Advanced Fracture Mechanics

CIE 816
Lecture 5

Department of Civil Engineering

University of Abuja
Experimental Fracture Testing Methods
Tough materials require large amounts of energy to crack whereas
materials with low toughness have little resistance against cracking

For materials used in engineering structures, fracture toughness is

just as important as other mechanical properties such as elastic
modulus and strength

Engineering materials need high fracture toughness to resist the growth

of cracks at initiating sites (e.g. corrosion pits) or sites of high stress
concentration (e.g. fastener holes, windows, doors and other access
points in the aircraft)

Several test methods exist to measure fracture toughness, but the most
common is the single-edge notch bend (SENB) test
The SENB specimen is a rectangular block of the test material containing
a machined notch with a V-shaped tip

The notch extends about 50% through the specimen. The SENB test
involves applying a three-point load to the specimen to generate
a tensile stress at the notch tip

The applied load required to grow a crack from the notch tip through
the specimen is used to calculate the fracture toughness. Tough
materials require a high load to cause complete fracture of the
specimen
Single-edge notch bend (SENB) specimen for fracture toughness testing
Another popular fracture test is the compact tension (CT) method,
which involves tension loading a block-shaped specimen containing a
sharp notch

The load required to break the specimen is used to calculate the

fracture toughness

The toughness values for materials vary over a wide range from the very
tough to extremely brittle

Tough metals have a fracture energy of 100 kJ m–2 or more, whereas

those of weak brittle materials are under 0.01 kJ m–2

Most high-strength alloys, including those used in aircraft structures,

have moderately high toughness (20–100 kJ m–2)
Compact tension specimen for fracture toughness testing
The toughness properties of materials are also measured using impact
tests. These tests involve measuring the energy required to fracture the
specimen when impacted at high velocity by a heavy object

The impact energy absorbed by the specimen is related to its

toughness; tough materials require higher impact energies than brittle
materials

The most popular methods are the Charpy and Izod impact tests

Both tests involve striking the specimen containing a V-notch with a

pendulum travelling at a set speed

Impact loading of the specimen produces much higher strain rates than
those generated in the SENB and CT fracture toughness tests
Therefore, the Charpy and Izod tests are useful for determining the
dynamic toughness of materials under high loading rates, such as those
experienced during an impact event (e.g. bird strike)

the test is used as a simple, accurate and inexpensive method for

screening materials for toughness
Charpy tests for determining the dynamic toughness of materials
Fracture-resistant design methodology
Improving the fracture toughness of materials
Materials engineers are always seeking new ways to increase the
fracture toughness of structural components without significant loss in
strength, corrosion resistance and other important mechanical
properties

The fracture toughness of metals can be improved in several ways,

including alloying, processing, heat treatment (including ageing),
minimising the impurity content, reducing the grain size, and reducing
the amount and size of intermetallic particles at the grain boundaries

For example, the control of impurities (such as iron and silicon) within
aluminium has resulted in improvements to both fracture toughness
and yield strength
For fracture resistance to occur, the crack-tip must be toughen, thereby
giving rise to crack-tip shielding within the plastic zone ahead of the
crack-tip

The concept is to shield the crack tip(s) from applied stresses. When this
is done, higher levels of remote stresses can be applied to a material
before fracture-critical conditions are reached

Some design methods for Improving the fracture toughness of materials

through crack-tip shielding concepts include:

1. Crack bridging
2. Crack-tip blunting
Crack Bridging
The bridging reinforcements restrict the opening of cracks, and thus
promote shielding of the crack tip

The effective stress intensity factor at the crack tip is, therefore, lower
than the remote/applied stress intensity factor.

Crack bridging by fibers (stiff elastic whiskers)

Crack-tip blunting
Crack tips can be blunted when they move from a brittle phase into a
ductile phase

When the crack-tip is blunted by a ductile phase, the critical fracture

toughness value is increased by the presence of a ductile phase

Crack-tip blunting by ductile phase and associated change in crack-tip stress fields
Application to structural components
Linear elastic and elastic plastic fracture mechanics are concepts used
to calculate the damage tolerance of materials

Fracture mechanics is used to determine the fracture toughness,

operating stress and maximum crack size of materials so as to avoid
fracture

It is very useful in the design of damage-tolerant engineering structures

The application of linear elastic fracture mechanics in materials

selection for new engineering structures and the calculation of residual
strength for existing engineering components depend on three
parameters:
fracture toughness, Kc of the material
critical crack length, ac
operating stress, σ
The equation relating these parameters is:

K c  Y   ac

The parameter Y is a geometry factor that depends on the crack

location and the shape of the component

The equation can be used in several important ways to design damage

tolerant engineering structures

It is the duty of the engineer to decide what will be the design value of
certain material properties (e.g. E, σy); the design stress level (σ) or the
critical crack length (ac) that must be tolerated for safe operation of the
component

The equation is then used to design the engineering structure, the

design includes the selection of material, based on the main design
requirement
For example, if a specific type of aluminium alloy is selected with a
known toughness Kc for an aircraft component that is required to
support a certain stress σ, then the equation can be used to calculate
the critical crack length (ac) that can be tolerated without causing
fracture

Alternatively, if a crack of a known size is detected within an aircraft

component, the residual strength of the component can be calculated

Another application is in the design and material specification for a

pressurized spherical tank of thickness ‘t’ and radius ‘r’ which is to be
used as a pressure vessel

Supposing the tank is subjected to an internal pressure p, and it has a

radial crack of length (2a) in its wall. The critical crack length has to be
determined in order prevent failure
Class activity 4
An aircraft wing is to be fabricated from a 2024 aluminium alloy. The
design requires that the wing should be able to withstand maximum
stresses of 400 MPa

Estimate the critical crack length if the fracture toughness of the

aluminium alloy is 25 MPa.m1/2. You may assume that the compliance
function in the expression for the stress intensity factor, K, is given by
2/π
Assignment
You have been appointed to head the civil engineering department of
your organization , write a short explanation (not more than a page) to
the management team of your organization describing why Engineers
always need to be concerned about fracture control during civil
engineering designs. (10 Marks)

To be submitted by email to sholak190e@yahoo.com

Before 11.59 pm, Monday, 28th February, 2022