Influence of elastic variations on crack initiation in functionally graded glass-filled epoxy

Crack tip deformations and fracture parameters in functionally graded glass-filled epoxy beams are experimentally evaluated under static and dynamic loading conditions. Beams with unidirectional, monotonic elastic gradients and cracks along the gradient are examined. SEN samples with increasing or decreasing Young’s modulus ahead of the crack tip are studied in symmetric four-point bending and one-point impact loading configurations. Optical method of coherent gradient sensing (CGS) is used to measure crack tip deformations prior to crack initiation. For impact loading experiments, CGS is used in conjunction with high-speed photography for recording instantaneous deformation fields. Stress intensity factors (SIF) or SIF-histories in functionally graded materials (FGM) based on locally homogeneous material descriptions in the immediate crack tip vicinity are evaluated and compared with companion finite element simulations. The influence of elastic gradients in FGM samples with cracks on the compliant and stiff sides of the beam are quantified relative to their homogeneous counterparts and with each other. Under static loading conditions, the crack tip located on the compliant side of the beam is elastically shielded when compared to the situation when the crack is on the stiffer side of the same FGM beam. Under dynamic conditions, however, elastic gradients affect crack initiation differently. Crack initiation in an FGM with a crack on the stiff side of the beam and impact occurring on the compliant edge is delayed when compared to the opposite configuration. Independent finite element simulations of FGMs with idealized elastic gradients with identical crack tip elastic properties suggest that lower crack tip loading rate in the former is responsible for the differences. 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.