Fracture Mechanics

lecture 2
THE ENERGY RELEASE RATE
• Irwin defined an energy release rate G, which is a
measure of the energy available for an increment of
crack extension
• The term rate, as it is used in this context, does not
refer to a derivative with respect to time; G is the
rate of change in potential energy with the crack
area.
• Since G is obtained from the derivative of a
potential, it is also called the crack extension force
or the crack driving force
• crack extension occurs when G reaches a critical
value, i.e.,
• In load control, a crack extension da results in a net
increase in strain energy
• When displacement is fixed, dF = 0 and the strain
energy decreases
R-curve
• Crack extension occurs when G = 2wf; but crack
growth may be stable or unstable, depending on
how G and wf vary with crack size.
• To illustrate stable and unstable behavior, it is
convenient to replace 2wf with R, the material
resistance to crack extension.
• A plot of R vs. crack extension is called a resistance
curve or R curve. The corresponding plot of G vs.
crack extension is the driving force curve.
• The first case, Fracture occurs when the stress reaches
σ2; the crack propagation is unstable because the
driving force increases with crack growth
• With a rising R curve, the crack grows a small amount
when the stress reaches σ2, but cannot grow further
unless the stress increases.
REASONS FOR THE R CURVE SHAPE
• Some materials exhibit a rising R curve, while the R
curve for other materials is flat. The shape of the R
curve depends on the material behavior and, on
the configuration of the cracked structure
• The R curve for an ideally brittle material is flat
because the surface energy is an invariant material
property
• Ductile fracture in metals usually results in a rising
R curve; a plastic zone at the tip of the crack
increases in size as the crack grows.
• The driving force must increase in such materials to
maintain the crack growth.
EFFECT OF LOAD CONTROL VS.
DISPLACEMENT CONTROL
• Although the driving force G is the same for both
load control and displacement control, the rate of
change of the driving force curve depends on how
the structure is loaded
• Displacement control tends to be more stable than
load control. the driving force actually decreases
with crack growth in displacement control.
• If the structure is load controlled, it is at the point
of instability where the driving force curve is
tangent to the R curve
• When an R curve is determined experimentally, the
specimen is usually tested in displacement control,
or as near to pure displacement control as is
possible in the test machine
Toughening Mechanisms
Toughening Mechanisms
• There are two toughening approaches used
(i) reduction in size of defects or initial cracks in the
material, thus increasing the critical stress – in this
condition, fracture toughness of material remains
the same
(ii) increase in the energy dissipation during crack
propagation, thus increasing the fracture toughness.
• In second approach, frequently, particles or fibers
are added and, in context of metallic materials,
heat treatment is performed to reduce yield
strength.
Crack deflection (Increases the total
area of new surfaces created during
fracture)
• A crack can be deflected by adding particles that
the crack cannot penetrate.
• For example, fracture toughness of sintered silicon
nitride (SSN, Si3N4), can be improved by ―growing
elongated, rod-shaped crystallites with a large
aspect ratio in the matrix of more equiaxed grains
• As crack propagates, the crack cannot penetrate
elongated Si3N4 crystallites and it winds around
the rod-shaped grains
• Crack deflection also occurs in fiber-reinforced
ceramics, improving fracture toughness.
• It is a common mechanism in biological materials.
• Compressive residual stresses on the crack path
may impede crack propagation and deflect the
crack.
• One way to do so is by including second phase
powders with very small thermal expansion so that
the matrix is stressed compressively near the
particles following sintering.
• For example, reinforcement of silicon nitride with
titanium nitride: KIC of silicon nitride can be
increased by 11% when 30 wt. % of titanium nitride
is added.
Microcracks (Increases the total area
of new surfaces created during
fracture + strain energy)
• The formation of microcracks during crack
propagation can increase the fracture toughness
due to additionally dissipated energy required in
creating additional surfaces.
• Microcracks may be also created during the
manufacturing process.
• Depending on their distribution, they may either
increase or decrease fracture toughness.
• Locally concentrated microcracks thus cause crack
deflection with an increase of the crack surface and
also crack branching at the particles.
• One example is Al2O3 reinforced with zirconium
oxide (ZrO2) particles that can undergo a phase
transformation during manufacturing.
• One principal problem of strengthening by
microcracks is: the fracture toughness increases,
but the strength does not
• If microcracks are not restricted to the vicinity of
the crack tip or the particles, but are
homogeneously distributed throughout the
volume, they globally reduce Young‘s modulus.
Transformation toughening
• Dissipation of strain energy during phase
transformation + generation of compressive stress
ahead of crack tip
• Transformation toughening increases the crack-
growth resistance by producing phases which
generate compressive residual stresses in the
material.
• For utilizing this mechanism, appropriate particles
are inserted into matrix that transforms into a
phase which has larger volume upon application of
high tensile stress.
• Stabilizing zirconium oxide (ZrO2) by adding yttrium
oxide (yttria,Y2O3) is an important example
showing transformation toughening
• Pure ZrO2 solidifies at a temperature of 2680 C in a
cubic lattice that is stable down to a temperature of
2370 C at which ZrO2 transforms to a tetragonal
phase.
• Tetragonal phase transforms to monoclinic phase at
1170 C.
• The volume grows by 3% to 5% and the material is
sheared by 1% to 7%
• Transformation toughening occurs when the
metastable tetragonal phase is stabilized by adding
Y2O3: the transformation temperature can be
reduced to 550 C.
• Then, to transform from the stabilized tetragonal to
the monoclinic phase at high temperature, an
energy barrier needs to be surmounted.
• This barrier is often very large, requiring application
of an additional driving force in terms of external
stresses.
• External stresses, especially near a crack tip, can
induce the phase transformation.
• This phase transformation of dense tetragonal
phase into less dense monoclinic phase results in
compressive stress in front of crack tip, thus
increasing fracture toughness.
Adding ductile particles
• Ductile particles can cause crack-bridging as shown
in figure below. This is so as a crack penetrating
them has to do additional work to deform the
particles plastically before they finally break.
• The main disadvantage of this method is that these
ceramics cannot be used at high temperatures as
the metallic phase loses its strength at high
temperatures and may get oxidized when crack
reaches it.
• One possible application of this method is in
medical engineering (it is all low temperature)
• fracture toughness of hydroxyapatite implant
material can be significantly increased by adding
ductile platinum particles
Fracture Mechanisms in Metals
DUCTILE FRACTURE
• The material eventually reaches an instability point,
where strain hardening cannot keep pace with the loss
in the cross-sectional area, and a necked region forms
beyond the maximum load.
• In very high purity materials, the tensile specimen may
neck down to a sharp point, resulting in extremely large
local plastic strains and nearly 100% reduction in area.
• Materials that contain impurities, however, fail at much
lower strains.
• Microvoids nucleate at inclusions and second-phase
particles; the voids grow together to form a
macroscopic flaw, which leads to fracture.
The commonly observed stages in ductile fracture
are as follows:
• Formation of a free surface at an inclusion or second-
phase particle by either interface decohesion or particle
cracking.
• Growth of the void around the particle, by means of
plastic strain and hydrostatic stress.
• Coalescence of the growing void with adjacent voids.
• In materials where the second-phase particles and
inclusions are well-bonded to the matrix, void
nucleation is often the critical step
• Fracture occurs soon after the voids form. When
void nucleation occurs with little difficulty
VOID NUCLEATION
• A void forms around a second-phase particle or
inclusion when sufficient stress is applied to break
the interfacial bonds between the particle and the
matrix
• The decohesion stress is defined as a critical
combination of these two stresses:
VOID GROWTH AND COALESCENCE
CRACK GROWTH in Ductile Materials
• As the cracked structure is loaded, local strains and
stresses at the crack tip become sufficient to
nucleate voids.
• These voids grow as the crack blunts, and they
eventually link with the main crack. As this process
continues, the crack grows
• In most materials, the triaxiality ahead of the crack
tip provides sufficient stress elevation for void
nucleation; thus the growth and coalescence of
microvoids are usually the critical steps in ductile
crack growth.
• For a crack subject to plane strain Mode I loading, the
maximum plastic strain occurs at 45° from the crack
plane
• On a local level, this angle is the preferred path for void
coalescence, but global constraints require that the
crack propagation remain in its original plane
• One way to reconcile these competing requirements is
for the crack to grow in a zigzag pattern
Fracture Toughness Testing of
Metals
• There are five types of specimens that are
permitted in ASTM standards that characterize
fracture initiation and crack growth, although no
single standard allows all five configurations, and
the design of a particular specimen type may vary
between standards
• Fatigue Precracking
• 4-point bend test
• 3-point bend test
INSTRUMENTATION
• Strain Measurement
• linear variable differential transformer (LVDT)
Digital Image Correlation (DIC)
K1c Testing (ASTM E399 Test)
• ASTM E 399 defines KIc as 'plane strain fracture
toughness,' which is explicitly mentioned in the title of
the standard itself.
• In the 1960s, it was theorized that small specimens or
thin sections fail under plane stress conditions, while
thick sections experience 'plane strain fracture.' This
perspective influenced the development of the ASTM E
399 test method.
• It has been widely accepted that toughness decreases
with increasing specimen size until it reaches a plateau.
The specimen size requirements outlined in ASTM E
399 are designed to guarantee that KIc measurements
align with this presumed plane strain plateau.
• Title of the test: Standard Test Method for Plane
Strain Fracture Toughness of Metallic Materials
• The critical factor in a K-based test method lies in
ensuring that the specimen fractures within
nominally linear elastic conditions.
• This implies that the plastic zone should be
significantly smaller compared to the specimen's
cross-sectional area.
• Therefore, the crucial specimen dimensions for a
valid K test are the crack length 'a' and the ligament
length 'W - a', rather than the thickness 'B'.
• With these considerations in focus, let's delve into
the details of the existing E 399 test method.
• E 399 standard allows four specimen configurations:
compact, SE(B), arc-shaped, and disk-shaped
specimens.
• Specimens for KIc tests are typically fabricated with a
width 'W' that is twice the thickness 'B', ensuring a
crack length/width ratio (a/W) between 0.45 and 0.55.
• The design of these specimens aims for approximate
equality in key dimensions 'a', 'B', and 'W - a',
optimizing material usage and complying with the
standard's requirement that each dimension exceeds
the plastic zone.
• This approach ensures an efficient use of materials,
vital for accurate KIc measurements under nominally
linear elastic conditions.
• The size requirements for a valid KIc are as follows:

• To establish the necessary specimen dimensions, it is

essential for the user to make a preliminary estimate of
the expected KIc for the specific material.
• This estimate can be derived from existing data for
materials with similar characteristics.
• In cases where comparable data is not accessible, the
ASTM standard offers a table.
• Consequently, it is advised to resort to the strength-
thickness table provided in E 399 only when more
comprehensive and reliable data is not at hand.
• During the initial stages of fatigue precracking, the peak
value of stress intensity in a single cycle should be no
larger than 0.8KIc, according to ASTM E 399.
• As the crack approaches its final size, Kmax should be
less than 0.6KIc.
• If the specimen is fatigued at one temperature (T1) and
tested at a different temperature (T2), the final Kmax
must be
• The fatigue load requirements are less stringent at
initiation because the final crack tip is remote from any
damaged material that is produced in the early part of
precracking.
• The maximum stress intensity during fatigue must
always be less than KIc,
• If he you selects low loads, precracking could take a
very long time. On the other hand, if precracking is
conducted at high loads, the user risks an invalid
result, in which case the specimen and the
technician’s time are wasted.
• Construct a 5% secant line (i.e., a line from the origin
with a slope equal to 95% of the initial elastic loading
slope) to determine P5.
• In the case of Type I behavior, the load-displacement
curve is smooth and it deviates slightly from linearity
before reaching a maximum load Pmax.
• This nonlinearity can be caused by plasticity, subcritical
crack growth, or both. For a Type I curve, PQ = P5.
• With a Type II curve, a small amount of unstable crack
growth (i.e., a pop-in) occurs before the curve deviates
from linearity by 5%.
• In this case PQ is defined at the pop-in.
• A specimen that exhibits Type III behavior fails
completely before achieving 5% nonlinearity. In such
cases, PQ = Pmax.
Summarize
Limitations
• Stringent Size Requirements: The strict size requirements set by
ASTM E 399 can make it exceedingly challenging, and at times,
impractical, to obtain a valid KIc measurement in many structural
materials.
• Limited Applicability in Structural Metals: The stringent criteria for
validity limit the practical application of the KIc test in structural
metals. This means that for a significant number of materials, the test
may not yield meaningful results.
• Restriction to Brittle Materials: The test is most suited for relatively
brittle materials or cases where the test specimen is exceptionally
large, making it less applicable for materials exhibiting higher ductility
or toughness.
• Inapplicability in Many Practical Scenarios: Due to the toughness
and thickness characteristics of most materials, obtaining a valid KIc
result can be unattainable. If a valid KIc measurement is achieved for
a particular material, it often implies that the material is too brittle
for common structural applications.
Alternative Test Methodology (E 1820):
To address some of the limitations, a more recent
ASTM standard, E 1820, offers an alternative test
methodology.
This approach allows for valid fracture toughness
estimates even in scenarios where KIc tests might be
considered invalid.
This newer standard combines various parameters
(K, J, and CTOD) to provide a more comprehensive
assessment of fracture toughness.