Stress intensity factors for crackline-loaded edge-crack specimens.
Stress intensity analysis for flat plates loaded close to edge crackline, giving intensity dependence on crack length and specimen shape
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Stress intensity analysis for flat plates loaded close to edge crackline, giving intensity dependence on crack length and specimen shape
The fracture problem of laminated plates which consist of bonded orthotropic layers is studied. The fields equations for an elastic orthotropic body are transformed to give the displacement and stress expressions for each layer or strip. The unknown functions in these expressions are found by satisfying the remaining boundary and continuity conditions. A system of singular integral equations is obtained from the mixed boundary conditions. The singular behavior around the crack tip and at the bimaterial interface is studied. The stress intensity factors are computed for various material combinations and various crack geometries. The results are discussed and are compared with those for isotropic materials.
A plane elastic wedge-shaped solid was split through the application of a rigid punch. It was assumed that the coefficient of friction on the the contact area was constant, and the problem had a plane of symmetry with respect to loading and geometry, with the crack in the plane of symmetry. The problem was formulated in terms of a system of integral equations with the contact stress and the derivative of the crack surface displacement as the unknown functions. The solution was obtained for an internal crack and for an edge crack. The results include primarily the stress intensity factors at the crack tips, and the measure of the stress singularity at the wedge apex, and at the end points of the contact area.
Two advances in the numerical techniques of utilizing the BIE method are presented. The boundary unknowns are represented by parabolas over each interval which are integrated in closed form. These integrals are listed for easy use. For problems involving crack tip singularities, these singularities are included in the boundary integrals so that the stress intensity factor becomes just one more unknown in the set of boundary unknowns thus avoiding the uncertainties of plotting and extrapolating techniques. The method is applied to the problems of a notched beam in tension and bending, with excellent results.
Two advances in the numerical techniques of utilizing the BIE method are presented. The boundary unknowns are represented by parabolas over each interval which are integrated in closed form. These integrals are listed for easy use. For problems involving crack tip singularities, these singularities are included in the boundary integrals so that the stress intensity factor becomes just one more unknown in the set of boundary unknowns thus avoiding the uncertainties of plotting and extrapolating techniques. The method is applied to the problems of a notched beam in tension and bending, with excellent results.
Fatigue crack growth analysis software has been available to damage tolerance analysts for many years in either commercial products or via proprietary in-house codes. The NASGRO software has been publicly available since the mid-80s (known as NASA/FLAGRO up to 1999) and since 2000 has been sustained and further developed by a collaborative effort between Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®), the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), and the members of the NASGRO Industrial Consortium. Since the stress intensity factor (K) is the foundation of fracture mechanics and damage tolerance analysis of aircraft structures, a significant focus of development efforts in the past fifteen years has been geared towards enhancing legacy K solutions and developing new and efficient numerical K solutions that can handle the complicated stress gradients computed by today’s analysts using detailed finite element models of fatigue critical locations. This paper provides an overview of K solutions that have been recently implemented or improved for the analysis of geometries such as two unequal through cracks at a hole and two unequal corner cracks at a hole, as well as state-of-the-art weight function models capable of computing K in the presence of univariant and/or bivariant stress gradients and complicated residual stress distributions. Some historical background is provided to review how common K solutions have evolved over the years, including selective examples from the literature and from new research. Challenges and progress in rectifying discrepancies between older legacy solutions and newer models are reviewed as well as approaches and challenges for verification and validation of K solutions. Finally, a summary of current challenges and future research and development needs is presented. A key theme throughout the presentation of this paper will be how members of the aerospace industry have collaborated with software developers to develop a practical analysis tool that is used world-wide to support new design as well as the ongoing sustainment and airworthiness of commercial and military aircraft.
The elastostatic problem for an infinite orthotropic strip containing a crack is considered. It is assumed that the orthogonal axes of material orthotropy may have an arbitrary angular orientation with respect to the orthogonal axes of geometric symmetry of the uncracked strip. The crack is located along an axis of orthotropy, hence at an arbitrary angle with respect to the sides of the strip. The general problem is formulated in terms of a system of singular integral equations for arbitrary crack surface tractions. As examples Modes I and II stress intensity factors are calculated for the strip having an internal or an edge crack with various lengths and angular orientations. In most calculations uniform tension or uniform bending away from the crack region is used as the external load. Limited results are also given for uniform normal or shear tractions on the crack surface.
Foam; a cellular material, is found all around us. Bone and cork are examples of biological cell materials. Many forms of man-made foam have found practical applications as insulating materials. NASA uses the BX-265 foam insulation material on the external tank (ET) for the Space Shuttle. This is a type of Spray-on Foam Insulation (SOFI), similar to the material used to insulate attics in residential construction. This foam material is a good insulator and is very lightweight, making it suitable for space applications. Breakup of segments of this foam insulation on the shuttle ET impacting the shuttle thermal protection tiles during liftoff is believed to have caused the space shuttle Columbia failure during re-entry. NASA engineers are very interested in understanding the processes that govern the breakup/fracture of this complex material from the shuttle ET. The foam is anisotropic in nature and the required stress and fracture mechanics analysis must include the effects of the direction dependence on material properties. Material testing at NASA MSFC has indicated that the foam can be modeled as a transversely isotropic material. As a first step toward understanding the fracture mechanics of this material, we present a general theoretical and numerical framework for computing stress intensity factors (SIFs), under mixed-mode loading conditions, taking into account the material anisotropy. We present mode I SIFs for middle tension - M(T) - test specimens, using 3D finite element stress analysis (ANSYS) and FRANC3D fracture analysis software, developed by the Cornel1 Fracture Group. Mode I SIF values are presented for a range of foam material orientations. Also, NASA has recorded the failure load for various M(T) specimens. For a linear analysis, the mode I SIF will scale with the far-field load. This allows us to numerically estimate the mode I fracture toughness for this material. The results represent a quantitative basis for evaluating the strength and fracture properties of anisotropic foam insulation material.
This presentation first examines five strain field equations: the two modes of the Westergaard equations, and a mixed mode; the generalized coordinate system, and the significance testing of coefficients. It also discusses the weighted multiple linear least squares method, which shows why it is difficult to find the crack tip. The presentation then discusses the experiments to examine stress intensity. Lastly, comparison of finite element method results and experimental results is reviewed.
The basic crack problem which is essential for the study of subcritical crack propagation and fracture of layered structural materials is considered. Because of the apparent analytical difficulties, the problem is idealized as one of plane strain or plane stress. An additional simplifying assumption is made by restricting the formulation of the problem to crack geometries and loading conditions which have a plane of symmetry perpendicular to the interface. The general problem is formulated in terms of a coupled system of four integral equations. For each relevant crack configuration of practical interest, the singular behavior of the solution near and at the ends and points of intersection of the cracks is investigated and the related characteristic equations are obtained. The edge crack terminating at and crossing the interface, the T-shaped crack consisting of a broken layer and a delamination crack, the cross-shaped crack which consists of a delamination crack intersecting a crack which is perpendicular to the interface, and a delamination crack initiating from a stress-free boundary of the bonded layers are some of the practical crack geometries considered.
The basic crack problem which is essential for the study of subcritical crack propagation and fracture of layered structural materials is considered. Because of the apparent analytical difficulties, the problem is idealized as one of plane strain or plane stress. An additional simplifying assumption is made by restricting the formulation of the problem to crack geometries and loading conditions which have a plane of symmetry perpendicular to the interface. The general problem is formulated in terms of a coupled systems of four integral equations. For each relevant crack configuration of practical interest, the singular behavior of the solution near and at the ends and points of intersection of the cracks is investigated and the related characteristic equations are obtained. The edge crack terminating at and crossing the interface, the T-shaped crack consisting of a broken layer and a delamination crack, the cross-shaped crack which consists of a delamination crack intersecting a crack which is perpendicular to the interface, and a delamination crack initiating from a stress-free boundary of the bonded layers are some of the practical crack geometries considered. Previously announced in STAR as N80-18428 and N80-18429
The elasticity problem for an orthotropic strip or a beam with an internal or an edge crack under general loading conditions is considered. The numerical results are given for four basic loading conditions, namely, uniform tension, pure bending, three point bending, and concentrated surface shear loading. For the strip with an edge crack additional results regarding the crack opening displacements are obtained by using the plastic strip model. A critical quantity which is tabulated is the maximum compressive stress in the plane of the crack. It is shown that this stress may easily exceed the yield limit in compression and hence may severely limit the range of application of the plasticity results.
An elastic thick-walled cylinder containing a radial crack is considered. It is assumed that the cylinder is reinforced by an elastic membrane on its inner surface. The model is intended to simulate pressure vessels with cladding. The formulation of the problem is reduced to a singular integral equation. Various special cases including that of a crack terminating at the cylinder-reinforcement interface are investigated and numerical examples are given. Results indicate that in the case of the crack touching the interface the crack surface displacement derivative is finite and consequently the stress state around the corresponding crack tip is bounded; and generally, for realistic values of the stiffness parameter, the effect of the reinforcement is not very significant.
Structural analysis of circular crack partially embedded in solid of finite thickness
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The problem of a semi infinite strip containing an edge crack is considered. It is assumed that the strip is loaded by a frictionless rigid wedge pressed into the crack. The resulting crack contact problem is formulated in terms of a system of singular integral equations. The behavior of the solution near the singular points is studied in detail. A series of numerical examples are given and the results are compared with those obtained by the method of boundary collocation and by the simple beam theory.
The numerical method is given for solving the plane problem for two bonded infinite dissimilar elastic strips which contain cracks of various configurations. The problem is intended to approximate a composite beam or a plate having cracks perpendicular to and on the interface of the two layers.
An exact formulation of the plane elasticity problem for a hollow cylinder or a disk containing a radial crack is given. The crack may be an external edge crack, an internal edge crack, or an embedded crack. It is assumed that on the crack surfaces the shear traction is zero and the normal traction is an arbitrary function of r. For various crack geometries and radius ratios, the numerical results are obtained for a uniform crack surface pressure, for a uniform pressure acting on the inside wall of the cylinder, and for a rotating disk.