Analytical Fracture Mechanics Analysis of the Pull-out Test including the Effects of Friction and Thermal Stresses

The energy release rate for propagation of a debond in a single-fiber pull out test was derived analytically. The key finding was that an accurate analysis can be derived by a global energy analysis that includes effects of residual stresses and interfacial friction but does not need to include the details of the stress state at the interfacial crack tip. By comparison to finite elements analysis, it was verified that the analytical results are very accurate provided the debond tip is not too close to either end of the specimen. By casting the results in terms of net-specimen stress, it was possible to derive a general energy release rate result that applies to both the pull-out test and the related microbond test. The energy release rate expressions can be used to determine interfacial fracture toughness from single-fiber pull-out tests or microbond tests.