FRACTURE TOUGHNESS

By: Milan Raskapoorwala

FRACTURE
FRACTURE -SEPERATION OF A MATERIAL
UNDER LOAD BY BREAKING INTO TWO OR
MORE PIECES
FRACTURE INVOLVES
CRACK INITIATION + CRACK PROPAGATION
TYPES OF FRACTURE
- DUCTILE
- BRITTLE

TYPES OF FRACTURE
DUCTILE FRACTURE
CHARACTERIZED BY APPRECIABLE PLASTIC
DEFORMATION PRIOR TO RUPTURE
MECHANISM - INITIATION , GROWTH AND
COALESCENCE OF MICRO VOIDS TO FORM CRACKS
UNDER TENSILE LOAD
CRACKS IN TRANSVERSE DIRECTION AT AN
ANGLE OF 45 TO THE TENSILE LOAD
CUP AND CONE FRACTURE
CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC MODE APPEARANCE- SHEAR
APPEARANCE OF FRACTURE - FIBROUS (GRAY)

TYPES OF FRACTURE
BRITTLE FRACTURE
FAILURE WITHOUT APPARENT OR APPRECIABLE
PLASTIC DEFORMATION AT EXTREMELY HIGH
SPEEDS (as high as 7000 ft/ sec)
IF BROKEN PIECES ARE FITTED TOGETHER, THE
ORIGINAL SHAPE & DIMENSIONS OF SPECIMEN ARE
RESTORED
CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC MODE APPEARANCECLEAVAGE
APPEARANCE OF FRACTURE - GRANULAR (BRIGHT)
BRITTLE FRACTURE OCCURS WITHOUT ANY WARNING &
USUALLY PRODUCES DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES

Photograph of Barge Failure

Photograph of Bridge Failure

Photograph of Typical Brittle Fracture Surface

FACTORS AFFECTING TYPE OF FRACTURE

MATERIAL COMPOSITION
MICRO STRUCTURE & GRAIN SIZE
STRAIN RATE
GEOMETRY OF CROSS SECTION & SIZE
RESIDUAL STRESS
WELDING PROCESS
TYPE OF EDGE PREPARATION

PLANE STRESS

PLANE STRAIN

STRESSES ACTING ON THE

BODY ARE IN ONE PLANE
(
z=0)

STRAINS PRODUCED UNDER

TRIALAXIAL STRESSES ARE
ALONG A PLANE (ez=0)

CORROSPONDS TO BULK
YIELDING
-- DUCTILE MATERIAL
-- THIN SECTION
-- HIGH TEMPERATURE

CORROSPONDS TO RESTICTED
YIELDING
-- BRITTLE / HARD MATERIAL
-- THICK SECTION
-- LOW TEMPERATURE

LARGE PLASTIC ZONE IS

FORMED AT THE TIP OF THE
CRACK
OBLIQUE SHEAR FRACTURE

SMALL PLASTIC ZONE IS

FORMED AT THE TIP OF THE
CRACK
SQUARE FRACTURE

FRACTURE TOUGHNESS
FRACTURE RESISTANCE OF MATERIAL
IN THE PRESENCE OF CRACKS OR
DISCONTINUTIES

FRACTURE MECHANICS
ASPECT OF WELD DESIGN - MORE QUANTITATIVE
CHARACTERISES THE INTERACTION BETWEEN
MATERIAL STRESS LEVELS AND TOLERABLE
CRACK SIZE
TO DETERMINE THE LIFE OF A COMPONENT
ONCE A CRACK IS EXISTING / INITIATED
TO DETERMINE POSSIBLE MEANS AND METHODS
TO SLOW DOWN THE PROPOGATION OF THE
INITIATED OR EXISTING CRACK(S).

GRIFFITHS THEORY
GRIFFITH THEORY DEALS WITH THE
PROPOGATION OF PRE-EXISTING CRACK IN A
BRITTLE MATERIAL (PERFECTLY BRITTLE
MATERIAL- GLASS)
PRINCIPLE OF ENERGY BALANCE STRAIN
ENGERGY LOST IN PROPOGATING A CRACK AND
SURFACE ENERGY OF THE NEWLY CREATED

FRACTURE SURFACES
TOTAL ENERGY (U) = Uo - Ua + U
where,Uo = Elastic Energy of Uncracked Plate
2a
Ua = Decrease in Elastic Energy by
introducing the crack in the length
U = Increase in the Elastic Surface Energy
caused by the formation of the crack surface

GRIFFITHS THEORY
TOTAL ELASTIC ENERGY (U)
U= Uo - (
2a2/ E) + 4a e
Where, e = Surface Energy per unit area
E = Elasticity of Material
FRACTURE OCCURS WHEN U/ a = 0
= (2 eE / a)1/2 -----------(A)
is inversely proportional to square root of the crack
length. Thus, increasing the crack length reduces the
Fracture Stress.
FROM (A) 2a / E = 2 e = G
G = Energy Release Rate per unit area of crack surface
2 e = G REPRESENTS MATERIAL RESISTANCE TO
CRACK EXTENTION R

 IRWIN MODIFIED & APPLIED GRIFFITHS

FRACTURE CRITERION FOR IDEALLY BRITTLE
MATERIALS TO METALS THAT EXHIBIT PLASTIC
DEFORMATION
R = Elastic Surface Energy (e) + Plastic Strain Work (p)
(
2a2/ E) = 2 ( e + p ) = G
THIS APPROACH IS NOT APPLICABLE TO ANALYSIS
OF STABLE CRACK EXTENTION SUCH AS UNDER
CYCLIC LOAD FLUCTUATION OF STRESS
CORROSION CRACKING

STRESS INTENSITY FACTOR (K)

Y
y = x = (a /2 )1/2
y
x

2a

X
= Radius of Curvature of Crack Tip
a = Half Length of Center Crack

CRACK TIP

xy

= Gross Nominal Stress = P/ W x t

For any orientation directly ahead of the crack ( = 0)

y = x = (a /2 )1/2 , xy = 0

STRESS INTENSITY FACTOR (K)

LOCAL STRESSES NEAR A CRACK DEPEND ON THE
PRODUCT OF NOMINAL STRESS AND SQUARE
ROOT OF THE HALF FLAW LENGTH
IRWIN CALLED THIS AS STRESS INTENSITY
FACTOR (K)

K = (
a)1/2 MN/m 3/2 OR ksi (in)1/2
K = (
a)1/2
where, = Parameter (depends on the specimen geometry & crack
geometry)

At failure K becomes KIC which is called

Critical Stress Intensity Factor

CRITICAL STRESS INTENSITY FACTOR

Material property
Independent of specimen thickness
KIC represents the fracture toughness of a particular
material
Can be determined by test
KI represents the stress ahead of a sharp crack in
any material
In general KI should be kept below KIC at all times
to prevent fracture in design members with flaws.

MODES OF CRACK EXTENSION

CRACK IN A SOLID CAN EXTEND IN THREE
DIFFERENT MODES AS SHOWN IN FIG.
F
F

Z
Z

F
F

F
MODE -I
OPENING MODE

MODE -II
SLIDING MODE

MODE -III
TEARING MODE

KIC TEST PROCEDURE

1) DETERMINE SPECIMEN DIMENSIONS
a = Crack Length ; B= Specimen Thk.
W = Specimen Depth
2) SELECT A TEST SPECIMEN
As Per ASTM E399-83
(a) Three point Bend Sp.
(b) Compact Tension Sp.
(c) Single Edge Cracked
Plate Sp.

KIC TEST PROCEDURE

3) FATIGUE CRACK THE TEST SPECIMEN
As Fatigue Crack is considered to be the sharpest crack that
can be reproduced in the laboratory. Previously M/c notch
to be extended by fatigue (at least 0.05W)
4) OBTAIN TEST FIXTURES & DISPLACEMENT GAUGE
5) TEST PROCEDURE
(a) Test Set-up (b) Loading Rate
(c) Test Record (d) Measurement
6) ANALYSIS OF P-
RECORDS
For perfectly elastic behavior, the load-displacement curve -perfectly straight until fracture

KIC TEST PROCEDURE

TYPE -I load -displacement curve represents- behavior
for a wide variety of ductile metals
Crack propagates by tearing mode with increasing load
TYPE- II load -displacement curve- sharp drop of loadfollowed by a recovery of load
Load drop represents a pop in
Pop inarises from sudden unstable, rapid crack
propagation before the crack slow-down to tearing mode
of propagation

KIC TEST PROCEDURE

TYPE III load -displacement shows complete pop-in
Initial crack movement propagates rapidly to complete
failure
Characteristics of a very brittle elastic material
Value of PQ determined from curve is used to calculate a
conditional value of fracture toughness KQ
Crack length a to be measured after fracture.
Calculate factor 2.5 (KQ/
o)2
If this quantity is less than both the thickness and crack
length of the specimen, then KQ is equal to KIC and the
test is valid.

CRACK TIP OPENING DISPLACEMENT (CTOD)

Linear-Elastic Analyses
-- Small Crack Tip Displacement
-- Small Plastic Deformation
-- Fracture Instability- Plane Strain KIC
-- Low to Medium Strength Structural Steel
-- Insufficient Thickness Plane Strain Conditions
Elastic Plastic Analyses
-- Large Size of Plastic Zone
-- Large Crack Tip Displacement
-- Occurs in Transition Range Between Plane-Strain
& Fully Plastic Behavior

CRACK TIP OPENING DISPLACEMENT (CTOD)

Technique is used to establish
c or Crack Sizes in a
quantitative manner similar to LEFM
Advantage :
- CTOD values can be measured throughout the entire
Plane-Strain, Elastic-Plastic and Fully Plastic Behavior
Region
Approach Requires Measurement of Fracture
Toughness Parameter .
- Material Property- Function of Temperature,
Loading Rate, Specimen Geometry & Thickness
Standard Method for CTOD Testing Similar to KIC
( BS : 5762)