Engineering Fracfure Mechanics Vol. 36, No. 3, pp. 507-514, 1990 0013-7944pO s3.00 + 0.

00
Printed in Great Britain. 0 1990 Pergamon Press pk.

APPLICATION OF THE J-INTEGRAL TO MIXED MODE

FRACTURE ANALYSIS OF ORTHOTROPIC COMPOSITES
B. T. VALAIRE,t Y. W. YONG,f J. SUHLING,(l B. Z. JAN@ and S. Q. ZHANG
Edison Welding Institute, 1100 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH 43214, U.S.A.

Abstract-The J-integral is derived for mode I and mode II cracks in orthotropic composite
materials and it is shown to be independent of the integral path around the crack tip. The J-integral
is then extended and applied to a newly developed energy based fracture criterion for orthotropic
composite materials and then applied to the mixed mode fracture analysis of composites.

INTRODUCTION

THE FRACTURE of composite materials is an important and complex engineering problem. The
method of manufacture of laminar composites is such that significant defects can be built into a
new component. Also, the material is relatively fragile and large cracks can result from minor
service mishaps. High performance composites often have very strong fibers in a much weaker
matrix so that crack formation and growth is constrained by the fiber direction resulting in mixed
mode crack deformation and growth. The fracture analysis methods which have been successfully
applied to linear isotropic materials have not been universally successful when transferred directly
to orthotropic materials. A new energy based orthotropic fracture criterion based on the
dilatational and distorsional components of the strain energy density factor has been developed
and found to successfully predict fracture in some composites. This new approach uses the Stress
Intensity Factor to characterize the crack tip stress fields in an orthotropic material. The
disadvantage of this approach is that the Stress Intensity Factor is often difficult to determine and
it does not account for crack tip plasticity. To overcome these difficulties and limitations the
J integral has been used to develop a failure analysis approach which is applicable to both single
and mixed mode crack problems in orthotropic, elastoplastic materials.

CRACK TIP STRESS AND DISPLACEMENT FIELDS

The governing equations for plane stress of an orthotropic composite may be derived by the
following procedure. The stress function u is defined as;
a2u a% a%
tpay2’ +=,,2, zxy= --. (1)
axay
From the theory of elasticity the governing equation is;
aw 26,,+ bs a4u b,, aw
ax4+ ax2ay2 +jj-p=o (2)
bzz
where

b II =-
; b,,=F=~ - VI2

I I 2

b 22 = ;
- bM=$
2 12

tSenior Research Engineer, Edison Welding Institute.

tAssociate Professor in THMI of China.
§Associate Professor, Auburn University.
TVisiting Scholar from THMI of China, Post doctor, Ohio State University.
[[Assistant Professor, Auburn University.

EFM 36,3-P 507

508 B. T. VALAIRE et al.

The characteristics equation of (2) is;

2bu+b, ,u
2
+p2=o.
hi
‘+ b22 22
(3)

Let A =

If A > 0 we have;

~1,= iBl
~2 = $2

~3 = -iPI

p4= -ip2. (4)

If A < 0 we then have;

PI =a+$

p2= -a +i/?

p3 = a - ip

p4= --cI -ij?. (5)

The stress field equations near the crack tip have previously been derived [l-4] and are shown below
for a mode I and mode II crack. For a mode I crack, as shown in Fig. 1, the stress fields are;

Qx=@jiiTRe
4

11 (cos 8 +
cl2

p2 sin fJ)‘12- (cos 8 +z,

1 I
sin Q112 PI -cc2
PI P2

ep1 I
K PI P2 1
--
=.v= o”2 Re

1 1
i[
(cos 8 + p2 sin ep2 (~0s 8 + p, sin PI - P2

T“.=0”2Re
Kl

I[
(COS e + p, sin e),'2 -(COST + p2 1 I
sin ey'2
IrlI42

p, - p2
(6)

which may be written alternatively as;

1 I
T,~ = -
K’
2’0 Re (Z, - a)“2 - (Z, - a)“2 1 I E
P,P2
*
(7)

For a mode II crack, as shown in Fig. 2, the stress fields are;

41
ep1p,- p21
2 2 1
C.Y= o”Z Re i[ (~0s e +F2 sin ep2-(~0s 8
+t,
sin

1 I
1 1 1
?V=o”2Re
&I {[ (~0s 8 + p2 sin 0)‘i2 - (~0s 8 +p, sin ey2 pI - p2

1 I
&I 1
sin 0)‘12 fll - p2
(8)
7.V= 01’2 Re I[ (~0s 8 +t, sin @‘I2- (c0s 8 +";;
 The J-integral and mixed mode fracture analysis 509

Fig. 1. Mode I crack inclined at “a” to the fiber direction.

7
------

t
r

Fig. 2. Mode II crack inclined at “a” to the fiber direction.

510 B. T. VALAIRE et al.

which may be written alternatively as;

1 I
2
-E!L& 4 1
e-Y- y/2
(2, - up2 - (Z, !‘,),,2 p, - p2

1 I
4, 1 1 1
o,=pRe (Z, _Q2-(Z, _a),/2 c1, _P2

t XY
=$Re (Z, ftla)‘” - (9)

where

z, - a = (x - a) + pjy, i = 1,2
x-a=rcosO

y = r sin 8. (10)

The displacement fields near the crack tip for mode I and mode II cracks have previously
been derived [l-4] and are given by the following expressions. For a mode I crack when A > 0
we have;

4 2
u=p -
p2 - p,
W-82@,,8~- h2)(zl - aYi2+ Bl(hlB: - hd(Z2 - aV21

-Tm
K,
v=21/2p2-/j,
2
r I
-~(!+2/?:_b22)(.z, -11)112+F(b,2p:-b22)(Z2-a),/2
2 1 (11)
where

Zj = X + cf,_V

pj=ipj j= 1,2.

For a mode I crack when A c 0 we have;

-![b,,(a’+fi2)--b,,lIm[(z, -aYi2-(z2--Yi21).

4 1
v = 21/2 a(a2 + /32)
{[b,2(a2 + /?‘)‘) + b22(a2 - p2)]Re[(Z, - .),i2 - (Z, -u)“~]

+2622a/3 Im[(Z, - ~2)“~+ (Z, - c.z)‘~~]}. (12)

For a mode II crack when A > 0 we have;

4, 2
a = jjjj p-pIm[--(b,,BT - b12)(Z, - aYi2 + (b,,P: - b,2)(Z2 - a)“‘].
2 I

Kl, 2
(13)
 The J-integral and mixed mode fracture analysis 511

For a mode II crack when A < 0 we have;

& 1
u = p ; (-[bll(a3 -/I’) + b,,]Re[(Z, - a)“2 - (Z, - u)‘/~]

+ 2b,, as Im[(Z, - u)li2 + (Z, - a)1/2]}

4,
u =~a(‘l2~B2)(--a~b~l(a2+B2~+b221R~[(ZI-u~’~2+(Z2-u)1ill

+BMa2 + 13’)- b2211mKZ2

- aYizl}. (14)
The constitutive equation for an orthotropic material is given as follows [5];

[;j=P;: a: bj[;] (15)

where 6, is defined by equation (2) and the x-axis is parallel to the material principal direction.

J-INTEGRAL FOR COMPOSITE MATERIALS

The J-integral is defined as;

J=

where w is the strain energy density function,

S[ L
wdy-T$ls
1 (16)

T is a traction vector along the integral path “L”,

u is a displacement vector along the integral path “L”.
From the definitions of the above vectors we know that;
u = ui + uj
T = 10, cos(n, x) + zXY
co& y)]i + [T,~cos(n, x) + crycos(n, y)jj.
Then we have;

T$dr = (17)

Substituting eq. (17) into eq. (16) yields;

J=
>I ~(~,~,+~y~,+~,~,)- dy

= (h,
0.y audx
+-!(b,,o:-b,,.:+
+h,qvcxy)
+av
-I[ I> (18) dX
dy .

For a mode I crack for the case where A > 0 we substitute eqs (4), (9) and (11) into eq. (18) to
obtain the following.

(19)
512 B. T. VALAIRE et al.

Note that;

dz, = dx + i/3, dy
dz, = dx + @,dy
1 1 1 1 1
(20)
-zj - a = Re2 (Zj- a)'/* -1m2(~j-a),/* + 2iRe (zj_ a),p Im (zj _ a),,2

and;

ilf(z)dz=~~Ref(z)dx-Im/(z)dy+i~~~m~(z)dx+Re~(z)dy.

Equation (19) can be simplified to;

J _ 3 ‘22(8, + P2) Re
-$&dz2]. (21)
’ - 27c P2- B,

Within eq. (21) we have the complex function

1
zi-a’

where zj # a and j = 1,2, which is an analytical complex function and hence the j-integral is
independent of the integration path. The integration path chosen was a small circle starting at
A(r, --71 + 6) and ending at point B(r, rc - 6) as shown in Fig. 3. Using this integration path in
eq. (21) results in the following.

J =K2b,,P,+P2
I -=+%B2(B, +82). (22)
’ 2 BlB2

Similarly for a mode I crack for the case where A < 0 we have;

P = K:
JI = K: bzzz b,, /?(a*+ /?*). (23)
@+B
Equations (22) and (23) can be written in general form as;

J ,,b,,h +c12)i
I= I =Ki$plp2(p, +p2)i
2 PIP2

where ui is defined by eqs (4) and (5) and subscript “I” indicates mode I crack deformation.
For the mode II crack for the case when A > 0 we substitute eqs (8), (13) and (20) into eq. (18)
and obtain the following.

b,,
J,,=K :, -++8d=&-~_ pTB; .
2 b22 P, + 82
(25)

Fig. 3. Integral path around the crack tip.

 The J-integral and mixed mode fracture analysis 513

For a mode II crack for the case when A < 0 we substitute eqs (8), (14) and (20) into eq. (18). From
this we obtain;

B
J11=G&B = Gb22 @2 + p)2 *

The above expressions for the J-integral under mode II conditions (25), (26) may be written in
general form as shown below;

Kf, bll 5 04 +cl2)i

Jl, = - 2 (Pl + Il& =
_Kz

i12 ~1~1~2~2
cm
where ui is defined by eqs (4) and (5) and the subscript “I” indicates mode II crack deformation.

APPLICATION OF THE J-INTEGRAL TO MIXED MODE FRACTURE ANALYSIS

Energy based methods for the ~timation of fracture are very pro~sing since they offer the
possibility to study either yielding or fracture with a single criterion and may be readily extended
to mixed mode conditions.
A recent energy based fracture criterion [21,22] which investigated the separate effects of the
dilatational and distorsional components of the strain energy density factor for mode I, mode II
and mixed mode conditions gives the following results.
Mode I fracture is believed to be controlled by the dilatational component (S,) of the strain
energy density factor which for an orthotropic composite is given by;

SV, = G#a(e, Ei, G,, vg) (28)

where Kr is the stress intensity factor for a mode I crack; #n is the characteristic function of material
properties.
Mode II fracture is believed to be controlled by the distorsional component (S,,,) of the strain
energy density factor which for an orthotropic composite is given by;

SDH= G~DI,(Q, Ei, Guy “q) (29)

where K,r is the stress intensity factor for a mode II crack; QtMlis the characte~stic function of
material properties.
Substituting eq. (24) into (28) yields the dilatational strain energy density factor for mode I
conditions in terms of the J-integral.

s - 2Jip’p2 (b,(@, Et, G,, Vii)*

vI- 62204 -+&a
Substituting eq. (27) into (29) yields the distorsional strain energy density factor for mode II
conditions in terms of the J-integral.

(31)

Since J, and JI, are independent of the integral path around the crack tip it will be easier to calculate
the dilatational and distortional components of the strain energy density factor using eqs (30) and
(31) than eqs (28) and (29). The dilatational and the distorsional strain energy density factors play
a very important role in describing fracture under mode I and mode II conditions, and the above
technique may be extended to mixed mode fracture problems. Under a combination of mode I and
mode II conditions the mixed mode fracture ~haviour may be described by the vector of the
component modes as shown below [22].

(32)
514 B. T. VALAIRE et al.

CONCLUSION
For orthotropic composite materials a relationship has been developed between the J-integral
and the strain energy density factors. It has also been shown that the J-integral is independent of
the integration path around the crack tip. Because of this path independence it is much easier to
evaluate the J-integral than the stress intensity factor. As well as being easier to evaluate, the
J-integral accounts for crack tip plasticity and thus is valid over a large range of material properties
and crack tip conditions. Thus it is possible to apply fracture mechanics to single and mixed moded
problems, in the elasto-plastic fracture of fiber composite materials.

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(Received 14 April 1989)