The Interaction of Two Parallel Semi-Elliptical Surface Cracks Under Tension and Bending

1999 ◽  
Vol 121 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. Moussa ◽  
R. Bell ◽  
C. L. Tan

Multiple cracks are often observed in engineering structures; and their interaction and coalescence may significantly affect their life. Knowledge of the behavior of interacting cracks is very limited. A major component of any linear fracture mechanics model for fatigue crack growth is the calculation of the crack-tip stress intensity factor, SIF. In this paper, a parametric study is presented for two parallel surface cracks in an infinite plate subjected to remote tension or to pure bending loads. The stress intensity factors for these cracks as a function of the crack-front position, depth, shape, and plate thickness are calculated using three-dimensional (3-D) finite element, (FE) analysis. The ratios of crack depth to plate thickness, a/t, and to crack length, a/c, range from 0.1 to 0.62 and 0.1 to 1.0, respectively. Where possible, a comparison of 3-D with 2-D results is also considered.

2002 ◽  
Vol 124 (2) ◽  
pp. 234-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walied A. Moussa ◽  
R. Bell ◽  
C. L. Tan

In the last two decades, multiple cracks are often found in aging aerospace and mechanical structures. The interaction and coalescence of multiple cracks may significantly affect the service lives of these aging structures. Knowledge of the behavior of interacting cracks is still limited. The calculation of the crack-tip stress intensity factor, SIF, along the interacting crack fronts is considered a major contribution for the application of any linear fracture mechanics model to investigate the growth life of these cracks. In this paper, a parametric study is presented for two parallel surface cracks in an infinite plate subjected to remote tension or to pure bending loads. This study focuses on constructing a finite element (FE) model that combines the submodeling technique with its ability to generate crack submodels of different lengths and depths, and a mesh generator that can build up a mesh grid based on the size, depth, and orientation of the interacting crack sub-models. The stress intensity factors for these cracks are calculated as a function of the crack front position, depth, shape, and plate thickness. In this paper, the values of the studied crack depth to length ratio, a/c, are 0.33, 0.5, 0.67, and 1.0. Where possible, a comparison of the 3-D with 2-D results is also considered.


Author(s):  
Walied A. Moussa

The interaction and coalescence of multiple cracks may significantly affect the designed lives of aging pressure vessel structures. Knowledge of the growth behavior of interacting cracks is still limited. In this paper, a novel sub-modeling meshing algorithm is used in three-dimensional linear finite element analysis to investigate the interaction between two identical, non-coplanar, semi-elliptical cracks. One of these cracks is modeled as a surface crack while the other is modeled as an embedded crack under a weld toe. Both interacting cracks are assumed to be in an infinite plate subjected to a remote tension loading condition. The energy release rates (G) and the Stress Intensity Factors (SIF’s) for these cracks are calculated along the interacting crack-front. And, a parametric study involving the variation of the relative horizontal separation distance between the two interacting cracks is carried out for a specific crack depth to plate thickness ratio, a/t, of 0.2. The crack shape aspect ratio, a/c, is also varied in this study within a range that extend between 1.0 and 0.33. An empirical formula is derived that relates the effects of the relative positions of these cracks to their SIFs.


Author(s):  
Zheng Liu ◽  
Xu Chen ◽  
Xin Wang

In the present paper, three-dimensional clamped SENT specimens, which is one of the most widely used low-constraint and less-conservative specimen, are analyzed by using a crack compliance analysis approach and extensive finite element analysis. Considering the test standard (BS8571) recommended specimen sizes, the daylight to width ratio, H/W, is 10.0, the relative crack depth, a/W, is varied by 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5 or 0.6 and the relative plate thickness, B/W, is chosen by 1.0, 2.0 or 4.0, respectively. Complete solutions of fracture mechanics parameters, including stress intensity factor (K), in-plane T-stress (T11) and out-of-plane T-stress (T33) are calculated, and the results obtained from above two methods have a good agreement. Moreover, the combination of the effects of a/W and B/W on the stress intensity factor K, T11 and T33 stress are thus illustrated.


2011 ◽  
Vol 133 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Masayuki Kamaya

When multiple cracks approach one another, the stress intensity factor and J-integral value change due to the interaction of the stress field. Since the changes in these parameters are not always conservative in structural reliability evaluations, the interaction between multiple cracks should be taken into account. Section XI of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code provides a flaw characterization rule for interacting multiple cracks. In Section XI, adjacent cracks are replaced with a coalesced single crack when the distance between the cracks is less than half of the crack depth. However, the criterion for the offset distance is given as an absolute value, although the magnitude of the interaction depends on the crack size. In the current study, an alternative criterion for the offset distance was examined. Linear-elastic and elastic–plastic analyses were performed for interacting semicircular and semi-elliptical surface cracks by the finite element method under a tensile or bending load. The change in the stress intensity factors and J-integral values due to the relative spacing of cracks was investigated. Based on the relationship between the magnitude of the interaction and the relative position of the cracks, the allowable ctriterion for the offset distance was discussed.


2002 ◽  
Vol 124 (4) ◽  
pp. 440-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walied A. Moussa

The existence of arbitrarily oriented multiple cracks is a common problem in brittle materials. Some of these materials, such as ceramics, are used in mechanical and aerospace structures that suffer from aging. Because of that, such structures have shown some signs of sudden partial or total failure. The interaction and coalescence of multiple cracks may significantly affect the designed lives of aging structures. Knowledge of the growth behavior of interacting cracks is still limited. In this paper, a novel submodeling meshing algorithm is used to construct different cases of arbitrarily oriented identical surface cracks in a plate subjected to remote tension. These cases are solved using finite element analysis (FEA) and covered a wide range of crack geometries. The stress intensity factors (SIFs) and the energy release rates (G) for these cracks are calculated as a function of their relative orientation and the position along the interaction crack-front. In this paper, the studied ratio of crack depth to plate thickness, a/t, and to crack length, a/c, are kept at 0.2 and 0.3, respectively. Where possible, a comparison of the 3-D results with 2-D ones is also considered.


Author(s):  
Christian Malekian ◽  
Eric Wyart ◽  
Michael Savelsberg ◽  
Anne Teughels ◽  
Pierre-Eric Fouquet ◽  
...  

Most of the literature about fracture mechanics considers cracks having an elliptical shape with a flaw aspect ratio a/l lower or equal to 0.5 where ‘a’ is the crack depth and ‘l’ the total length of the crack. This is also case in the ASME XI Appendix A where Stress Intensity Factors KI formulations are given for a large range of crack depths and for a flaw aspect ratio a/l between 0 and 0.5. The limitation to 0.5 corresponds to a semi-circular shape for surface cracks and to a circular shape for subsurface cracks. This limitation does not seem to be inspired by a theoretical limitation nor by a computational limit. Moreover, it appears that limiting the ratio a/l to 0.5 may generate in some cases some unnecessary conservatism in flaw analysis. The present article specifically deals with the more unusual narrow cracks having a/l >0.5, in the case of surface cracks in infinite flat plates. Several Finite-Elements calculations are performed to compute KI for a large range of crack depths and for 4 typical load cases (uniform, linear, quadratic and cubic). The results can be presented with the same formalism as in the ASME XI Appendix A, such that the work can provide an extension of the ASME coefficients in table A-3320-1&2. By doing the study, one had the opportunity to compare the results obtained by two different Finite-Elements softwares (Systus and Ansys), each one with a different cracked mesh. In addition, a comparison has been made for some cases with results obtained by a XFEM approach (eXtended Finite-Element Method), where the crack does not need to be meshed in the same way as in classical Finite-Elements. The results indicate how the KI can be reduced when considering the real flaw aspect ratio instead of the conventional semi-circular flaw shape. They also show that, for specific theoretical stress distributions, it is not always possible to reduce the analysis of KI to only 2 points, namely the crack surface point and the crack deepest point. The crack growth evaluation of such unusual crack shape should still be investigated to verify whether simple rules can be established to estimate the evolution of the crack front.


2011 ◽  
Vol 214 ◽  
pp. 192-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Al Emran Ismail ◽  
Ahmad Kamal Ariffin ◽  
Shahrum Abdullah ◽  
Mariyam Jameelah Ghazali ◽  
Ruslizam Daud

This study presents a numerical investigation on the stress intensity factors (SIF), K of surface cracks in round bars that were obtained under pure torsion loadings or mode III. ANSYS finite element analysis (FEA) was used to determine the SIFs along the crack front of surface cracks embedded in the solid circular bars. 20-node isoparametric singular elements were used around the crack tip by shifting the mid-side node ¼-position close to a crack tip. Different crack aspect ratio, a/b were used ranging between 0.0 to 1.2 and relative crack depth, a/D were ranged between 0.1 to 0.6. Mode I SIF, KI obtained under bending moment was used to validate the proposed model and it was assumed this proposed model validated for analyzing mode III problems. It was found that, the mode II SIF, FII and mode III SIF, FIII were dependent on the crack geometries and the sites of crack growth were also dependent on a/b and a/D.


1996 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-207
Author(s):  
T. P. O’Donnell

Stress intensity values for cracks growing in conventional fatigue specimens are determined, with emphasis on the end constraint conditions associated with S-N fatigue testing. Three-dimensional finite element analysis methods are used to analyze thumbnail-shaped cracks in cylindrical geometries. Crack front straightening due to the increased bending introduced as crack growth progresses is included in the models. Because relatively stiff fatigue test machines prevent rotation at the clamped ends of test specimens, uniform axial displacement boundary conditions are imposed. Results for uniformly applied axial stress end conditions are also obtained for comparison. For crack-depth-to-specimen-diameter ratios over one-third, bending restraint induced in the specimens under applied axial displacement significantly reduces the resulting stress intensity relative to values computed for uniform end tension. The results are useful for evaluating crack growth in fatigue specimens within the limits of linear elastic fracture mechanics.


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