[1] Dry slab avalanches release by propagation of shear fractures in a thin, planar weak layer underneath a cohesive, stronger slab. This implies that a balance between shear fracture toughness and the shear fracture stress intensity factor fundamentally determines snow slab stability. Conventionally, fracture toughness is a material property and, for most materials, emphasis is on tensile frac...

The digital image correlation technique is applied to investigate mixed-mode (I/II) fracture in five aerospace epoxy formulations, four of which are experimentally toughened. Stress intensity factors are extracted from displacement fields using the Williams method for a range of mode mixities. From these measurements, values of an effective resin KIIc are deduced and these are shown to have a s...

Structural design with brittle materials requires that the stress level in the component correspond to a material survival probabi 1 i ty that exceeds the minimum survival probability permitted in that application. This can be achieved by developing failure models that fully account for the probability of fracture from defects within the material (including considerations of fracture statistics...

Combining several materials to create a structural system has led to a new kind of application previously not possible with conventional materials. Examples are FRP and its strengthening system. Nonetheless, the existence of the interface between two substrates introduces a challenging problem in determining durability of bond systems. In many applications, the durability of individual material...

The effects of silicon (Si) on the mechanical properties and fracture toughness of heavy-section ductile cast iron were investigated to develop material for spent-nuclear-fuel containers. Two castings with different Si contents of 1.78 wt.% and 2.74 wt.% were prepared. Four positions in the castings from the edge to the center, with different solidification cooling rates, were chosen for micros...

An infinite elastic medium with a planar crack is considered. The crack is subjected to the pressure of fluid injected at a point on the crack surface. Description of the crack growth is based on the lubrication equation (balance of the injected fluid and the crack volume), the equation for crack opening caused by fluid pressure on the crack surface, the Poiseuille equation related local fluid ...