). Considering
∆𝑃𝑃 = 𝑃𝑃𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 − 𝑃𝑃𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 , 𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 = ∆𝑃𝑃⁄2, 𝑃𝑃𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = (𝑃𝑃𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 + 𝑃𝑃𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 )⁄2 and 𝑅𝑅 = 𝑃𝑃𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 ⁄𝑃𝑃𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 , the loading specifications
are demonstrated in Table 1.

Table 1: Loading conditions.

𝑃𝑃𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑃𝑃𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑅𝑅 𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑃𝑃𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑓𝑓
670 (𝑁𝑁) 67 (𝑁𝑁) 0.1 302 (𝑁𝑁) 380 (𝑁𝑁) 15 (𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻)

After reaching 170,000 fatigue cycles, the minimum allowable crack size was obtained as 𝑎𝑎 ≅ 3.2 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚, therefore
the strain field was captured for seven crack lengths.

3. Numerical Analysis

Crack propagation is a significant concept in fracture, fatigue and damage mechanics. Hence, numerical
simulations are required to anticipate the failure phenomenon. The computational approaches are applicable to
perform the numerical simulation so, the fracture response and the reliability of cracked constructions are determined.
The finite element formulation is appropriate for elastic plate problems, nevertheless it is not suitable to handle stress
singularities in its conventional formulation (Carpinteri & Paggi 2007). Thus, meanwhile, special elements were
developed to tackle the singularities caused by cracks (Byskov 1970). The model was solved through FE and RPIM
formulations presented in this section.

3.1. FE Study

To obtain a verification of the experimental solution, the model was solved using FEM formulation. It was
simulated with an available commercial software, ABAQUS, to evaluate the interesting results such as SIF range,
strain field and in particular the strain variation in front of the crack tip. Thus, it is possible to compare the obtained
FEM results with the experimental solution. An explicit model was thereby considered in ABAQUS where a 2D plane
stress shell was applicable. Moreover, standard 4-node bilinear plane stress quadrilateral elements (CPS4R) were used
to form the mesh in which the element size range is between 0.5 and 1 millimeters with a total number of 3927 and
3927 elements and nodes, respectively, see Fig. 2-a. More refined elements were considered in the cracked region
where an intended region with a dimension of 7 by 7 millimeters was considered close to the crack tip as shown in a
dash-line square in Fig. 2-a. The material and geometric properties were used same as the experimental test and the
loading conditions were followed based on Table 1. Besides, two reference points (𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅1 and 𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅2 ) were assigned to the
model, located in the center of two holes, and they were therefore kinematically coupled with the corresponding holes.
They were constrained to the displacement field in x and y directions. Regarding the essential boundary condition, the
924 Behzad V. Farahani et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 5 (2017) 920–927
Behzad V. Farahani et al./ Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 5

first reference point located on the upper hole, 𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅1 , was pinned to satisfy the experimental conditions. Concerning the
natural boundary condition, as reported on Table 1, a concentrated force possessing a magnitude of ∆𝑃𝑃 = −603 [𝑁𝑁]
was vertically applied on the second reference point coupled with the bottom hole, 𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅2 , see Fig. 2-a. Indeed, the crack
was defined in accordance with the crack assignment on the contour integral in ABAQUS.

(a) (b)

Fig. 2. Geometry and boundary condition for CT specimen; (a) FE model and the interest region near the crack tip and (b) Meshless RPIM model.

3.2. RPIM Meshless method analysis

In this study, a 2D plane stress deformation theory is assumed. The standard RPIM formulations for 2D plane
stress are extensively described (J. Belinha 2014) leading to a linear system of equations presented as 𝑲𝑲𝑲𝑲 = 𝒇𝒇. Being
K the stiffness matrix, f the force vector and u the displacement field. Using Hooke’s law, it is possible to obtain a
relation between the strain field and stress field,

𝜎𝜎𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 1 𝜈𝜈 0 𝜀𝜀𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥
𝐸𝐸 𝜈𝜈 1 0
𝝈𝝈 = 𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪 ⟺ {𝜎𝜎𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 } = [ 𝜀𝜀
1 − 𝜈𝜈 ] { 𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 } (6)
𝜏𝜏𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 (1 + 𝜈𝜈)(1 − 𝜈𝜈) 𝛾𝛾𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥
0 0
2

In this work, all integration cells are quadrilateral consisting of approximately 9 nodes and 𝑛𝑛𝑄𝑄 × 𝑛𝑛𝑄𝑄 integration
points inside, respecting the Gauss-Legendre quadrature scheme. Previous works [(Wang & Liu 2002), (J. Belinha
2014)] reported that this integration scheme maximizes its efficiency if 𝑛𝑛𝑄𝑄 = 3.
So, the RPIM formulation was exerted to the linear elastic fracture mechanics. The 2D problem was modelled
within a numerical plane stress routine developed in MATLB by the authors. The cracked specimen was then elasto-
statically simulated for each crack length, where the boundary conditions and applied force were fully addressed.
The present analysis was carried out using a regular nodal discretization consisting of 4861 and 28155 nodes and
integration points, respectively. Taking advantage of the symmetry of the CT specimen, only half of the problem was
analysed. The nodal distribution on half of the problem domain is shown in Fig. 2-b. The specimen thickness (2 mm)
was assumed in the integrated formula. The material properties and loading conditions were used the same as the
experimental test. Other parameters and coefficients governing the RPIM analysis were used based on the previous
works conducted by the authors [(J. Belinha 2014),(B. V Farahani et al. 2016),(Vasheghani Farahani et al. 2015)].

4. Results and Comparison

Using the obtained data from DIC and RPIM meshless approaches with respect to a total number of seven terms
(𝑛𝑛 = 7) in Williams series, Equation (3), the SIF range results for seven crack lengths were acquired using the
overdeterministic algorithm. Concentring FE analysis, SIF was directly computed through maximum strain energy
 Behzad V. Farahani et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 5 (2017) 920–927 925
6 Behzad V. Farahani et al./ Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

release rate criterion in the presence of 10 integral contours in front of the crack tip in ABAQUS. All obtained mode
I SIF results compared to the ASTM solution in addition to the deviation values are shown on Table 2.

Table 2: Mode I stress intensity factor range for compact tension specimen.
a ∆𝐾𝐾𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ∆𝐾𝐾𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 ∆𝐾𝐾𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 ∆𝐾𝐾𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 Dev. % Dev. % Dev. % Dev. % Dev. % Dev. %
DIC & FEM & RPIM & FEM & RPIM & RPIM &
0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
[mm] [𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀. 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 ] [𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀. 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 ] [𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀. 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 ] [𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀. 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 ] ASTM * ASTM ** ASTM*** DIC # DIC ## FEM ###

12.98 285.41 277.17 286.53 282.42 -2.89 0.39 -1.05 3.38 1.90 1.45
14.07 306.08 301.20 304.21 301.14 -1.60 -0.61 -1.62 1.00 -0.02 1.02
15.26 330.55 323.12 326.25 324.94 -2.25 -1.30 -1.70 0.97 0.56 0.40
17.01 371.27 347.40 363.18 360.36 -6.43 -2.18 -2.94 4.54 3.73 0.78
20.56 481.04 483.57 466.36 467.93 0.53 -3.05 -2.72 -3.56 -3.23 -0.34
21.74 529.85 519.10 514.53 522.03 -2.03 -2.89 -1.48 -0.88 0.56 -1.44
22.48 564.95 565.39 548.65 551.39 0.08 -2.88 -2.40 -2.96 -2.48 -0.50

* #
[(∆𝐾𝐾𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 − ∆𝐾𝐾𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 )⁄∆𝐾𝐾𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ] ∗ 100 [(∆𝐾𝐾𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 − ∆𝐾𝐾𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 )⁄∆𝐾𝐾𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 ] ∗ 100
** ##
[(∆𝐾𝐾𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 − ∆𝐾𝐾𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 )⁄∆𝐾𝐾𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ] ∗ 100 [(∆𝐾𝐾𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 − ∆𝐾𝐾𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 )⁄∆𝐾𝐾𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 ] ∗ 100
*** ###
[(∆𝐾𝐾𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 − ∆𝐾𝐾𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 )⁄∆𝐾𝐾𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ] ∗ 100 [(∆𝐾𝐾𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 − ∆𝐾𝐾𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 )⁄∆𝐾𝐾𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 ] ∗ 100

Furthermore, the opening strain variation, 𝜀𝜀𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 , in terms of distance from the crack tip was evolved for different
crack growth stages for DIC, FE and RPIM analyses plotted in Fig. 3. Moreover, the opening strain contour 𝜀𝜀𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦
obtained for 𝑎𝑎 = 21.74 (𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚) from DIC, FE and RPIM meshless analyses as shown in Fig. 4.

14.07 mm - DIC 14.07 mm - FEM 14.07 mm - RPIM

17.01 mm - DIC 17.01 mm - FEM 17.01 mm - RPIM
0,008
21.74 mm. DIC 21.74 mm - FEM 21.74 mm - RPIM

0,006
Strain YY

0,004

0,002

-0,002
12 17 22 27 32 37
Distance to the notch tip [mm]

Fig. 3. Strain variation in front of the crack tip.

(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 4. Opening strain, 𝜀𝜀𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 , contours obtained for 𝑎𝑎 = 21.74 (𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚); (a) DIC, (b) FE and (c) RPIM meshless analyses.
926 Behzad V. Farahani et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 5 (2017) 920–927
Behzad V. Farahani et al./ Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 7

5. Conclusions

In the framework of the linear fracture mechanics, this preliminary work addresses the experimental measurement
of the mode I stress intensity factor (SIF) for a standard compact tension specimen during a uniaxial fatigue crack
growth test. A non-contact full-field optical technique so-called “Digital Image Correlation” was used to measure the
strain variations on the specimen surface. Using the strain field captured from DIC analysis, the stress field is therefore
evaluated relying on the 2D plane stress formulation of Hooke’s law. Considering the obtained stress data together
with William’s series expansion, the mode I stress intensity factor is calculated through a numerical overdeterministic
algorithm for several crack lengths.
Besides, the fracture model is simulated with numerical methods; FE and RPIM meshless methods, to validate the
SIF and strain variation in front of the crack tip obtained from DIC experimental test. The geometrical and mechanical
characteristics, in addition to essential boundary conditions, are fully defined in accordance with the experimental
data. Concerning the FE analysis, the 2D linear fracture model is solved in ABAQUS©. So, the problem was elasto-
statically analyzed for different crack lengths to obtain internal variables and SIF range assuming the strain energy
release rate criterion in the presence of integral contours. Likewise, the RPIM meshless method formulation was
considered to analyze the present model. As outcome, the polar coordinates of the points located in the interest cracked
region and their stress states were determined. In accordance with these results, the SIF range was thus calculated
using the same overdeterministic algorithm used in DIC solution procedure.
An acceptable agreement amongst the reference solution reported by ASTM E647, experimental DIC and
numerical approaches was attained. Consequently, the obtained results proved that the supporting numerical
methodology was robust and feasible, and the success of the proposed model was thereby accomplished.

Acknowledgements

The first author truly acknowledges the funding provided by Ministério da Educação e Ciência, Fundação para a
Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portugal), under grants PD/BD/114095/2015 and SFRH/BPD/111020/2015.
Dr. Moreira acknowledges POPH - QREN-Tipologia 4.2 - Promotion of scientific employment funded by the ESF
and MCTES. Authors gratefully acknowledge the funding of Project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000022 - SciTech -
Science and Technology for Competitive and Sustainable Industries, cofinanced by Programa Operacional Regional
do Norte (NORTE2020), through Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER).

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