Test Exam 1 in Fatigue and Fracture Mechanics

1. A certain quality of concrete has been found to obey the Mohr failure criterion
= ( ) tan
with = 60 and = 2 MPa .

a) What are the ultimate strengths in (uniaxial) tension and compression, respectively?
A
B

b) A wall of the concrete is loaded in compression

by a remote stress . The wall shall have an

2a
2b

elliptical hole in it; determine the optimal shape,

(i.e. determine a b so that failure at A and B

occur at the same stress level).

2. (Problem 50) A thin rectangular bar (crosssection b h )

M
h

of a linear elastic material (Youngs modulus E) is glued

to a rigid foundation; the glue has a linear - characteristics as shown (rupture at stress U , when deformation is
U ). The bar is loaded with a bending moment M. Determine the critical moment Mc if a b > h .

U
U

3. A large, thin (plane stress), plate with a central crack of length 2a = 50 mm is loaded by
a remote tensile stress ; at an experiment the crack started to propagate when
= 150 MPa . For the material we have E = 210 GPa and Y = 500 MPa .
a) (Problem 34) Verify that it is appropriate to use linear elasticity to analyse the problem,
and determine K Ic .
b) Assume that the thickness is so small that LEFM is not valid, and use Irwin correction
to determine the fracture toughness. Is the result on the safe side (conservative estimate)?
c) Use K Ic as determined at a) above and predict the failure stress using LEFM and Irwin
correction. Is the result on the safe side?
1

4. (Problem 73) The structure in the figure is loaded by a force P = P 0 P 0 . Determine, with
respect to fatigue failure at the hole, maximum allowable value of P 0 . The hole is machined
( R a = 7m ) and has a diameter of 20 mm.
Material and geometrical data: FL = 230 MPa, Y = 320 MPa, U = 600 MPa,
FLP is unknown, H = 200 mm and h = 20 mm
P
A

side view

h
3h

32H
P top view

H
4H

5. (Problem 91) A state of stress is given by

100 50 0
100 50 0
= 50 0 0 + 50 0 0 sin ( t ) [MPa]
0 0 0
0 0 0

Determine safety factor against fatigue initiation using the Sines criterion. Eliminate the
mid shear stress by

a) Eliminating the mid value of the deviatoric tensor

b) Use equivalent amplitudes
thus showing that the two methods give identical results.
Material data: eS = 200 MPa and c S = 0.7 .

Test Exam 2 in Fatigue and Fracture Mechanics

1. An edge crack has been detected in a large plate which is to be loaded by a remote tensile
stress = 85 MPa (mode I). In order to determine if this can be done without risk for
fracture, a finite element analysis of the structure was performed; the J-integral was then
calculated along a path as indicated in the figure below, and J = 23.83 kN/m was
obtained. Assume that LEFM (linear elastic fracture mechanics) can be used. Will the
structure sustain the load?
Data: Plane stress and linear elastic material with E = 210 GPa and = 0.3 .
K Ic = 65 MNm

3 2

. a = 100 mm .

= 85 MPa

a
= 85 MPa

2. A steel plate with width W and thickness t, contains an edge crack of length a = W 10 .
The plate is loaded in tension by two pairs of forces according to the illustration. Determine
the critical force P c with respect to crack propagation. Is fracture mechanics an issue here?
Data: W = 1 m , h = 2 m , t = 10 mm , Y = 400 MPa and K Ic = 20 MN m

32

W
P
--2

P
--2

a
h

3. A bar with solid circular crosssection, radius r, is used as a torsional spring. Along its
clamping, a crack with constant (around the circumference) depth a has formed. Determine
the stress intensity factor for the configuration (e.g. by use of the strain energy release rate).
Hint: the rotation of the bar end is = T ( L + a ) J , where = E 2 ( 1 + ) is the shear
4

modulus, and J = r 2 for a solid circular crosssection; ( J is the torsional stiffness,

cf. the bending stiffness EI).

T
2r

4. The stress state at a point in a component is given by

xx xy xz
=

yx yy yz
zx zy zz

2 12 0
= 1 2 1 0 f (t)
0
0 0

where f (t) is given in the illustration.

a) Determine the safety against fatigue failure at the point, according to Crossland, if
c C = 0.9 and eC = 120 MPa .
b) Show that
1
2
2
2
--- [ ( 1, a 2, a ) + ( 2, a 3, a ) + ( 3, a 1, a ) ] =
2
=

2
2
2
1
d
d
d
d
d
d
--- [ ( 1, a 2, a ) + ( 2, a 3, a ) + ( 3, a 1, a ) ]
2

f (t) [MPa]
20
15
10
7
t

10

5. Consider a nail that is stuck in a rigid foundation; in order to

break it, its head is deflected back and forth a distance by a
force P .

Data: = 10 mm (diameter of the circular crosssection of

the nail), L = 3 cm , D = 1.05 (ductility), U = 740 MPa ,
ideal linear elastic material with E = 200 GPa .
a) Determine the required head deflection , so that the nail breaks after 10 cycles.
b) In practice several other factors will influence the fatigue life. Will the following factors
contribute to a longer or shorter fatigue life? Motivate the answers!
Flexible support (rather than rigid)
Nonpolished nail surface
Nonconstant deflection amplitude
Elasticidealplastic (rather than idealelastic) material properties

Answers
Uc = 25.86 MPa

a b = 1 12

TE1:1

Ut = 1.86 MPa

TE1:2

bh
M c = ---------- Eh U U
2 3

TE1:3

a: contribution to crack opening is only about 4%; K Ic = 42 MN/m

K Ic 43 MN/m

32

32

. b)

. c) c 146.6 MPa

TE1:4

P = ( 26 26 ) kN

TE1:5

EQS = 155.31 MPa SF = 1.29

TE2:1

K I = 71MN/m

TE2:2

LEFM is valid, so Irwin correction is not necessary; P c = 2.27 MN . (With this mag-

32

> K Ic so fracture must be expected

nitude of the load, the maximum stress (according to beam theory) becomes
= 680 MPa , i.e. well above the yield limit Y ; thus, crack propagation seems to
be of minor interest here).
2

TE2:3

K III = T r

TE2:4

a) EQC = 47.05MPa SF = 2.55 ; b) proof omitted here

TE2:5

a) = 1.6 cm ; b) longer fatigue life, shorter fatigue life, hard to say (but normally

beneficial), shorter (since strain amplitude increases)