11.1.

Introduction to Fracture

Structural design concepts traditionally use a strength-of-material approach for

designing a component. This approach does not anticipate the elevated stress levels
due to the existence of cracks. The presence of such stresses can lead to catastrophic
failure of the structure.

Fracture mechanics accounts for the cracks or flaws in a structure. The fracture
mechanics approach to the design of structures includes flaw size as one important
variable, and fracture toughness replaces strength of material as a relevant material
parameter.

Fracture analysis is typically carried out either using the energy criterion or thestress-
intensity-factor criterion. When the energy criterion is used, the energy required for a
unit extension of the crack (the energy-release rate) characterizes the fracture
toughness. When thestress-intensity-factor criterion is used, the critical value of the
amplitude of the stress and deformation fields characterizes the fracture toughness.
Under certain circumstances, the two criteria are equivalent.

The following additional topics concerning fracture are available:

Fracture Modes
Fracture Mechanics Parameter Calculation
Crack Growth Simulation

11.1.1. Fracture Modes

Depending on the failure kinematics (that is, the relative movement of the two surfaces
of the crack), three fracture modes are distinguishable, as shown
in Figure 11.1: Schematic of the Fracture Modes:

Mode I Opening or tensile mode

Mode II Shearing or sliding mode
Mode III Tearing or out-of-plane mode

Fracture is generally characterized by a combination of fracture modes.

Figure 11.1: Schematic of the Fracture Modes

11.1.2. Fracture Mechanics Parameter Calculation

Typical fracture mechanics parameters describe either the energy-release rate or the
amplitude of the stress and deformation fields ahead of the crack tip.

The following parameters are widely used in fracture mechanics analysis:

J-Integral
Energy-Release Rate
Stress-Intensity Factor
T-Stress
Material Force

11.1.2.1. J-Integral

J-Integral is one of the most widely accepted fracture mechanics parameters for linear
plastic and nonlinear elastic-plastic materials. The J-Integral is defined as follows [2]:

where W is the strain energy density, T is the kinematic energy density, represents
the stresses, u is the displacement vector, and is the contour over which the
integration is carried out.

For a crack in a linear elastic material, the J-Integral represents the energy-release rate.
Also, the amplitudes of the crack-tip stress and deformation fields are characterized by
the J-Integral for a crack in a nonlinear elastic material.

For more information, see J-Integral Calculation and J-Integral as a Stress-

Intensity Factor.
11.1.2.1.1. J-Integral as a Stress-Intensity Factor

Hutchinson [3] and Rice and Rosengren [4] independently showed that the J-Integral
characterizes the crack-tip field in a nonlinear elastic material. They each assumed a
power law relationship between plastic strain and stress. If elastic strain is included, the
relationship for uniaxial deformation is given as:

where 0 is the reference stress (the yield stress of the material), and 0 = 0/E, is a
dimensionless constant, and n is the hardening component. They showed that, at a
distance very close to the crack tip and well within the plastic zone, the crack-
tip stress and strain ahead of crack tip can be expressed as:

and

For elastic material, n = 1 and the above equation predicts the singularity which
is consistent with linear elastic fracture mechanics.

11.1.2.2. Energy-Release Rate

The energy-release rate, limited to linear elastic fracture mechanics, is based on the
energy criterion for fracture proposed by Griffith and further development by Irwin. In
this approach, the crack growth occurs when the energy available for crack growth is
sufficient to overcome the resistance of the material.[1]

The energy-release rate G is defined in elastic materials as the rate of change of

potential energy released from a structure when a crack opens. For example, the
following illustration shows a crack of length 2a in a large elastic body with modulus E
subject to a tensile stress ():
The energy-release rate is given by:

At the moment of fracture, G is equal to the critical energy-release rate Gc, a function of
the fracture toughness. The value of Gc for a material can be determined via a relatively
straightforward set of crack experiments.

For a single-fracture mode, the stress-intensity factor and the energy-release rate are
related by:

where G is the energy-release rate, for plane strain, and for

plane stress. (E is the material Youngs modulus, and is the Poissons ratio.)

For more information, see VCCT Energy-Release Rate Calculation.

11.1.2.3. Stress-Intensity Factor

Limited to linear elastic material, the stress and strain fields ahead of the crack tip are
expressed as:
where K is the stress-intensity factor, r and are coordinates of a polar coordinate
system (as shown in Figure 11.2: Schematic of a Crack Tip). These equations apply to
any of the three fracture modes.

Figure 11.2: Schematic of a Crack Tip

For a Mode I crack, the stress field is given as:

For more information, see Stress-Intensity Factor Calculation.

11.1.2.4. T-Stress

The asymptotic expansion of the stress field in the vicinity of the crack tip, expressed in
the local polar coordinate system described in Figure 11.2: Schematic of a Crack Tip, is
represented as:

where the first singular terms of this eigen-expansion (the terms involving ) are
thestress-intensity factors, and the first non-singular term (T) is the elastic T-stress.
T-stress is the stress acting parallel to the crack faces. It is tightly linked to the level of
crack-tipstress triaxiality, thus its sign and magnitude can substantially change the size
and shape of the crack-tip plastic zone [14]. Negative T-stress values decrease the level
of crack-tip triaxiality (leading to larger plastic zones), while positive values increase the
level of triaxiality (leading to smaller plastic zones). A higher crack-tip triaxiality
promotes fracture because the input of external work is dissipated less by the global
plastic deformation and is thus available to augment local material degradation and
damage [15].

T-stress also plays an important role in the stability of straight crack paths submitted to
Mode I loading conditions. For a small amount of crack growth, cracks with T < 0 have
been shown to be stable, whereas cracks with T > 0 tend to deviate from their initial
propagation plane [16].

For more information, see T-Stress Calculation.

11.1.2.5. Material Force

Used primarily to analyze material defects such as dislocations, voids, interfaces and
cracks, material force (also known as configurational force) can be understood by
considering the presence of an inclusion in an elastic solid (matrix material), as shown
in this figure:

Figure 11.3: Matrix with Inclusion

The force exerted by the matrix on the inclusion is the material force. When an
inclusion is incorporated into a stress-free elastic body, the entire body undergoes a
deformation, resulting in a configurational change of the body (or matrix) from its
original state. The change in the total energy due to the deformation is characterized by
the material force. The material force is typically calculated by evaluating the energy-
momentum tensor (or Eshelby [17] stress tensor).

When the inclusion undergoes a uniform deformation, both the matrix and the inclusion
experience an elastic stress field. Now, consider the following figure:

Figure 11.4: Thought Experiment Proposed by Eshelby

A Isolate the inclusion from the matrix: No forces are

. applied to the
inclusion or to the
matrix. Because the
inclusion is now
isolated, it
undergoes a
homogenous
deformation. The
strains experienced
by the inclusion are
called eigenstrains.
The matrix
remainsstress- and
strain-free.

B Recover the original shape of inclusion by applying surface forces on The elastic strains
. the inclusion: induced in the
inclusion due to
applied surface
traction cancel out
the eigenstrains.
The surrounding
body remainsstress-
and strain-free.
C Replace the inclusion along with the applied surface forces: No change of
. deformation occurs
in either the
inclusion or the
matrix.

D Remove the applied surface forces: By removing the

. surface forces, we
return to the original
problem of a body
with an inclusion, as
shown
inFigure 11.3: Matr
ix with Inclusion.
The change from step C to step D is that a body force (or surface force on the hole in
the matrix where the inclusion is inserted), equal and opposite to the surface forces in
step B, is applied.

The body (or surface) force is the material force. Essentially, the presence of an
inclusion creates a variation in the strain energy density in the matrix material, leading
to the material force acting on the inclusion and being allowed to move through the
material.

The material force method essentially determines a vectorial force-like quantity

conjugate to the eigenstrain. As a general description, the material force approach is
defined for elasticity as described in Understanding the Material Force Approach. [18]

For a crack in a linear or nonlinear elastic material, the tangential component of the
material force vector to the crack surface represents the energy-release rate. Also, the
crack propagation direction and inhomogeneity, flaws, and mismatched mesh can be
characterized by the material force vectors. In plasticity, the tangential component of
the material force vector to the crack surface represents the crack-driving force. [19]

Material force calculations do not account for surface loads on crack faces.

For more information, see Material Force Calculation.

11.1.3. Crack Growth Simulation

Fracture/crack growth is a phenomenon in which two surfaces are separated from each
other, or material is progressively damaged under external loading. The following
methods are available for simulating such failure:

VCCT-Based Interface Element Method

Cohesive Zone Method
Gursons Model Method

11.1.3.1. VCCT-Based Interface Element Method

This method uses interface elements (INTERnnn) with VCCT to simulate the fracture by
separating the interface elements between two materials with one or more user-
specified fracture criteria. This approach applies to homogeneous material fracture as
well as interfacial fracture in biomaterial systems. It is most suitable for interface
delamination of laminate composites with good numerical stability. For more
information, see VCCT-Based Crack Growth Simulation.

11.1.3.2. Cohesive Zone Method

This method uses interface (INTERnnn) or contact (CONTAnnn) elements to allow the
separation of the surfaces and the cohesive material model to describe the separation
behavior of the surfaces. This approach applies to both the simulation of fracture in a
homogeneous material as well as interfacial delamination along the interface between
two materials. For more information, see Interface Delamination and Failure Simulation.

11.1.3.3. Gursons Model Method

Gurson's model is a plasticity model (TB,GURSON) used to simulate ductile metal

damage. The model is a micromechanics-based ductile damage model incorporating the
void volume fraction into plasticity constitutive equation to represent the ductile
damage process of void grow, void nucleation, and void coalescence. For more
information, see Gurson's Model in the Mechanical APDL Theory Reference and
the TB,GURSON command documentation.

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