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R ‐CURVE TESTING AND ITS RELEVANCE TO STRUCTURAL ASSESSMENT
Author(s) -
Schwalbe,
Heerens
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
fatigue and fracture of engineering materials and structures
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.887
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1460-2695
pISSN - 8756-758X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1460-2695.1998.00110.x
Subject(s) - constraint (computer aided design) , conservatism , structural engineering , function (biology) , relevance (law) , plasticity , degree (music) , econometrics , mathematics , computer science , engineering , materials science , mechanical engineering , physics , composite material , evolutionary biology , politics , political science , acoustics , law , biology
Crack growth resistance can be substantially affected by the constraint conditions of a structural member which in turn are mainly a function of geometrical variables and the degree of plasticity. Standardized test methods are restricted to high constraint conditions as represented by deeply cracked bend‐type specimens and may hence lead to conservative structural assessments. It is demonstrated that adjusted testing can be used to reduce the degree of conservatism. Due to rapidly increasing computer capabilities, a combination of conventional R ‐curve testing with micromechanical models emerges as an accurate tool which may permit routine evaluations of practical situations in the near future.