Griffith’s Energy balance approach (Contd.

)
A A Griffith laid the foundations of modern fracture mechanics by
designing a criterion for fast fracture. He assumed that pre-
existing flaws propagate under the influence of an applied stress
only if the total energy of the system is thereby reduced. Thus,
Griffith's theory is not concerned with crack tip processes or the
micromechanisms by which a crack advances.
s

Griffith proposed that ‘There is a simple B

energy balance consisting of the decrease

in potential energy with in the stressed Y

body due to crack extension and this

decrease is balanced by increase in surface X

energy due to increased crack surface’ 2a

Griffith theory establishes theoretical strength of

brittle material and relationship between fracture
strength f and flaw size ‘a’ s
 Griffith’s Energy balance approach (Contd.)
s

The initial strain energy for the uncracked plate B

per thickness is
2
Y

U i   dA (2.14)
A 2E
X

2a

On creating a crack of size 2a, the tensile force

on an element ds on elliptic hole is relaxed
from   dx to zero. The elastic strain energy s

released per unit width due to introduction of a

crack of length 2a is given by
a
U a  4  12  dx  v where displacement
0

u sin g x  a  cos  v  a  sin 
E
2 a 2
Ua  (2.15)
E
 Griffith’s Energy balance approach (Contd.)
s

External work = U w   Fdy, 

(2.16) B

where F= resultant force =   area Y

 =total relative displacement

X

The potential or internal energy of the body is 2a

U p =U i +U a -U w
s

Due to creation of new surface increase in 2 2

ps a
surface energy is Ua =
E Crack begins
U  = 4a s (2.17) P1 to grow from
length (a)

Load, P
The total elastic energy of the cracked P2 Crack is
longer by an
)
plate is (a
)
increment (da)

da
2 2 a 2 (a
+

U t   dA    Fdy  4a s
A 2E E 
v
Displacement, v
 Griffith’s Energy balance approach (Contd.)
The variation of U t with crack
extension should be minimum 4a
gs
=
dU t 2  a
2 Ug
0  4 s  0
y
n erg
eE
da E Su
rf ac
(a)

Energy, U
Denoting  as f during fracture
Crack
length, a
1/ 2
2E s 
f    Total energy
 a  (2.19)
for plane stress Elastic Strain
Stable Unstable
1/ 2 energy released
 2E s  ps a2 2

f   Ua =
2 
 a(1   )  (2.20) Potential energy æ ¶U ö
E

for plane strain

gs
release rate G = çè ¶a ÷ø

Rates, G, Syrface energy/unit

The Griffith theory is obeyed by extension =

materials which fail in a completely Crack

(b)

brittle elastic manner, e.g. glass, ac

length, a

mica, diamond and refractory (a) Variation of Energy with Crack length
metals. (b) Variation of energy rates with crack length
 Griffith’s Energy balance approach (Contd.)

Griffith extrapolated surface tension values of soda lime glass

from high temperature to obtain the value at room temperature as
 s  0.54J / m 2 . Using value of E = 62GPa,The value of  2E  as 0.15
1/ 2
s

  
MPa m. From the experimental
1/ 2
study on spherical vessels he
calculated  a   2E  as 0.25 – 0.28 MPa m.
c
s

 

However, it is important to note that according to the Griffith

theory, it is impossible to initiate brittle fracture unless pre-
existing defects are present, so that fracture is always considered
to be propagation- (rather than nucleation-) controlled; this is a
serious short-coming of the theory.
Modification for Ductile Materials
For more ductile materials (e.g. metals and plastics) it is found that
the functional form of the Griffith relationship is still obeyed, i.e.
f  a1/ 2 . However, the proportionality constant can be used to
evaluate s (provided E is known) and if this is done, one finds the
value is many orders of magnitude higher than what is known to be
the true value of the surface energy (which can be determined by
other means). For these materials plastic deformation accompanies
crack propagation even though fracture is macroscopically brittle;
The released strain energy is then largely dissipated by producing
localized plastic flow at the crack tip. Irwin and Orowan modified
the Griffith theory and came out
1/ 2
with an expression
 2E(  s   p ) 
f   
 a 

Where prepresents energy expended in plastic work. Typically for

cleavage in metallic materials p=10
1/ 2
4
J/m2 and s=1 J/m2. Since p>>
 2E p 
f  
s we have  a 

 Strain Energy Release Rate
The strain energy release rate usually referred to
dU
G
da
Note that the strain energy release rate is respect to crack length and
most definitely not time. Fracture occurs when reaches a critical
value which is denoted G c.
At fracture we have G  G c so that
1/ 2
1 EG c 
f   
Y  a 
One disadvantage of using G c is that in order to determine f it is
necessary to know E as well as G.c This can be a problem with some
materials, eg polymers and composites, where varies with
composition and processing. In practice, it is usually more
convenient to combine E andG c in a single fracture toughness K c
parameter K cwhere K c2  EG. cThen can be simply determined
experimentally using procedures which are well established.