Early structural concepts

Some of the structures in earlier have endured

for ages.
Materials used were brittle type like bricks, stones,
mortar: poor to carry tensile loads.
Avoided fracture possibilities by selecting
appropriate geometric shapes like arches, domes
The structure were designed to carry load by
compression

New structural concepts

Availability of metals lead to change in structural
concepts: allowed tension in structure. (this invited
additional problems like fracture)
Designs based on strength allowed a factor of safety
ranging from 2 to 10, but still structures failed by
sudden brittle fracture
Eg. 1919 rupture of Molasses tank in Boston
spilling 2 million gallons of molasses

* When ever there is new
material or new design
concepts produces
unexpected results leading
to catastrophic failure
1943, Liberty ship: a cargo ship
Prior to II world war liberty ships were riveted (very slow process) having no
fracture problems
During war, to accelerate ship building, England sought help from USA. USA
companies offered to build ship faster, by welding joints.
They maintained same geometric shape, ship hull turned out to be a single
envelope of steel.
Ships were sailing across Atlantic and Artic ocean. (cold temperatures). During
which two ships fractured suddenly in to two halves ( brittle fracture). Out of
2700 ships built, 400 ships suffered fractures of various degree.
Conventional Design Method

Conventional method ensures safety of
structure based on strength characteristics
often structure may have a FS varying
from 2 to 10
Design does not safeguard against possible
failure by fracture (brittle, ductile, fatigue,
dynamic)



Applied Stress
<
Yield
Strength
Safe Design
Accept
Yield
Strength
Unsafe Design
R
e
d
e
s
i
g
n
>
Structure or
a structural component
F
f
Design based on Strength of Material Approach
Applied Stress
< Fracture
Toughness
Safe Design
Accept
Fracture
Toughness
Unsafe Design
R
e
d
e
s
i
g
n
>
Structure or
a structural component
Fracture parameter
Flaw
size
F
f
Design based on Fracture Mechanics Approach
Fracture Mechanics Design approach
Fracture mechanics approaches
require that an initial crack size be
known or assumed. For components
with imperfections or defects (such as
welding porosities, inclusions and
casting defects, etc.) an initial crack
size may be known.
Fracture Mechanics ensures safety
against fracture failure
Evaluation of fracture parameter
may be required
In presence of visible crack for
ductile or fatigue loading condition,
FM can predict safety and life of the
structure
Ductile Fracture
Intragranular
(Transgranular)
Intergranular
Rupture by Necking
Rupture by Shear
Ductile fracture is preceded by extensive plastic
deformation
Ductile fracture is caused due to growth and
coalescence of voids (at the sites of inclusion)
Ductile fracture is a slow process , gives enough
precaution before catastrophic failure
Ductile fracture usually follows transgranular path
If the density of inclusion are more along grain
boundary, crack grows along boundaries leading to
fibrous or ductile intergranular fracture
If inclusions are not present, voids are formed at
severely deformed regions leading to localized slip
bands and macroscopic instability resulting in
necking or shear fracture
Plasticity retards crack growth and it
provides a factor of safety against over
loading or oversight in design.
Cleavage
fracture
Intergranular
brittle fracture
Brittle fracture
Fast crack growth without excessive or no
plastic deformation.
Fracture stress will be lower than yield
strength
Brittle fracture may be transgranular
(cleavage) or intergranular
Brittle fracture are mostly predominant in
metals with bcc crystal at cryogenic
temperature or at high strain rate.
Micro cracks initiated by fatigue loading
may lead to brittle fracture
HAZ induces high tensile residual stress
HAZ also reduces the ductility
Shrinkage tears in weld may also cause
brittle fracture
What are the general characteristics of brittle
fracture?
Very little general plasticity - broken pieces can be fitted together
with no obvious plastic deformation;
Rapid crack propagation (one third the speed of sound), eg 1 km/s
for steel;
Low energy absorption;
Low failure load relative to load for general yield;
Usually fractures are flat and perpendicular to the maximum
principal stress;
Fracture always initiates at a flaw or a site of stress concentration.
Examples
Mild steel at low temperature;
high strength Fe, Al and Ti alloys;
glass; perspex
ceramics
concrete
carrots (particularly fresh ones)
Fracture mechanics is used to formulate quantitatively

The degree of Safety of a structure against brittle fracture

The conditions necessary for crack initiation, propagation
and arrest

The residual life in a component subjected to
dynamic/fatigue loading
Fracture mechanics identifies three primary factors that control the
susceptibility
of a structure to brittle failure.
1. Material Fracture Toughness. Material fracture toughness may be
defined as the ability to carry loads or deform plastically in the
presence of a notch. It may be described in terms of the critical
stress intensity factor, KIc, under a variety of conditions. (These
terms and conditions are fully discussed in the following chapters.)
2. Crack Size. Fractures initiate from discontinuities that can vary from
extremely small cracks to much larger weld or fatigue cracks.
Furthermore,
although good fabrication practice and inspection can minimize the
size and
number of cracks, most complex mechanical components cannot be
fabricated without discontinuities of one type or another.
3. Stress Level. For the most part, tensile stresses are necessary for
brittle
fracture to occur. These stresses are determined by a stress analysis
of the
particular component.

Other factors such as temperature, loading rate, stress concentrations,
residual stresses, etc., influence these three primary factors.

Fracture stress for realistic material
Inglis (1913) analyzed for the flat plate with an
elliptical hole with major axis 2a and minor axis 2b,
subjected to far end stress The stress at the tip of
the major axis (point A) is given by

(2.8)

The ratio is defined as the stress
concentration factor,
When a = b, it is a circular hole, then
When b is very very small, Inglis define radius of
curvature as
(2.9)

And the tip stress as

(2.10)

2a
2b
A
o
o
A

o
A
2a
1
b
| |
o = o +
|
\ .
A
o
o
t
k
t
k 3. =
2
b
a
=
A
a
1 a
| |
| |
o = o +
|
|
|

\ .
\ .
Fracture stress for realistic material (contd.)
When a >> b eq. 2.10 becomes

(2.11)

For a sharp crack, a >>> b, and stress at the crack tip tends to
Assuming that for a metal, plastic deformation is zero and the sharpest
crack may have root radius as atomic spacing then the stress is
given by
(2.12)

When far end stress reaches fracture stress , crack propagates and
the stress at A reaches cohesive stress then using eq. 2.7

(2.13)

This would
A
a
2
| |
o = o
|

\ .
0 =

o
x =
A
o
a
2
x
| |
o = o
|
\ .
A C
o = o
f
o = o
1/ 2
s
f
E
4a

| |
o =
|
\ .
A A Griffith laid the foundations of modern fracture mechanics by
designing a criterion for fast fracture. He assumed that pre-
existing flaws propagate under the influence of an applied stress
only if the total energy of the system is thereby reduced. Thus,
Griffith's theory is not concerned with crack tip processes or the
micromechanisms by which a crack advances.
Griffiths Energy balance approach (Contd.)
2a
X
Y
B
o
o
Griffith proposed that There is a simple
energy balance consisting of the decrease
in potential energy with in the stressed
body due to crack extension and this
decrease is balanced by increase in surface
energy due to increased crack surface

Griffith theory establishes theoretical strength of
brittle material and relationship between fracture
strength and flaw size a
f
o
2a
X
Y
B
o
o
Griffiths Energy balance approach (Contd.)
The initial strain energy for the uncracked plate
per thickness is
(2.14)

On creating a crack of size 2a, the tensile force
on an element ds on elliptic hole is relaxed
from to zero. The elastic strain energy
released per unit width due to introduction of a
crack of length 2a is given by




(2.15)

2
i
A
U dA
2E
}
o
=
a
1
a 2
0
U 4 dx v
}
= o
dx o
where displacement
v a sin
E
o
= u
using x a cos = u
2 2
a
a
U
E
to
=
Griffiths Energy balance approach (Contd.)
2a
X
Y
B
o
o
External work = (2.16)



The potential or internal energy of the body is


Due to creation of new surface increase in
surface energy is
(2.17)

The total elastic energy of the cracked
plate is



(2.18)

w
U Fdy,
o
}
=
where F= resultant force = area
=total relative displacement
o
o
p i a w
U =U +U -U
s
U = 4a

2 2 2
t s
A
a
U dA Fdy 4a
2E E o
} }
o to
= + +
P
1
P
2
(
a
)
(
a
+
d
a
)
L
o
a
d
,
P
Displacement, v
Crack begins
to grow from
length (a)
Crack is
longer by an
increment (da)
2 2
a
a
U
E
to
=
v
Griffiths Energy balance approach (Contd.)
E
n
e
r
g
y
,
U
Crack
length, a
S
u
r
f
a
c
e
E
n
e
r
g
y
U
=
4
a
s
2 2
a
a
U
E
to
=
Elastic Strain
energy released
Total energy
R
a
t
e
s
,
G
,

s
Potential energy
release rate G =
Syrface energy/unit
extension =
U
a
c | |
|
c
\ .
Crack
length, a
a
c
Unstable Stable
(a)
(b)
(a) Variation of Energy with Crack length
(b) Variation of energy rates with crack length
The variation of with crack
extension should be minimum



Denoting as during fracture

(2.19)
for plane stress

(2.20)
for plane strain
t
U
2
t
s
dU 2 a
0 4 0
da E
to
= + =
f
o
o
1/ 2
s
f
2E
a

| |
o =
|
t
\ .
1/ 2
s
f
2
2E
a(1 )
| |
o =
|
t v
\ .
The Griffith theory is obeyed by
materials which fail in a completely
brittle elastic manner, e.g. glass,
mica, diamond and refractory
metals.
Griffiths Energy balance approach (Contd.)
Griffith extrapolated surface tension values of soda lime glass
from high temperature to obtain the value at room temperature as
Using value of E = 62GPa,The value of as 0.15
From the experimental study on spherical vessels he
calculated as 0.25 0.28

However, it is important to note that according to the Griffith
theory, it is impossible to initiate brittle fracture unless pre-
existing defects are present, so that fracture is always considered
to be propagation- (rather than nucleation-) controlled; this is a
serious short-coming of the theory.

2
s
0.54J / m . =
1/ 2
s
2E
| |
|
t
\ .
MPa m.
1/ 2
s
c
2E
a

| |
o =
|
t
\ .
MPa m.
Modification for Ductile Materials
For more ductile materials (e.g. metals and plastics) it is found that
the functional form of the Griffith relationship is still obeyed, i.e.
. However, the proportionality constant can be used to
evaluate
s
(provided E is known) and if this is done, one finds the
value is many orders of magnitude higher than what is known to be
the true value of the surface energy (which can be determined by
other means). For these materials plastic deformation accompanies
crack propagation even though fracture is macroscopically brittle;
The released strain energy is then largely dissipated by producing
localized plastic flow at the crack tip. Irwin and Orowan modified
the Griffith theory and came out with an expression


Where
p
represents energy expended in plastic work. Typically for
cleavage in metallic materials
p
=10
4
J/m
2
and
s
=1 J/m
2
. Since
p
>>

s
we have


















1/ 2
s p
f
2E( )
a
+
| |
o =
|
t
\ .
1/ 2
p
f
2E
a

| |
o =
|
t
\ .
1/ 2
f
a o


Strain Energy Release Rate
The strain energy release rate usually referred to



Note that the strain energy release rate is respect to crack length and
most definitely not time. Fracture occurs when reaches a critical
value which is denoted .
At fracture we have so that


One disadvantage of using is that in order to determine it is
necessary to know E as well as . This can be a problem with some
materials, eg polymers and composites, where varies with
composition and processing. In practice, it is usually more
convenient to combine E and in a single fracture toughness
parameter where . Then can be simply determined
experimentally using procedures which are well established.


dU
G
da
=
c
G
c
G G =
1/ 2
c
f
1 EG
Y a
| |
o =
|
t
\ .
c
G
f
o
c
G
c
G
c
K
2
c c
K EG =
c
K
LINEAR ELASTIC FRACTURE MECHANICS (LEFM)
For LEFM the structure obeys Hookes law and global behavior is linear
and if any local small scale crack tip plasticity is ignored
The fundamental principle of fracture mechanics is that the stress field around a
crack tip being characterized by stress intensity factor K which is related to both
the stress and the size of the flaw. The analytic development of the stress
intensity factor is described for a number of common specimen and crack
geometries below.
The three modes of fracture





Mode I - Opening mode: where the crack surfaces separate symmetrically
with respect to the plane occupied by the crack prior to the deformation
(results from normal stresses perpendicular to the crack plane);

Mode II - Sliding mode: where the crack surfaces glide over one another in
opposite directions but in the same plane (results from in-plane shear); and

Mode III - Tearing mode: where the crack surfaces are displaced in the
crack plane and parallel to the crack front (results from out-of-plane shear).

In the 1950s Irwin [7] and coworkers introduced the concept of stress
intensity factor, which defines the stress field around the crack tip, taking
into account crack length, applied stress o and shape factor Y( which
accounts for finite size of the component and local geometric features).
The Airy stress function.
In stress analysis each point, x,y,z, of a stressed solid undergoes the
stresses; o
x

o
y
, o
z
, t
xy
, t
xz
,t
yz
. With reference to figure 2.3, when a body
is loaded and these loads are within the same plane, say the x-y plane,
two different loading conditions are possible:
LINEAR ELASTIC FRACTURE MECHANICS (Contd.)
Crack
Plane
Thickness
B
Thickness
B
o
o
o
o
o
z
o
z
o
z
o
z
a
Plane Stress
Plane Strain
y
X
o
o
o
o
yy
1. plane stress (PSS), when the
thickness of the body is
comparable to the size of the
plastic zone and a free
contraction of lateral surfaces
occurs, and,
2. plane strain (PSN), when
the specimen is thick enough
to avoid contraction in the
thickness z-direction.
LEFM and EPFM
LEFM
In LEFM, the crack tip stress and displacement field can be uniquely characterized by K, the
stress intensity factor. It is neither the magnitude of stress or strain, but a unique parameter that
describes the effect of loading at the crack tip region and the resistance of the material. K filed is
valid for a small region around the crack tip. It depends on both the values of stress and crack size.
We noted that when a far field stress acts on an edge crack of width a then
for mode I, plane strain case

o
o
t
t
u
u u
u u
u u
xx
yy
xy
I
K
r
R
S
|
T
|
U
V
|
W
|
=

+
L
N
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
O
Q
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
2 2
1
2
3
2
1
2
3
2
2
3
2
cos
sin( )sin( )
sin( )sin( )
sin( )sin( )
o o v o o
zz zz xx yy
= = + 0 for plane stress; for plane strain ( )
u
u
K r
k
k
x
y
I
R
S
T
U
V
W
=
+
+
L
N
M
M
M
M
O
Q
P
P
P
P
2
2
1 2
2
2
1 2
2
2
2
t
u u
u u 2
cos ( sin ( ))
sin ( cos ( ))
LEFM concepts are valid if the plastic zone is much smaller than the singularity zones.

Irwin estimates

Dugdale strip yield model:
r
K
p
I
ys
=
1
2
2
t o
( )
r
K
p
I
ys
=
1
8
2
( )
o
ASTM: a,B, W-a 2.5 , i.e. of specimen dimension. > ( )
K
I
ys
o
2
r
p
s
1
50
LEFM cont.
Singularity dominated region
o
o
t
t
xx
yy
xy
I
K
r
R
S
|
T
|
U
V
|
W
|
=
L
N
M
M
M
O
Q
P
P
P
2
1
1
0
For =0
u
For =
2
all
ij
u
u
o , = 0
EPFM
In EPFM, the crack tip undergoes significant plasticity as seen in the following diagram.
sharp tip
Ideal elastic brittle behavior
cleavage fracture
P: Applied load
P : Yield load
y Displacement, u
L
o
a
d
r
a
t
i
o
,
P
/
P
y
1.0
Fracture
Blunt tip
Limited plasticity at crack
tip, still cleavage fracture
Displacement, u
L
o
a
d
r
a
t
i
o
,
P
/
P
y
1.0
Fracture
Blunt tip
Void formation & coalescence
failure due to fibrous tearing
Displacement, u
L
o
a
d
r
a
t
i
o
,
P
/
P
y
1.0
Fracture
large scale
blunting
Large scale plasticity
fibrous rapture/ductile
failure Displacement, u
L
o
a
d
r
a
t
i
o
,
P
/
P
y
1.0
Fracture
EPFM cont.
EPFM applies to elastoc-rate-independent materials, generally in the large-scale plastic
deformation.
Two parameters are generally used:
(a) Crack opening displacement (COD) or crack tip opening displacement (CTOD).
(b) J-integral.
Both these parameters give geometry independent measure of fracture toughness.

o
Sharp crack
Blunting crack
y
x
I
ds
EPFM cont.
Wells discovered that Kic measurements in structural steels required very large thicknesses for
LEFM condition.
--- Crack face moved away prior to fracture.
--- Plastic deformation blunted the sharp crack.

o
Sharp crack
Blunting crack
Irwin showed that crack tip plasticity makes the crack behave as if it were longer, say from size a to a + r
p

-----plane stress

From Table 2.2,

Set ,
r
K
p
I
ys
=
1
2
2
t o
( )
u
K r
k
y
I
= +
2 2 2
1 2
2
2
t
u u
sin( )[ cos ( )]
u t = u
k
K
r
y I
y
=
+1
2 2 t
a r
y
+
u t =
o
t o
= = 2
4
2
2
u
K
E
y
I
ys
Note:

since
k E =

+
= +
3
1
2 1
v
v
v and ( )
o
t o
= = CTOD
4 G
ys
G
K
E
I
=
2
J-contour Integral
By idealizing elastic-plastic deformation as non-linear elastic, Rice proposed J-integral, for regions
beyond LEFM.
In loading path elastic-plastic can be modeled as non-linear elastic but not in unloading part.
Also J-integral uses deformation plasticity. It states that the stress state can be determined knowing
the initial and final configuration. The plastic strain is loading-path independent. True in proportional
load, i.e.

under the above conditions, J-integral characterizes the crack tip stress and crack tip strain and
energy release rate uniquely.
J-integral is numerically equivalent to G for linear elastic material. It is a path-independent integral.
When the above conditions are not satisfied, J becomes path dependent and does not relates to any
physical quantities
d d d d d d
k
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
6
6
= = = = = =