We here report on a detailed experimental study whose goal is to investigate spontaneous crack propagation in bonded and intact materials subjected to quasi-static far-field tensile loading. The cracks nucleate from a tiny circular hole and are triggered by an exploding wire. They subsequently propagate under the action of a constant far-field load. Dynamic photoelasticity in conjunction with h...

We present a new mechanism--discovered using molecular dynamics simulations--that leads to complete healing of nanocracks. This mechanism relies on the generation of crystal defects known as disclinations by migrating grain boundaries. Crack healing by disclinations does not require any compressive loads applied normal to the crack faces and even occurs under monotonic tensile loading. By closi...

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...

Earlier [ 1] we described an experimental procedure aimed at exarnining the spatial and temporal distribution of energy dissipation during crack initiation and propagation in a ductile polymer. The experiment combines a table-top tensile tester and an infrared imaging system. Because of the intense heating of the crack tip region, direct observation of the temperature rise not only provides an ...

The initial stage of fretting fatigue crack growth is significantly influenced by tangential force induced by fretting action along the contact surface where a mixed-mode crack growth is involved. Fretting crack behavior of aluminum alloy 2024 was studied, taking into account the problem of contact asperities. Finite element was used for the determination of the stress field near the contact su...

Using cold working fastener holes is a simple life enhancement procedure that strengthens metallic components by retarding crack growth around a hole. In the present paper, the residual stress field that is induced by the hole expansion process is obtained based on different material models namely elastic perfect plastic, isotropic hardening and kinematic hardening using three-dimensional finit...

The Double Punch test, an indirect traction test, is simulated numerically considering two different models (the nonlocal Mazars damage model and an heuristic crack model with joint elements). The test was designed to measure indirectly the tensile strength of concrete, hence, through these two numerical models, we are able to assess the tensile strength numerically. Experimental results presen...

We present a model for the brittle–ductile transition in ferritic steels based on two dimensional discrete dislocation simulations of crack-tip plasticity. The sum of elastic fields of the crack and the emitted dislocations defines an elasto–plastic crack field. Effects of crack-tip blunting of the macrocrack are included in the simulations. The plastic zone characteristics are found to be in a...

Experiments of crack propagation in rubbers have shown that a discontinuous jump of crack propagation velocity can occur as energy release rate increases, which is known as the "mode transition" phenomenon. Although it is believed that the mode transition is strongly related to the mechanical properties, the nature of the mode transition had not been revealed. In this study, dynamic crack propa...

A planar crack generically segments into an array of "daughter cracks" shaped as tilted facets when loaded with both a tensile stress normal to the crack plane (mode I) and a shear stress parallel to the crack front (mode III). We investigate facet propagation and coarsening using in situ microscopy observations of fracture surfaces at different stages of quasistatic mixed-mode crack propagatio...