Crack-path effect on material toughness

Abstract

The main features of a toughening mechanism associated with a curvilinear crack path are examined using a model consisting of a macrocrack in a brittle solid with a curvilinear segment at the crack tip. A numerical procedure for finite and semiinfinite cracks is formulated and evaluated using an example which has an exact solution (a finite crack in the form of a circular arc in a uniform stress field). It is shown that, for a relatively small amplitude of crack path oscillations, the toughening ratio can be taken equal to the ratio of the corresponding crack path lengths.