Crack closure

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

The short crack problem

Abstract: — The problem associated with short crack growth, defined as situations in which the intensity of the crack tip field is underestimated by linear elastic fracture mechanics analyses, is briefly reviewed. Two cases are identified, cracks growing in plastically strained materials, such as occurs in high strain fatigue studies and at notch roots, and small cracks growing in single grains as occurs close to the fatigue limit in plain specimens. Important mechanical and metallurgical features of short cracks are discussed with particular reference to the upper and lower bound definition of a short crack.

Crack problems in fgm layers under thermal stresses

Abstract: In this study an unconstrained elastic layer under statically self-equilibrating thermal or residual stresses is considered. The layer is assumed to be a functionally graded material (FGM), meaning that its thermo-mechanical properties are assumed to be continuous functions of the thickness coordinate. The layer contains an embedded or a surface crack perpendicular to its boundaries. Using superposition the problem is reduced to a perturbation problem in which the crack surface tractions are the only external forces. The dimensions, geometry, and loading conditions of the original problem are such that the perturbation problem may be approximated by a plane strain mode I crack problem for an infinite layer. After a general discussion of the thermal stress problem, the crack problem in the nonhomogeneous medium is formulated. With the application to graded coatings and interfacial zones in mind, the thickness variation of the thermo-mechanical properties is assumed to be monotonous. Thus, the functions suc...

Crack deflection: Implications for the growth of long and short fatigue cracks

Abstract: The influences of crack deflection on the growth rates ofnominally Mode I fatigue cracks are examined. Previous theoretical analyses of stress intensity solutions for kinked elastic cracks are reviewed. Simple elastic deflection models are developed to estimate the growth rates of nonlinear fatigue cracks subjected to various degrees of deflection, by incorporating changes in the effective driving force and in the apparent propagation rates. Experimental data are presented for intermediate-quenched and step-quenched conditions of Fe/2Si/0.1C ferrite-martensite dual phase steel, where variations in crack morphology alone influence considerably the fatigue crack propagation rates and threshold stress intensity range values. Such results are found to be in good quantitative agreement with the deflection model predictions of propagation rates for nonlinear cracks. Experimental information on crack deflection, induced by variable amplitude loading, is also provided for 2020-T651 aluminum alloy. It is demonstrated with the aid of elastic analyses and experiments that crack deflection models offer a physically-appealing rationale for the apparently slower growth rates of long fatigue cracks subjected to constant and variable amplitude loading and for the apparent deceleration and/or arrest of short cracks. The changes in the propagation rates of deflected fatigue cracks are discussed in terms of thelocal mode of crack advance, microstructure, effective driving force, growth mechanisms, mean stress, slip characteristics, and crack closure.