In this paper, the present investigation has been conducted keeping in mind some of the problems concerning the crack propagation direction and growth under constant loading in an inclined crack geometry. The present studies mainly focused on the development and modifications in the crack growth criterion to account the biaxial, shear loading and number of stress terms. Existing criteria for th...

Fretting nucleation models and three-dimensional finite element analyses are used to compute the fretting fatigue life for metallic components. The models predict crack nucleation cycles and location(s). Discrete crack growth simulations provide stress intensity factor histories, with multiple, non-planar, three-dimensional cracks possible. The histories are input into crack growth rate model(s...

The trajectory of a hydraulically driven crack near natural fractures, faults, and inhomogeneities has been studied using the complex variable hypersingular boundary element technique. The crack trajectories are presented for the cases of an oblique and a steeply inclined fault. It has been demonstrated that natural fractures, faults, and other inhomogeneities generate unstable fracture conÞgur...

Over the past decades, our understanding of nacre's toughening origin has long stayed at the level of crack deflection along the biopolymer interface between aragonite platelets. It has been widely thought that the ceramic aragonite platelets in nacre invariably remain shielded from the propagating crack. Here we report an unexpected experimental observation that the propagating crack, surprisi...

The chipping process in a brittle material subjected to a uniformly applied edge load has been investigated. The present analysis extends earlier work by recognizing that as the chip is formed it may bend and change the loading at the crack tip. This geometry change introduces a nonlinear effect and has significant influence on the phenomenon. The nonlinear effect was demonstrated by incorporat...

We address the theory of quasi-static crack propagation in a strip of glass that is pulled from a hot oven towards a cold bath. This problem had been carefully studied in a number of experiments that offer a wealth of data to challenge the theory. We improve upon previous theoretical treatments in a number of ways. First, we offer a technical improvement of the discussion of the instability tow...

In this paper, in order to predict the crack growth trajectory and to evaluate the SIF under mixed modes (I & II), one proposes a new finite element program for crack growth using the source code written in FORTRAN. The fin ite element mesh is generated using an advancing front method, where the generation of the background mesh and the construction of singular elements are also added to this d...

Crack-growth experiments in human dentin have been performed in situ in an environmental scanning electron microscope to measure, for the first time, the crack-growth resistance curve (R-curve) for clinically relevant (<250 microm) crack extensions and to simultaneously identify the salient toughening mechanisms. "Young" dentin from donors 19-30 years in age and "aged" dentin from donors 40-70 ...

Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) bone cement is a polymeric material that is widely used as a structural orthopedic material. However, it is not an ideal material for bone grafting due to its fragility. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been introduced in order to reinforce PMMA resulting in a composite material which exhibits improved tensile properties, increased fatigue resistance and fracture tough...

Quantitative understanding of the parameters which control composite fracture is imperative to the implementation of fail safe design and inspection of critical load bearing structures. For isotropic materials, fracture is essentially controlled by a single parameter, e.g., the fracture toughness or the stress-intensity factor. This one dimensional nature lends itself to experimental quantifica...