A HALF-PLANE CRACK propagates dynamically, nominally in the x direction. along the plane _V = 0 in an unbounded solid subjected to remote loading equivalent to a static stress intensity factor K*. The crack front at time t lies along the arc x = c,,t+a_/‘(z, t) where a,) is a constant velocity, J’(z, t) is an arbitrary function, and E is a small parameter. The crack front speed thus varies alon...

Derivation of the integral equation for general 3D crack problems was examined based on the theory of body force method. In the present analysis, stress intensity factors (SIFs) along a front of arbitrary shaped 3D planar crack are obtained directly only by solving simultaneous equations expressing a boundary condition. The crack surface is discretized using number of triangular elements and th...

Compressive failure by splitting is studied herein via an analytical model. The use of a shear lag model to determine the stress state at the crack tip and the modeling of the region away from the crack tip by the 3D elasticity equations leads to a simple analytical expression is used to determine the compliance changes for both unsteady crack growth as well as steady state crack growth under c...

Concrete and cracking are nearly synonymous despite our best efforts and intentions. Relationships between cracking and the stress states that lead to cracking can be instructive. In an effort to better understand these relationships, X-ray microtomography was used to make high-resolution three-dimensional digital images of small concrete specimens under load. Using 3D image analysis, quantitat...

We report the first atomistic calculation of the saddle-point configuration and activation energy for the nucleation of a 3D dislocation loop from a stressed crack tip in single crystal Cu. The transition state is found using reaction pathway sampling schemes, the nudged elastic band, and dimer methods. For the (111)[110] crack, loaded typically at 75% of the athermal critical strain energy rel...

In this paper, the stress intensity factor (SIF) variations along an arbitrarily developing crack front, the non-planar fatigue-crack growth patterns, and the fatigue life of a round bar with an initially straight-fronted surface crack, are studied by employing the 3D symmetric Galerkin boundary element method-finite element method (SGBEM-FEM) alternating method. Different loading cases, involv...

were obtained from experimental tests. A 3D nonlinear finite element model was developed to predict possible crack formation in the shells during pattern removal. The effects of the thermo-mechanical properties of the foam and the shell, as well as the firing process parameters were modeled, and extreme cases were experimentally validated. Recommendations for firing process parameters and patte...

Understanding how fractures develop in materials is crucial to many disciplines, e.g., aeronautical engineering, material sciences, and geophysics. Fast and accurate computer simulation of crack propagation in realistic 3D structures would be a valuable tool for engineers and scientists exploring the fracture process in materials. In the following, we will describe a next generation crack propa...

We present a non-dimensional analytical model for crack propagation in a z-pinned double cantilever beam specimen (DCB) under mode I loading. Effect of various design parameters on the crack bridging length and apparent fracture toughness are investigated using this model. The efficacy of the analytical model is evaluated by comparing the results with 3D finite element (FE) simulations of the D...

Based on the strain rates of 2 × 108 s−1 and 2 × 1010 s−1, molecular dynamics simulation was conducted so as to study mechanisms of crack propagation in nanoscale polycrystal nickel. The strain rate has an important effect on the mechanism of crack propagation in nanoscale polycrystal nickel. In the case of a higher strain rate, local non-3D-crystalline atoms are induced and Lomer-Cottrell lock...