Lecture 13

Failure of Engineering
Materials

Jayant Jain

Assistant Professor,
Department of Applied Mechanics,
IIT Delhi, Hauz Khas, 110016

Mechanical Properties of Polymers

The tensile response of a
polymer varies with
temperature here the
response is shown with
respect to the glass transition
temperature, Tg
Polymers exhibit range of
mechanical properties
depending upon glass
transition temperature

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition, 2010 Michael Ashby

Why does inflated balloon explodes when you

poke a pin to that???
Think about doing the same thing to a partially
inflated balloon-would you observe another
explosion??
Why do you see such differences??

Stored energy = Compressed gas + Elastic energy

stored in rubber membrane
Stored energy in balloon should be sufficiently
large
There is some critical balloon pressure at which
our pin sized flaw is just unstable

Imagine if you want to open a flaw by some amt.

WD by Gas pressure + Elastic energy > Tear energy

The quantity on left hand side increases by blowing
the balloon: critical pressure inside balloon
Lets calculate the critical stress

Energy balance for a crack to advance

WD by loads > change of elastic
Energy + energy absorbed at crack
tip

W U el Gcta
Gc is the energy absorbed per unit
area of crack
Critical strain energy release rate

Fast fracture at fixed displacement

W 0
U Gcta
el

U el
Ends of plate are clamped

2 a 2t
2E 2

Energy balance for a crack to advance

WD by loads > change of elastic
Energy + energy absorbed at crack
tip

W U el Gcta
Gc is the energy absorbed per unit
area of crack
Critical strain energy release rate

Fast fracture at fixed displacement

W 0
U Gcta
el

U el
Ends of plate are clamped

2 a 2t
2E 2

el
2
dU

2at
el
U
a
a
da
2E 2

2a
2E

Gc

A more rigorous mathematical analysis of elastic stresses

and strains suggest that

2a
E

Gc

a EGc
RHS of above equation is material constant
LHS term can be given by K (stress intensity factor)
Fast fracture occurs when K = Kc (where Kc = RHS called
fracture toughness)

A rigorous analysis on fast

fracture at fixed loads will also
yield a similar sort of results

Summary:
Gc = toughness (sometimes, critical strain energy
release rate), KJ/m2
Kc= EGc = fracture toughness (sometimes: critical
Stress intensity factor), MNm-3/2

K =

a = stress intensity factor, units MNm-3/2

Fast fracture occurs when K = Kc

K Y a
Y = 1 for the case when crack length is small compared to width of plate, in other
situations some numerical correction is needed

How do you obtain Gc

Why polymers have low fracture toughness value even
though they have intermediate toughness value??

Why polymer based composites have reasonable fracture

toughness but polymers doesn't have??

 a EGc
If we know the maximum size of flaw in the
structure then we can choose a working load at
which fast fracture will not occur!!
But cracks can form, and grow slowly, at loads
lower than this, if the load is cycled.
Fatigue: Failure of materials under cyclic loading