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Fracture Mechanics
Lecture Notes: 1
Majid Mirzaei, PhD
Associate Professor
Dept. of Mechanical Eng., TMU
mmirzaei@modares.ac.ir
http://www.modares.ac.ir/eng/mmirzaei/FM.htm
Partitioning Integration
Integration Assembly
Architecture Tests
Sub-Systems Sub-Systems
Detail Design
Tests
Manufacture
Figure 1
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M. Mirzaei, Fracture Mechanics
In the above process, most of the engineering decisions are based on semi-empirical
design rules, which rely on phenomenological failure criteria calibrated by means of
standard tests. The failure criteria are derived based on extensive observations of failure
mechanisms, together with theoretical models that have been developed to describe these
mechanisms.
In the view of the above arguments, perhaps one of the most important questions in the
design process would be: What Constitutes Mechanical Failure?
In general, various failure mechanisms may be classified into the two broad fields of
Deformation and Fracture. A more detailed list is:
The occurrence of each failure mode depends on various factors as depicted in the
following figure.
Time Scale
Short, Long Environment
Corrosive?
Static
Time Dependent Elastic
Permanent
Deformation
Fracture Static
Time Dependent
Load: Temperature
Static, Dynamic
Figure 2
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M. Mirzaei, Fracture Mechanics
Design Philosophies:
For many applications, it’s sufficient to determine the maximum static or dynamic stress
that the material can withstand, and then design the structure to ensure that the stresses
remain below acceptable limits. This involves fairly routine constitutive modeling and
numerical or analytical solution of appropriate boundary value problems. More critical
applications require some kind of defect tolerance analysis. In these cases, the material
or structure is considered to contain flaws, and we must decide whether to replace the
part; or leave it in service under a more tolerable loading for a certain period of time. This
kind of decision is usually made using the disciplines of Fracture Mechanics. In
general, we may distinguish three different design philosophies as follows:
Safe Life: The component is considered to be free of defects after fabrication and is
designed to remain defect-free during service and withstand the maximum static or
dynamic working stresses for a certain period of time. If flaws, cracks, or similar
damages are visited during service the component should be discarded immediately.
Fail Safe: The component is designed to withstand the maximum static or dynamic
working stresses for a certain period of time in such a way that its probable failure would
not be catastrophic. For example a pressure vessel designed to work under the leak-
before-burst (LBB) condition should show leakage as a result of crack propagation. The
aim is to prevent catastrophic failure by detecting the crack at its early stages of growth
and also reducing the internal pressure.
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M. Mirzaei, Fracture Mechanics
Fracture Mechanics
Fracture mechanics is a field of solid mechanics that deals with the mechanical behavior
of cracked bodies.
2
10
-8
10
-4
10
-2
100 10
The first major step in the direction of quantification of the effects of crack-like defects
was taken by a professor of Naval Architecture, C. E. Inglis. In 1913 he published a
stress analysis for an elliptical hole in an infinite linear elastic plate loaded at its outer
boundaries. By making the minor axis very much less than the major, a crack-like
discontinuity can be modeled.
σ0
X2
ξ0
σ0 η σ0
a X1
b
2C
σ0
Figure 4
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M. Mirzaei, Fracture Mechanics
The complete solution of the above problem is described in my lecture notes on the theory of
elasticity, http://www.modares.ac.ir/eng/mmirzaei/elasticity.htm (3. 2D Static Boundary Value
Problems : Plane Elasticity). The extremums of the stresses can be shown to be:
(σ ) a
max
η η = 0,π = 2σ 0
b
(1-1)
(ση )η =π , 3π = 2σ 0 b
min
2 2 a
The above equations show that as b → 0 (the ellipse becomes a crack) a stress singularity
develops at the crack tip.
A. A. Griffith, who was studying the effects of scratches and similar flaws on aircraft
engine components, transformed the Inglis analysis by calculating the effect of the crack
on the strain energy stored in an infinite cracked plate. He proposed that this energy,
which is a finite quantity, should be taken as a measure of the tendency of the crack to
propagate. Griffith also made a fundamental step forward by carrying out tests on cracked
glass spheres and showing that the simple elastic analysis could be applied to describe the
propagation of different size cracks at different stress levels.
Figure 5
After World War II, the fracture mechanics research group at the Naval Research
Laboratory was led by Dr. G.R. Irwin. Having studied the early work of Inglis, Griffith,
and others, Irwin found out that the basic tools needed to analyze fracture were already
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M. Mirzaei, Fracture Mechanics
available. Irwin’s first major contribution was to extend the Griffith approach to metals
by including the energy dissipated by local plastic flow.
In 1956, Irwin developed the energy release rate concept, which is related to the Griffith
theory but is in a form that is more useful for solving engineering problems.
dΠ (1-2)
G=− ≥R
dA
Next, he used the Westergaard approach to show that the stresses and displacements near
the crack tip could be described by a single parameter that was related to the energy
release rate. This crack tip characterizing parameter later became known as the stress
intensity factor.
σ
M
P
σ
a1 σ
a2
σ P
Figure 6
All this work was largely ignored by engineers as it seemed too mathematical and it was
only in the 1970's that fracture mechanics, as we now know it, came to be accepted as a
useful and even essential tool. There were many reasons for this, for example, the
development of non-destructive examination methods which revealed hidden cracks in
structures and raised the problem of what to do about them, the space industry which
demanded high-strength, high integrity pressure vessels, the increasing use of welding
and the severe duty experienced by offshore structures, etc. Hence, most of the practical
development of fracture mechanics has occurred in the last thirty years.
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M. Mirzaei, Fracture Mechanics
In the elastic-plastic region EPFM, also called yielding fracture mechanics (YFM), the
fracture characterizing parameters are the J-integral and the crack-tip-opening
displacement, CTOD.
The J contour integral is extensively used in fracture mechanics, as both the energy and
the stress based criteria, for determining the onset of crack growth. Referring to the
Figure below, the original form of the J-Integral for a line contour surrounding the crack
tip can be written as:
⎛ ∂u ⎞
J = ∫ ⎜ wdy − Ti i ⎟ds (1-3)
Γ⎝
∂x ⎠
M
y
Ti
T
P
Figure 7
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M. Mirzaei, Fracture Mechanics
CTODc
Figure 8
Fatigue
It has long been known that a component subjected to fluctuating stresses may fail at
stress levels much lower than its monotonic fracture strength, due to a process called
Fatigue. Fatigue is an insidious time-dependent type of failure which can occur without
any obvious warning. It is believed that more than 95 percent of all mechanical failures
can be attributed to fatigue. There are normally three distinct stages in the fatigue failure
of a component, namely: Crack Initiation, Incremental Crack Growth, and the Final
Fracture.
Figure 9
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M. Mirzaei, Fracture Mechanics
Classical Fatigue
The classical approach to fatigue, also referred to as Stress Controlled Fatigue or High
Cycle Fatigue (HCF), through S/N or Wöhler diagrams, constitutes the basis of the SAFE
LIFE philosophy in design against fatigue. In order to determine the strength of materials
under the action of fatigue loads, specimens with polished surfaces are subjected to
repeated or varying loads of specified magnitude while the stress reversals are counted up
to the destruction point. The number of the stress cycles to failure can be approximated
by the WOHLER or S-N DIAGRAM, a typical example of which is given below.
Figure 10
Figure 11
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M. Mirzaei, Fracture Mechanics
Figure 12
Creep
Creep can be defined as a time-dependent deformation of materials under constant load
(stress). The resulting progressive deformation and the final rupture, can be considered
as two distinct, yet related, modes of failure. For metals, creep becomes important at
relatively high temperatures, i.e., above 0.3 of their melting point in Kelvin scale.
However, for polymers substantial creep can occur at room temperature.
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M. Mirzaei, Fracture Mechanics
Figure 13
⎛ ∂u ⎞
C * = ∫ ⎜ wdy
− σ ij n j i ds ⎟ (1-4)
Γ⎝
∂x ⎠
Figure 14
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M. Mirzaei, Fracture Mechanics
Failure Analysis
One of the most significant applications of fracture mechanics is in the process of Failure
Analysis of components. Figure 15 shows the cracked Girth-Gear of an industrial Ball-
Mill. These gears are up to 12 meters in diameter and over 90 tones in weight, with a
manufacturing cost exceeding $500,000. These types of gears are expected to have
fatigue lives of 20 years and more. In this case history, within the first two years of
operation, a few cracks initiated from certain locations between the gussets and the gear
flange, and propagated towards the lightening holes, as shown in Fig. 15b. Since the
premature occurrence of several similar cracks in certain locations could be interpreted as
the possibility of a faulty design, it was decided to perform a complete stress analysis of
the mill using the finite element method. The analysis results clearly revealed the cause
of failure, i.e., high stress built-up in specific locations adjacent to the gear flange, and
conformed to various characteristics of the existing cracks, including their propagation
paths. This work also concerned the assessment of the remaining life of the gear through
modeling of crack growth in the high-stress region. In these analyses, semi-elliptical
cracks were modeled and grown through a variable stress field, and the crack driving
forces were calculated. The calculated crack growth rates were used to estimate the
remaining life of the gear. Such information is vitally important as it gives the mill
operators a timeframe to order a new gear and plan the replacement procedure.
Meanwhile they can safely operate the mill and save thousands of dollars per working
day. More details are reported in:
Mirzaei, M., Razmjoo,A., and Pourkamali, A., "Failure Analysis of the Girth Gear of an
Industrial Ball Mill," Proceedings of the 10th International Congress of Fracture, 2001,
(ICF10) USA.
Figure 15
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M. Mirzaei, Fracture Mechanics
These notes have been prepared as a student aid and should not be considered as a book. Little
originality is claimed for these notes other than selection, organization, and presentation of the
material.
The following references have been used for preparation of the lecture notes and are recommended
for further study in this course.
References:
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