Fracturetoughness

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Inmaterialsscience,fracturetoughnessisapropertywhichdescribestheabilityofamaterialcontaininga
cracktoresistfracture,andisoneofthemostimportantpropertiesofanymaterialformanydesign
applications.Thelinearelasticfracturetoughnessofamaterialisdeterminedfromthestressintensityfactor
( )atwhichathincrackinthematerialbeginstogrow.ItisdenotedKIcandhastheunitsof or
.PlasticelasticfracturetoughnessisdenotedbyJIc,withtheunitofJ/cm2orlbfin/in2,andisa
measurementoftheenergyrequiredtogrowathincrack.

ThesubscriptIdenotesmodeIcrackopeningunderanormaltensilestressperpendiculartothecrack,since
thematerialcanbemadedeepenoughtostandshear(modeII)ortear(modeIII).

Fracturetoughnessisaquantitativewayofexpressingamaterial'sresistancetobrittlefracturewhenacrack
ispresent.Ifamaterialhashighfracturetoughnessitwillprobablyundergoductilefracture.Brittlefracture
isverycharacteristicofmaterialswithlowfracturetoughness.[1]

Fracturemechanics,whichleadstotheconceptoffracturetoughness,wasbroadlybasedontheworkofA.
A.Griffithwho,amongotherthings,studiedthebehaviorofcracksinbrittlematerials.

Arelatedconceptistheworkoffracture( )whichisdirectlyproportionalto ,where isthe

Young'smodulusofthematerial.[2]Notethat,inSIunits, isgiveninJ/m2.

Contents

1 Examplevalues

2 Stabilityofcrackgrowth

3 Conjointaction

4 Stresscorrosioncracking(SCC)

5 TougheningMechanisms

5.1 IntrinsicMechanisms

5.2 ExtrinsicMechanisms

6 Fracturetoughnesstestingmethods

6.1 Determinationofplanestrainfracturetoughness,KIc

6.2 Determinationoftearresistance(Kahnteartest)
 6.3 FracturetoughnessofAISIsteel

6.4 Othermethodsfordeterminingfracturetoughness

7 StrainEnergyReleaseRate

8 Seealso

9 References

10 Otherreferences

Examplevalues
Thefollowingtableshowssometypicalvaluesoffracturetoughnessforvariousmaterials:

Materialtype Material KIc(MPam1/2)

Aluminumalloy(7075) 24
Steelalloy(4340) 50
Metal
Titaniumalloy 4466
Aluminum 1428
Aluminumoxide 35
Siliconcarbide 35
Ceramic
Sodalimeglass 0.70.8
Concrete 0.21.4
Polymethylmethacrylate 0.71.6
Polymer
Polystyrene 0.71.1
Mullitefibrecomposite 1.83.3[3]
Composite
Silicaaerogels 0.00080.0048[4]

Stabilityofcrackgrowth
Considerabodywithflaws(cracks)thatissubjecttoaloadthestabilityofthecrackcanbeassessedas
follows.Wecanassumeforsimplicitythattheloadingisofconstantdisplacementordisplacement
controlledtype(suchasloadingwithascrewjack)wecanalsosimplifythediscussionbycharacterizing
thecrackbyitsarea,A.Ifweconsideranadjacentstateofthebodyasbeingonewithabroadercrack(area
A+dA),wecanthenassessstrainenergyinthetwostatesandevaluatestrainenergyreleaserate.

Therateisreckonedwithrespecttothechangeincrackarea,soifweuseUforstrainenergy,thestrain
energyreleaserateisnumericallydU/dA.Itmaybenotedthatforabodyloadedinconstantdisplacement
mode,thedisplacementisappliedandtheforcelevelisdictatedbystiffness(orcompliance)ofthebody.If
thecrackgrowsinsize,thestiffnessdecreases,sotheforcelevelwilldecrease.Thisdecreaseinforcelevel
underthesamedisplacement(strain)levelindicatesthattheelasticstrainenergystoredinthebodyis
decreasingisbeingreleased.Hencethetermstrainenergyreleaseratewhichisusuallydenotedwith
symbolG.

Thestrainenergyreleaserateishigherforhigherloadsandbroadercracks.Ifthestrainenergysoreleased
exceedsacriticalvalueGc,thenthecrackwillgrowspontaneously.Forbrittlematerials,Gccanbeequated
tothesurfaceenergyofthe(two)newcracksurfacesinotherwords,inbrittlematerials,acrackwillgrow
spontaneouslyifthestrainenergyreleasedisequaltoormorethantheenergyrequiredtogrowthecrack
surface(s).Thestabilityconditioncanbewrittenas

elasticenergyreleased=surfaceenergycreated.

Iftheelasticenergyreleasedislessthanthecriticalvalue,thenthecrackwillnotgrowequalitysignifies
neutralstabilityandifthestrainenergyreleaserateexceedsthecriticalvalue,thecrackwillstartgrowing
inanunstablemanner.Forductilematerials,energyassociatedwithplasticdeformationhastobetakeninto
account.Whenthereisplasticdeformationatthecracktip(asoccursmostofteninmetals)theenergyto
propagatethecrackmayincreasebyseveralordersofmagnitudeastheworkrelatedtoplasticdeformation
maybemuchlargerthanthesurfaceenergy.Insuchcases,thestabilitycriterionhastoberestatedas

elasticenergyreleased=surfaceenergy+plasticdeformationenergy.

Practically,thismeansahighervalueforthecriticalvalueGc.FromthedefinitionofG,wecandeducethat
ithasdimensionsofwork(orenergy)/areaorforce/length.ForductilemetalsGIcisaround50200kJ/m2,
forbrittlemetalsitisusually15andforglassesandbrittlepolymersitisalmostalwayslessthan0.5.

Theproblemcanalsobeformulatedintermsofstressinsteadofenergy,leadingtothetermsstressintensity
factorK(orKIformodeI)andcriticalstressintensityfactorKc(andKIc).TheseKcandKIc(etc.)quantities
arecommonlyreferredtoasfracturetoughness,thoughitisequivalenttouseGc.TypicalvaluesforKIcare
150MN/m3/2forductile(verytough)metals,25forbrittleonesand110forglassesandbrittlepolymers.
NoticethedifferentunitsusedbyGIcandKIc.Engineerstendtousethelatterasanindicationoftoughness.

Conjointaction
Therearenumberofinstanceswherethispictureofacriticalcrackismodifiedbycorrosion.Thus,fretting
corrosionoccurswhenacorrosivemediumispresentattheinterfacebetweentworubbingsurfaces.
Fretting(intheabsenceofcorrosion)resultsfromthedisruptionofverysmallareasthatbondandbreakas
thesurfacesundergofriction,oftenundervibratingconditions.Thebondingcontactareasdeformunderthe
localisedpressureandthetwosurfacesgraduallywearaway.Fracturemechanicsdictatesthateachminute
localisedfracturehastosatisfythegeneralrulethattheelasticenergyreleasedasthebondfractureshasto
exceedtheworkdoneinplasticallydeformingitandincreatingthe(verytiny)fracturesurfaces.This
processisenhancedwhencorrosionispresent,notleastbecausethecorrosionproductsactasanabrasive
betweentherubbingsurfaces.
Fatigueisanotherinstancewherecyclicalstressing,thistimeofabulklumpofmetal,causessmallflawsto
develop.Ultimatelyonesuchflawexceedsthecriticalconditionandfracturepropagatesacrossthewhole
structure.Thefatiguelifeofacomponentisthetimeittakesforcriticalitytobereached,foragivenregime
ofcyclicalstress.Corrosionfatigueiswhathappenswhenacyclicallystressedstructureissubjectedtoa
corrosiveenvironmentatthesametime.Thisnotonlyservestoinitiatesurfacecracksbut(seebelow)
actuallymodifiesthecrackgrowthprocess.Asaresult,thefatiguelifeisshortened,oftenconsiderably.

Stresscorrosioncracking(SCC)
Thisphenomenonistheunexpectedsuddenfailureofnormallyductilemetalssubjectedtoaconstanttensile
stressinacorrosiveenvironment.Certainausteniticstainlesssteelsandaluminiumalloyscrackinthe
presenceofchlorides,mildsteelcracksinthepresenceofalkali(boilercracking)andcopperalloyscrack
inammoniacalsolutions(seasoncracking).Worsestill,hightensilestructuralsteelscrackinan
unexpectedlybrittlemannerinawholevarietyofaqueousenvironments,especiallychloride.Withthe
possibleexceptionofthelatter,whichisaspecialexampleofhydrogencracking,alltheothersdisplaythe
phenomenonofsubcriticalcrackgrowthi.e.smallsurfaceflawspropagate(usuallysmoothly)under
conditionswherefracturemechanicspredictsthatfailureshouldnotoccur.Thatis,inthepresenceofa
corrodent,cracksdevelopandpropagatewellbelowKIc.Infact,thesubcriticalvalueofthestressintensity,
designatedasKIscc,maybelessthan1%ofKIc,asthefollowingtableshows:

KIc( SCC KIscc(

Alloy
) environment )
13Crsteel 60 3%NaCl 12
18Cr8Ni 200 42%MgCl2 10
Cu30Zn 200 NH4OH,pH7 1
aqueous
Al3Mg7Zn 25 5
halides
Ti6Al4V 60 0.6MKCl 20

Thesubcriticalnatureofpropagationmaybeattributedtothechemicalenergyreleasedasthecrack
propagates.Thatis,

elasticenergyreleased+chemicalenergy=surfaceenergy+deformationenergy.

ThecrackinitiatesatKIsccandthereafterpropagatesatarategovernedbytheslowestprocess,whichmost
ofthetimeistherateatwhichcorrosiveionscandiffusetothecracktip.AsthecrackadvancessoKrises
(becausecracksizeappearsinthecalculationofstressintensity).FinallyitreachesKIc,whereuponswift
fractureensuesandthecomponentfails.OneofthepracticaldifficultieswithSCCisitsunexpectednature.
Stainlesssteels,forexample,areemployedbecauseundermostconditionstheyarepassivei.e.effectively
inert.Veryoftenonefindsasinglecrackhaspropagatedwhilestheleftmetalsurfacestaysapparently
unaffected.

TougheningMechanisms
IntrinsicMechanisms

Intrinsictougheningmechanismsareprocesseswhichactaheadofthecracktiptoincreasethematerial's
toughness.Thesewilltendtoberelatedtothestructureandbondingofthebasematerial,aswellas
microstructuralfeaturesandadditivestoit.Examplesofmechanismsincludecrackdeflectionbysecondary
phases,crackbifurcationduetofinegrainstructureandmodificationtothegrainboundaries,andcrack
meanderingbyporesinthematerial.Anyalterationtothebasematerialwhichincreasesitsductilitycan
alsobethoughtofasintrinsictoughening.[5]

ExtrinsicMechanisms

Extrinsictougheningmechanismsareprocesseswhichactbehindthecracktiptoresistitsfurtheropening.
Examplesincludefibre/lamellabridging,wherethesestructuresholdthetwofracturesurfacestogetherafter
thecrackhaspropagatedthroughthematrix,crackwedgingfromthefrictionbetweentworoughfracture
surfaces,microcracking,wheresmallercracksforminthematerialaroundthemaincrack,relievingthe
stressatthecracktipbyeffectivelyincreasingthematerial'scompliance,andtransformationtoughening.[6]

"Transformationtoughening"isaphenomenonwherebyamaterialundergoesoneormoremartensitic
(displacive,diffusionless)phasetransformationswhichresultinanalmostinstantaneouschangeinvolume
ofthatmaterial.Thistransformationistriggeredbyachangeinthestressstateofthematerial,suchasan
increaseintensilestress,andactsinoppositiontotheappliedstress.Thuswhenthematerialislocallyput
undertension,forexampleatthetipofagrowingcrack,itcanundergoaphasetransformationwhich
increasesitsvolume,loweringthelocaltensilestressandhinderingthecrack'sprogressionthroughthe
material.Thismechanismisexploitedtoincreasethetoughnessofceramicmaterials,mostnotablyin
Yttriastabilizedzirconiaforapplicationssuchasceramicknivesandthermalbarriercoatingsonjetengine
turbineblades.[7]

Fracturetoughnesstestingmethods
Fracturetoughnessisacriticalmechanicalpropertyforcertainapplications.Thereareseveraltypesoftest
usedtomeasurefracturetoughnessofmaterials.

Determinationofplanestrainfracturetoughness,KIc

Whenamaterialbehavesinalinearelasticwaypriortofailure,suchthattheplasticzoneissmallcompared
tothespecimendimension,acriticalvalueofModeIstressintensityfactorcanbeanappropriatefracture
parameter.Thismethodprovidesaquantitativemeasureoffracturetoughnessintermsofthecriticalplane
strainstressintensityfactor.Thetestmustbevalidatedoncecompletetoensuretheresultsaremeaningful.
Thespecimensizeisfixed,andmustbelargeenoughtoensureplanestrainconditionsatthecracktip.This
limitstheproductformstowhichthetestcanbeapplied.

Inthe1960s,itwaspostulatedthatsmallspecimensorthinsectionsfailunderplanestressconditions,and
thatplanestrainfractureoccursinthicksections.TheASTME399testmethodreflectsthisviewpoint.
Overtheyears,ithasbeentakenasanindisputablefactthattoughnessdecreaseswithincreasingspecimen
sizeuntilaplateauisreached.SpecimensizerequirementsinASTME399areintendedtoensurethatKIc
measurementscorrespondtothesupposedplanestrainplateau.Thespecimensizerequirementsinthis
standardarefarmorestringentthantheyneedtobetoensurepredominatelyplanestrainconditionsatthe
cracktip.TherealkeytoaKbasedtestmethodisensuringthatthespecimenfracturesundernominally
linearelasticconditions.Thatis,theplasticzonemustbesmallcomparedtothespecimencrosssection.
Consequently,theimportantspecimendimensionstoensureavalidKtestarethecracklengthaandthe
ligamentlengthWa,notthethicknessB.Fourspecimenconfigurationsarepermittedbythecurrent
versionofE399:thecompact,SE(B),arcshaped,anddiskshapedspecimens.SpecimensforKIctestsare
usuallyfabricatedwiththewidthWequaltotwicethethicknessB.Theyarefatigueprecrackedsothatthe
cracklength/widthratio(a/W)liesbetween0.45and0.55.Thus,thespecimendesignissuchthatallofthe
keydimensions,a,B,andWa,areapproximatelyequal.Thisdesignresultsintheefficientuseof
material,sincethestandardrequiresthateachofthesedimensionsmustbelargecomparedtotheplastic
zone.

Determinationoftearresistance(Kahnteartest)

Theteartest(e.g.Kahnteartest)providesasemiquantitativemeasureoftoughnessintermsoftear
resistance.Thistypeoftestrequiresasmallerspecimen,andcanthereforebeusedforawiderrangeof
productforms.Theteartestcanalsobeusedforveryductilealuminiumalloys(e.g.1100,3003),where
linearelasticfracturemechanicsdonotapply(seepropertiesinpractice).

FracturetoughnessofAISIsteel

ThefracturetoughnessofAISI4340steelhasbeendeterminedbyseveralmethods,i.e.(i)Jrcurve,(ii)r
curve,(iii)Krcurve,(iv)stretchzonesizemeasurements(v)nonlinearenergymethodofPouloseetal.and
by(vi)anewprocedureproposedrecentlybyBanerjee.CompacttensionspecimenswithTLorientation
havebeenused.AllthespecimensusedsatisfiedtheASTME813testsizerequirements.Applicabilityof
variousfracturetoughnessestimationprocedureslike(i)HanhnandRosenfield,(ii)RolfeandBarsomand
(iii)equivalentenergyratemethodofBuccietal.havebeenexamined.Thesevalueshavebeencompared
withtruefracturetoughnessofthematerialobtainedbyASTME399testprocedure.[8]

Comparisonofvariousconventionaltestmethodsindicatemultiplespecimencurvemethodgivesmost
consistentresultsandthesevaluesarewithin+15%ofthetruefracturetoughnessvalue.Outofall
estimationproceduresRolfeandBarsom'smethodappearstobebest,givingnumberwithin+8%ofthetrue
fracturetoughnessvalue.Nonlinearenergymethodwasfoundtogiveafracturetoughnessvalueconsistent
withtruefracturetoughnessofthematerial

Othermethodsfordeterminingfracturetoughness
C1161TestMethodforFlexuralStrengthofAdvancedCeramicsatAmbientTemperature
C1322PracticeforFractographyandCharacterizationofFractureOriginsinAdvancedCeramics
E4PracticesforForceVerificationofTestingMachines
E112TestMethodsforDeterminingAverageGrainSize
E177PracticeforUseoftheTermsPrecisionandBiasinASTMTestMethods
E337TestMethodforMeasuringHumiditywithaPsychrometer(theMeasurementofWetandDry
BulbTemperatures)
E399TestMethodforPlainstrainFractureToughnessofMetallicMaterials
E691PracticeforConductinganInterlaboratoryStudytoDeterminethePrecisionofaTestMethod
E740PracticeforFractureTestingwithSurfaceCrackTensionSpecimens
 E1823TerminologyRelatingtoFatigueandFractureTesting
IEEE/ASTMSI10StandardforUseoftheInternationalSystemofUnits(SI)(TheModernMetric
System)[9]
ISO28079:2009,thePalmqvistmethod,usedtodeterminethefracturetoughnessforcemented
carbides.[10]

StrainEnergyReleaseRate
Fortwodimensionalproblems(planestress,planestrain,antiplaneshear)involvingcracksthatmoveina
straightpath,themodeIstressintensityfactor isrelatedtotheenergyreleaserate,alsoinmodeI,
by

where istheYoung'smodulusand forplanestressand forplanestrain.

Seealso
Punctureresistance
Brittleductiletransitionzone
Charpyimpacttest
Impact(mechanics)
Izodimpactstrengthtest
Toughnessofceramicsbyindentation
Shock(mechanics)

References
1. Hertzberg,RichardW.(December1995).DeformationandFractureMechanicsofEngineeringMaterials(4
ed.).Wiley.ISBN0471012149.
2. SrgioFranciscodosSantosJosdeAnchietaRodrigues(2003)."CorrelationBetweenFractureToughness,
WorkofFractureandFractalDimensionsofAluminaMulliteZirconiaComposites".MaterialsResearch.6(2):
219226.doi:10.1590/s151614392003000200017.
3. ARBoccacciniSAtiqDNBoccacciniIDlouhyCKaya(2005)."Fracturebehaviourofmullitefibre
reinforcedmullitematrixcompositesunderquasistaticandballisticimpactloading".CompositesScienceand
Technology.65:325333.doi:10.1016/j.compscitech.2004.08.002.
4. J.PhalippouT.WoignierR.Rogier(1989)."Fracturetoughnessofsilicaaerogels".JournaldePhysique
Colloques.50:C4191.doi:10.1051/jphyscol:1989431.
5. Wei,Robert(2010),FractureMechanics:IntegrationofMechanics,MaterialsScienceandChemistry,
CambridgeUniversityPress,retrieved24September2014
6. Liang,Yiling(2010),Thetougheningmechanisminhybridepoxysilicarubbernanocomposites,Lehigh
University,p.20,retrieved24September2014
7. Padture,Nitin(12April2002)."ThermalBarrierCoatingsforGasTurbineEngineApplications".Science.296:
280284.Bibcode:2002Sci...296..280P.doi:10.1126/science.1068609.
8. EngineeringFractureMechanics,Volume25,Issue4,1986
9. NISTSRM2100FractureToughnessofCeramics
 10. ISO28079:2009,Palmqvisttoughnesstest(http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.ht
m?csnumber=44495),Retrieved22January2016

Otherreferences
Anderson,TL.,FractureMechanics:FundamentalsandApplications(CRCPress,Boston1995).
Davidge,R.W.,MechanicalBehaviorofCeramics(CambridgeUniversityPress1979).
Lawn,B.,FractureofBrittleSolids(CambridgeUniversityPress1993,2ndedition).
Knott,FundamentalsofFractureMechanics(1973).
Foroulis(ed.),EnvironmentallySensitiveFractureofEngineeringMaterials(1979).
Suresh,S.,FatigueofMaterials(CambridgeUniversityPress1998,2ndedition).
West,J.M.,BasicCorrosion&Oxidation(Horwood1986,2ndedn),chap.12.
Green,D.J.Hannink,R.Swain,M.V.(1989).TransformationTougheningofCeramics,Boca
Raton:CRCPress.ISBN0849365945.
http://www.sv.vt.edu/classes/MSE2094_NoteBook/97ClassProj/exper/gordon/www/fractough.html
http://www.springerlink.com/content/v2m7u4qm53172069/fulltext.pdfsriram

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Categories: Fracturemechanics

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