Abstract
Some recent results concerning the mechanics of crack closure in a plate are discussed as well as several applications. The fundamental solution required is that for an elastic Kirchhoff-Poisson plate containing through-the-thickness or (part-through) surface cracks under closure. The cases considered include a single crack, a collinear system of cracks, and a radial system of a large number of cracks. Asymptotic solutions, remarkably accurate even for rather short cracks, are derived for cases in which the ratio of the crack length to its depth is large. Asymptotic expressions are obtained for distributions of the crack surface interaction force and moment, the contact strip width, and the contact stresses. For the radial crack system under a central lateral force, the crack growth stability and the limiting crack zone size are determined as well. For the single crack, it is shown that the crack surface interaction in-plane force and bending moment can be derived directly from the initial force and moment distribution acting in the intact plate on the prospective crack line. The same result is valid for a collinear system of cracks; this collinear system may include alternating open and closed crack segments. As is shown, the width of the contact strip decreases as the crack length increases; the limiting contact force and moment distribution may be determined by considering an edge-cracked strip with zero stress intensity factor. The asymptotic stress distribution obtained is unique and universal for any slowly curving crack or crack system under closure.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 81-96 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Applied Mechanics Division, AMD |
| Volume | 207 |
| State | Published - 1995 |
| Event | Proceedings of the 1995 Joint ASME Applied Mechanics and Materials Summer Meeting - Los Angeles, CA, USA Duration: 28 Jun 1995 → 30 Jun 1995 |