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Near‐Tip Mechanics of Stress‐Induced Microcracking in Brittle Materials
Author(s) -
CHARALAMBIDES PANAYIOTIS G.,
McMEEKING ROBERT M.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1151-2916.1988.tb05896.x
Subject(s) - materials science , brittleness , fracture mechanics , mechanics , stress (linguistics) , continuum mechanics , composite material , elastic modulus , context (archaeology) , stress intensity factor , finite element method , stress–strain curve , modulus , geology , thermodynamics , physics , deformation (meteorology) , paleontology , philosophy , linguistics
A continuum‐mechanics description of stress‐induced microcracking was developed. Modulus‐reduction effects due to microcracking are taken into account through the model of Budiansky and O'Connell. This is used in conjunction with a modified microcracking criterion that stems from the work of Evans and Fu. The resulting constitutive law for a microcracking material was used in finite‐element calculations to study the near‐tip stress and strain fields and the size and shape of a small‐scale damaged zone for a stationary mode I crack in an elastic body. The finite‐element results for the stationary crack are used to predict asymptotic toughening values which correspond to a fully developed wake of microcracked material for a propagating crack. Substantial toughening can result. In contrast, the microcracking zone for a stationary crack is thought to make little or no contribution to material toughening. The theoretical results are discussed in the context of experimental observations for zirconiatoughened alumina.