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At least 91 records · Page 5

Slow and fast motion of cracks in inelastic solids. Part 1: Slow growth of cracks in a rate sensitive tresca solid. Part 2: Dynamic crack represented by the Dugdale model

An extension is proposed of the classical theory of fracture to viscoelastic and elastic-plastic materials in which the plasticity effects are confined to a narrow band encompassing the crack front. It is suggested that the Griffith-Irwin criterion of fracture, which requires that the energy release rate computed for a given boundary value problem equals the critical threshold, ought to be replaced by a differential equation governing the slow growth of a crack prior to the onset of rapid propagation. A new term which enters the equation of motion in the dissipative media is proportional to the energy lost within the end sections of the crack, and thus reflects the extent of inelastic behavior of a solid. A concept of apparent surface energy is introduced to account for the geometry dependent and the rate dependent phenomena which influence toughness of an inelastic solid. Three hypotheses regarding the condition for fracture in the subcritical range of load are compared. These are: (1) constant fracture energy (Cherepanov), (2) constant opening displacement at instability (Morozov) and (3) final stretch criterion (Wnuk).

Wnuk, M. P.↗

The effects of plasticity in adhesive fracture

An energy-balance analysis is presented for adhesive failure in end loaded cantilever beams. The analysis includes the effects of input work, stored strain energy, dissipated plastic energy, and specific adhesive surface energy. Experimental results obtained with 6061-T6 aluminum are presented as evidence for the validity of the approach.-

Chang, M. D.↗

On surface energy and the continuum thermodynamics of brittle fracture

When a separating body is viewed as a nonequilibrium thermodynamic process, the full thermodynamic nature of the surface energy induced by crack propagation becomes apparent. Within such a general framework it is no longer possible to view the surface energy as a material constant. For the self-propagating crack the induced surface energy is shown to depend explicitly on the square of the crack propagation speed. It is also shown that a separating body produces entropy even though the mechanical response of the solid may be elastic. The introduction of surface quantities such as surface energy into the continuum description of the fracture process forces a major departure from the mechanics appropriate to the nonseparating body. Local equations of balance are no longer obtainable as derived consequences of postulated global balance equations. They must instead be imposed as separate additional postulates.

Eftis, J.↗

The nature of cometary materials

Because cometary surfaces are likely to be far colder and of a different composition than planetary surfaces, there are some new considerations that must be examined in regards to placing instrumented packages or sample return devices on their surfaces. The qualitative analysis of the problem of attaching hardware to a comet and not being ejected back into space can be divided into two parts. The first problem is to pierce the mantle and obtain access to the icy core. Drilling through the mantle requires that the drilling forces be reacted. Reacting such forces probably requires attachment to the icy core below. Therefore, some kinetic impact piercing device is likely to be required as the first act of attachment. The second problem for a piercing device to overcome is the force produced by the impact kinetic energy that tries to eject the piercing device back into space. The mantle and icy core can absorb some of the impact kinetic energy in the form of fracture formation and friction energy. The energy that is not absorbed in these two ways is stored by the core as elastic deformation of the mantle and icy core. It is concluded that because the cometary materials are almost certainly brittle and the icy core is likely to be self lubricating, the elastic rebound and gas pressure expulsion forces must be counteracted by forces greater than those that may be provided by a piercing device or its capture devices (barbs).

Stephens, James↗

Fracture toughness computational simulation of general delaminations in fiber composites

A procedure is described to computationally simulate composite laminate fracture toughness in terms of strain energy release rate (SERR). It is also used to evaluate the degradation in laminate structural integrity in terms of displacements, loss in stiffness, loss in vibration frequencies and loss in buckling resistance. Specific laminates are selected for detail studies in order to demonstrate the generality of the procedure. These laminates had center delaminations, off-center delaminations, and pocket delaminations (center and off-center) at the free-edge and center delaminations at the interior. The laminates had two different thicknesses and were made from three different materials. The results obtained are presented in graphical form to illustrate the effects of delamination on the laminate structural integrity and on the laminate strain energy release rate (composite fracture toughness).

Murthy, P. L. N.↗

Fracture toughness computational simulation of general delaminations in fiber composites

A procedure is described to computationally simulate composite laminate fracture toughness in terms of strain energy release rate. It is also used to evaluate the degradation in laminate structural integrity in terms of displacements, loss in stiffness, loss in vibration frequencies and loss in buckling resistance. Specific laminates are selected for detail studies in order to demonstrate the generality of the procedure. These laminates had center delaminations, off-center delaminations, and pocket delaminations (center and off-center) at the free-edge and center delaminations at the interior. The laminates had two different thicknesses and were made from three different materials. The results obtained are presented in graphical form to illustrate the effects of delamination on the laminate structural integrity and on the laminate strain energy release rate (composite fracture toughness).

Wilt, T. E.↗

Static and dynamic strain energy release rates in toughened thermosetting composite laminates

In this work, the static and dynamic fracture properties of several thermosetting resin based composite laminates are presented. Two classes of materials are explored. These are homogeneous, thermosetting resins and toughened, multi-phase, thermosetting resin systems. Multi-phase resin materials have shown enhancement over homogenous materials with respect to damage resistance. The development of new dynamic tests are presented for composite laminates based on Width Tapered Double Cantilevered Beam (WTDCB) for Mode 1 fracture and the End Notched Flexure (ENF) specimen. The WTDCB sample was loaded via a low inertia, pneumatic cylinder to produce rapid cross-head displacements. A high rate, piezo-electric load cell and an accelerometer were mounted on the specimen. A digital oscilloscope was used for data acquisition. Typical static and dynamic load versus displacement plots are presented. The ENF specimen was impacted in three point bending with an instrumented impact tower. Fracture initiation and propagation energies under static and dynamic conditions were determined analytically and experimentally. The test results for Mode 1 fracture are relatively insensitive to strain rate effects for the laminates tested in this study. The test results from Mode 2 fracture indicate that the toughened systems provide superior fracture initiation and higher resistance to propagation under dynamic conditions. While the static fracture properties of the homogeneous systems may be relatively high, the apparent Mode 2 dynamic critical strain energy release rate drops significantly. The results indicate that static Mode 2 fracture testing is inadequate for determining the fracture performance of composite structures subjected to conditions such as low velocity impact. A good correlation between the basic Mode 2 dynamic fracture properties and the performance is a combined material/structural Compression After Impact (CAI) test is found. These results underscore the importance of examining rate-dependent behavior for determining the longevity of structures manufactured from composite materials.

Cairns, Douglas S.↗

Two-dimensional modelling of compressive failure in delaminated laminates

An analytical model is developed to assess the compressive strength criticality of near-surface interlaminar defects in laminated composites. The delaminated region is elliptic in shape, separating a thick isotropic plate from a thin orthotropic layer whose material axes coincide with the ellipse axes. The growth conditions and growth behavior of this defect are studied by breaking the overall problem into an elastic stability problem and a fracture problem. Post-buckling solution for the elliptic section is obtained using the Rayleigh-Ritz method while an energy balance criterion based on a self-similar disbond growth governs the fracture. The parameters controlling the growth or arrest of the delamination damage are identified as the fracture energy, disbond depth and elastic properties of the materials from both sides of the delaminating interface. By varying the degree of material anisotropy relative to the loading axis a range in growth behavior was found including stable or unstable crack growth parallel to or normal to the loading axis.

Chai, H.↗

Low blow Charpy impact of silicon carbides

The room-temperature impact resistance of several commercial silicon carbides was examined using an instrumented pendulum-type machine and Charpy-type specimens. Energy balance compliance methods and fracture toughness approaches, both applicable to other ceramics, were used for analysis. The results illustrate the importance of separating the machine and the specimen energy contributions and confirm the equivalence of KIc and KId. The material's impact energy was simply the specimen's stored elastic strain energy at fracture.

Abe, H.↗

Analysis of local delaminations caused by angle ply matrix cracks

Two different families of graphite/epoxy laminates with similar layups but different stacking sequences, (0,theta,-theta) sub s and (-theta/theta/0) sub s were analyzed using three-dimensional finite element analysis for theta = 15 and 30 degrees. Delaminations were modeled in the -theta/theta interface, bounded by a matrix crack and the stress free edge. The total strain energy release rate, G, along the delamination front was computed using three different techniques: the virtual crack closure technique (VCCT), the equivalent domain Integral (EDI) technique, and a global energy balance technique. The opening fracture mode component of the strain energy release rate, Gl, along the delamination front was also computed for various delamination lengths using VCCT. The effect of residual thermal and moisture stresses on G was evaluated.

Salpekar, Satish A.↗

On nonlinear effects in fracture mechanics.

Linear elastic treatment of fracture is considered applicable for net section stress up to about 0.8 the uniaxial tensile yield stress. Crack front plastic yield is still small enough to be viewed and treated as a small perturbation to the local crack front elastic stress field. Assuming these same circumstances and adopting the same point of view, an approach is presented for incorporating the nonlinear effects of small scale crack front plastic yield and slow crack extension in determination of the energy release rate and fracture toughness. Deviation from linearity of the load-displacement record in a fracture toughness test offers a quantifiable measure of these effects and is used to calculate the energy release rate. Fracture toughness values for one-eight inch thick 7075-T6 center cracked aluminum sheet are compared with uncorrected values and with values obtained by the Irwin method of plasticity correction.

Liebowitz, H.↗

Variational mechanics analysis of the stresses in microdrop debond specimens

A recently derived variational mechanics analysis of stresses in single-fiber model composites has been applied to the analysis of the stresses in the microdrop debond specimen. The new analysis is more accurate than the commonly applied shear-lag or elastic-plastic analyses. The results from a sample stress state calculation suggest that interfacial failure between the fiber and the microdrop is by mode I or opening mode failure at the beginning of the microdrop. The opening mode failure is caused by a large tensile radial stress at the fiber/matrix interface. Previous analyses of microdrop debond data have been in terms of a shear strength. It is suggested that these analyses misrepresent microdrop debond results and recommend instead a failure analysis based on energy release rate and interfacial fracture toughness. A procedure for calculating the energy release rate for the growth of an interfacial crack is described.

Scheer, Robert J.↗

Residual strength assessment of low velocity impact damage of graphite-epoxy laminates

This report contains the study of Low Velocity Transverse Impact Damage of graphite-epoxy T300/5208 composite laminates. The specimen, 100 mm diameter clamped plates, were impact damaged by a cantilever-type instrumented 1-inch diameter steel ball. Study was limited to impact velocity 6 m/sec. Rectangular strips, 50 mm x 125 mm, were cut from the impact-damage specimens so that the impact damage zone was in the center of the strips. These strips were tested in tension to obtain their residual strength. An energy dissipation model was developed to predict the residual strength from fracture mechanics concepts. Net energy absorbed I(a) was evaluated from coefficient of restitution concepts based on shear dominated theory of fiber-reinforced materials, with the modification that during loading and unloading the shear deformation are respectively elastic-plastic and elastic. Delamination energy I(d) was predicted by assuming that the stiffness of the laminate dropped due to debonding. Fiber-breakage energy, assumed to be equal to the difference of I(a) and I(d), was used to determine the residual strength. Predictions were compared with test results.

Lal, K. M.↗

Geothermal reservoir simulation

The prediction of long-term geothermal reservoir performance and the environmental impact of exploiting this resource are two important problems associated with the utilization of geothermal energy for power production. Our research effort addresses these problems through numerical simulation. Computer codes based on the solution of partial-differential equations using finite-element techniques are being prepared to simulate multiphase energy transport, energy transport in fractured porous reservoirs, well bore phenomena, and subsidence.

Mercer, J. W., Jr.↗

Fracture modes and acoustic emission of composite materials

Unidirectional fibrous composite material laminae are the construction material of a laminate. Four failure modes can occur in this material, and the identification of these modes is as important as the identification of onset of fracture. Acoustic emission (AE) pulses, generated by the change in the stress field resulting from cracking in a material, have a unique pattern of amplitude distribution that depends only on the mode of fracture and the type of material. By using a tapered double-cantilever beam as grips for the unidirectional lamina, a crack with a constant stress intensity factor was induced, thus eliminating the factor of the stress level. Placing the lamina in different directions relative to the grips imposed a different failure mode. By plotting the log of the relative number of AE pulses above some level versus the log of the relative level, a single constant coefficient can be measured for each material and mode of fracture. The AE energy is proportional to the energy released by the cracking; this proportionality depends on the medium where the AE waves have to travel, and not on the cracking mode.

Rotem, A.↗

Development of energy-absorbing reaction-sintered Si3N4 surface layers on hot-pressed Si3N4

Energy-absorbing Si3N4 surface layers on dense Si3N4 substrates were formed by in-place nitridation of fine-grained silicon powder. Ballistic impact tests performed on samples with 1-mm thick layers at room temperature and 1370 C showed up to an eightfold increase in the energy necessary to fracture the substrate. For maximum impact resistance, a small amount (about 20 vol %) of residual Si must be present in the reaction-sintered Si3N4 surface layer. Thermal cycling to 1370 C did not affect impact resistance, even though a considerable amount of SiO2 formed within the reaction-sintered Si3N4 layer during cycling. Erosion testing of samples in a Mach 0.8 burner rig at 1370 C resulted in minimal surface recession of the surface layer. Chemically vapor-deposited SiC-coated material similarly tested exhibited no surface recession.

Brennan, J. J.↗

Fabrication and characterization of amine terminated poly(arylene ether sulfone) modified epoxy-carbon fiber composites

Multifunctional epoxy resin networks were chemically modified with thermoplastic amine terminated poly(arylene ether sulfones) of controlled molecular weights. This system was then examined as both neat resin and as a matrix resin for carbon fiber composites. The neat resin displayed a significant increase in both fracture toughness and energy release rate values. This was attributed to the altered morphology, which could be varied from particles of polysulfone in an epoxy matrix to that of a quasi-continuous polysulfone phase.

Cecere, James A.↗