Crack closure

About: Crack closure is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 28157 publications have been published within this topic receiving 588158 citations.

Fatigue limit and crack growth in ultra-fine grain metals produced by severe plastic deformation

Abstract: The experimental results on fatigue resistance of ultra-fine grain metals produced by severe plastic deformation (SPD) are reviewed with regard to two major characteristics of cyclic damage initiation and failure—fatigue limit and fatigue crack growth rate. The fatigue limit benefits considerably from grain refinement down to submicrocrystalline scale. Factors affecting the fatigue limit are discussed in the light of SPD-processing and resultant ultra-fine grain structure. Contrasting with the fatigue limit, the fatigue crack growth threshold deteriorates after SPD in comparison to that of ordinary polycrystals. Possible mechanisms of fatigue crack initiation and propagation are discussed and the guidelines for manufacturing are provided towards enhancement and optimization of fatigue performance.

Evaluation of crack opening performance of a repair material with strain hardening behavior

Abstract: One of the novel mechanical properties of strain hardening cementitious composites (SHCC) is that they exhibit multiple fine cracks and strain hardening in tension. This promotes the use of SHCC as an effective repair material, because penetration of substances through the fine cracks is greatly reduced. Most research on SHCC has focused on its behavior and results obtained from uniaxial tensile tests. However, the crack distribution of the repair material (SHCC) layer is more concentrated adjacent to an existing crack in a substrate. So the design procedure considering the crack opening, which represents the potential for localized fracture, should be established for appropriate material selection. In this paper, the performance of SHCC as a repair material was assessed through three tests: uniaxial tensile tests; zero-span tensile tests; and flexural tests of RC beams repaired with SHCC. Comparisons between crack opening performances and the observed crack patterns of the three tests were conducted. The crack opening and crack pattern obtained from the zero-span tensile tests were similar to those of the repaired beam specimens. According to the zero-span tensile tests, the performance of cracking behavior of the repair material on an existing crack can be estimated. On the other hand, the deformation capacity of SHCC obtained from the uniaxial tensile tests cannot be directly applied to the design of surface repair application.

The Calculation of Stress Intensity Factors Using the Finite Element Method with Cracked Elements

Abstract: The calculation of stress intensity factors for complicated crack configurations in finite plates usually presents substantial difficulty. A version of the finite element method solves such problems approximately by means of special cracked elements. A general procedure for evaluating the stiffness matrix of a cracked element is developed, and numerical results obtained by the simplest elements are compared with those provided by other methods.