Fracture Mechanics &

Fracture Toughness

CME 470
Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials

J. Ernesto Indacochea
University of Illinois at Chicago
Civil & Materials Engineering Dept.
 Introduction
Possible consequences due to materials failures:
Loss of human lives:
Space Shuttle Challenger: January 28,
1986
The Challenger accident was caused by a failure in the
O-rings sealing a joint on the right solid rocket booster,
=> pressurized hot gases leaked and eventually flame to
"blow by" the O-ring and make contact with the adjacent
external tank, causing structural failure.

Collapse of the I-35W bridge in

Minneapolis Minnesota: August 1, 2007
13 people die and 145 injured.
The NTSB cited a design flaw as the likely cause of the
collapse: a too thin gusset plate ripped along a line of
rivets.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 2
 Introduction
Possible consequences due to materials failures: i
Deficient system performance (e.g. East Coast
blackout)
Lights went out on August 14,
2013. Mayor Michael Bloomberg
announced that the blackout was
actually caused by a
massive power outage sweeping
across the Northeast.

Hip replacements can fail for several reasons, but the most common
is loosening, in which components detach from the bone. Friction from
normal wear produces debris that causes inflammation in the tissues
around the joint. Over time, bone erodes and the implant loosens,
leading to pain and decreased function.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha1ZfyyDpM8

Economic losses etc.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 3
 Introduction
Failure prevention is the goal:
failure analysis is the procedure.
but it is difficult and challenging.

Causes for routine failures:

improper materials selection: e.g., selection of low-C steel
for Thigh job.
lack of process control during fabrication: large composition
variation (segregation)
poor design: e.g. gusset plates; weld in a high stressed
location, etc.
improper use of tool or part.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 4
 Fundamentals of Fracture
Causes for materials to fracture:
Slow or rapid application of external loads.
Cyclic or repeated loading.
Time dependent deformation at relatively high temperature (creep).
Environmental effects: corrosion
Residual stresses: thermal stresses

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 5
 Fundamentals of Fracture:
Fracture responses to overloads

The S.S. Schenectady

split apart by brittle
fracture while in harbor
(1944)

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 6
 Types of Fracture in Uniaxial Tensile
Loads (Review)

General fracture types:

ductile and brittle.
Ductile materials:
substantial plastic deformation
high energy absorption before
failure.
Brittle materials:
little or no plastic deformation
low energy absorption.
CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 7
 Fundamentals of Fracture
Fracture involves two stages:
Crack formation (initiation),
Crack propagation.
Crack propagation: stable vs. unstable

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 8
 Fundamentals of Fracture
In ductile fracture:
Cracks extend slowly.
A larger applied stress is needed for crack to
propagate stable crack.
In brittle fracture:
Cracks extend rapidly with very little plastic
deformation.
Spontaneous crack extension with no increase in
applied load. unstable crack.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 9
 Ductile Fracture
Stages:
(i) Formation of microvoids,
(ii) Microvoid coalescence leading
to micro crack formation
normal to the applied stress,
(iii)Rapid crack propagation at
about 45 to tensile axis (max)).

R cos cos
cup & cone fracture.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 10
 Ductile Fracture Evolution

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 11
 Ductile Fracture Characteristics (SEM)

Internal cracking in the necked region

of a polycrystalline high purity copper.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 12
 Brittle or Cleavage Fracture - Characteristics
Relative flat fracture surface.
Detailed features:
V-shaped chevron markings
that point back to crack initiation.
Radial ridges emanating from
initiation of crack.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 13
 Brittle Fracture Other characteristics
Most brittle crystalline materials show crack
propagation along specific crystallographic
planes cleavage fracture.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 14
 Brittle Fracture Other features
Cleavage fracture is transgranular or
(transcrystalline)
Macroscopically the fracture surface has a grainy
or faceted texture due to changes in orientation of
cleavage plains from grain to grain.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 15
 Brittle Fracture
Intergranular fracture:
Crack propagates along grain boundaries.
Evidence of a weaker material.
This is referred to as embrittlement.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 16
 Best Circumstances for Fracture?
Ductile failure:
-- one piece
-- large deformation
-- some warning possible

Brittle failure:
-- catastrophic
-- many pieces
-- small deformations
-- no warning

Figures from V.J. Colangelo and F.A. Heiser,

Analysis of Metallurgical Failures (2nd ed.), Fig.
4.1(a) and (b), p. 66 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.,
1987. Used with permission.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 17
 Fracture Mechanics Principles
Goal in Design: foresee and avert structural
failures!!!
Fracture mechanics (FM).
FM needs to quantify the relation between:
Materials properties & stress levels,
Effect of flaws on localized stresses.
Occurrence of cracks and fracture.
Cracks in brittle materials are more critical:
Lower the fracture strength.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 18
 Fracture Mechanics Effects of flaws

2a a

The applied stress is magnified at the crack tip.

The magnitude of the local magnification
depends on crack orientation and geometry.
These flaws are referred to as stress raisers.
Most critical for brittle materials.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 19
 Principles of Fracture Mechanics
Assessment of Localized Stresses
For an elliptical crack through a plate & normal
to the applied, the maximum stress at the crack tip,
max, is mathematically expressed as:
a
1/ 2

m o 1 2
t

a = crack length for surface crack, half

the crack length of an internal crack.
t = radius of curvature of crack tip.
o = nominal applied stress.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 20
 Principles of Fracture Mechanics -
Assessment of Localized Stresses
Consider long micro crack with a small tip radius
then:
1/ 2
a
m 2 o
t

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 21
 Stress Intensity Factor Stress amplification
- Stress intensity factor, K due to presence of a flaw:
1/ 2
a m a
m 2 o K 2
t o t
nominal

Stress raisers:
microscopic defects.
macroscopic discontinuities, such as sharp corners, and at
notches.
In ductile materials plastic deformation occurs if max y
NOTE: stress raiser effect is more critical in brittle than
ductile materials!!!

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 22
 Stress Intensity Factor
Critical stress, c, for crack propagation in a
brittle material:
2 E s E = modulus of elasticity
c s = specific surface energy
a a = the length of an internal crack

For crack extension in a brittle material:

applied > c

The stress intensity factor Kc describes the stress

distribution about a crack.
Kc is also referred to as stress intensity factor.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 23
 Stress Intensity Factor
Kc depends on this critical stress (c) for crack
propagation and crack length (a)
To allow for the finite dimensions of a structure, a
geometric Y is introduced, the stress intensity
factor becomes

Kc Y app a
Y = dimensionless parameter that depends on the crack & specimen sizes &
geometry, and type of load applied.
Kc units: MPa m , psi in

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 24
 Stress Intensity Factor
Kc Y app a

Y = 1, for a through-thickness
crack within an infinitely wide
material.
Y = 1.2 for a through-thickness
edge-crack in an infinitely wide
plate.
Width correction factors need
to be applied for finite width plate
with through-thickness crack.
Different crack geometries in
materials have different stress
intensity factors
CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 25
 Stress Intensity Factor
The local stress at the tip of the crack has
components (Modes) that will enlarge the crack.
Mode I, Mode II, Mode III KI, KII, and KIII.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 26
 Fracture Toughness (Kic)
KI at the crack tip increases linearly with increasing
applied stress for a constant crack size.
The stress level at which the crack propagates, KI
is called the critical stress-intensity, KIc. This is
what is really called the fracture toughness of the
material.
When KI, at the crack tip, reaches
KIc, the material fractures.
KIc is a material property, once is
determined, it applies to all crack
sizes

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 27
 Toughness
Ability of the material to withstand a sudden
impact (load).
Ability of a material to withstand shatter.
Toughness should not be confuse with
strength.
Roughly, toughness is represented by area
underneath stress-strain curve.
Energy to break a unit volume of material
Brittle fracture: elastic energy
Ductile fracture: elastic + plastic energy
Engineering Tensile Stress

small toughness (ceramics)

large toughness (metals)

very small toughness

(unreinforced polymers)

Engineering tensile strain, e

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 28
 Fracture Toughness Plane Strain
For thin plates KI depends on thickness and
decreases with increase in thickness.
When the specimen thickness >> crack dimension,
KI becomes independent thickness plane strain
condition KIc
Fracture Toughness

KIc

Mixed mode
fracture Plane strain fracture

Thickness

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 29
 Fracture Toughness - Observations
If a crack propagates at a critical stress level and the
plane strain conditions do not exist, the stress intensity
is just Kc and not the fracture toughness of the material,
KIc
In a material with different crack sizes:
The largest crack in the proper orientation dictates the
fracture behavior;
It would have the largest stress intensity.
Therefore: the tensile strength of a brittle material
depends on the largest crack size in the specimen
tested.
In case of brittle materials Weibull statistics should be
applied to determine the probable tensile strength.
CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 30
 Fracture Toughness -- Plane Strain
For thick specimens Kc is known as the plane strain
fracture toughness KIc:

K Ic Y app a

Experimentally it has been shown, that for plane

strain conditions the thickness of the component
must be greater or equal to a critical thickness value (B)
described by:
2
K Ic
tB B 2.5
c

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 31
 Fracture Toughness Test: Determination of KIc
Standard ASTM E-399 is used. A very sharp
crack is induced by fatigue.
Raw data: load-crack opening or displacement
P- curve
Samples machined precisely and
ground to very smooth finish

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 32
 Fracture Toughness Test: Determination of KIc
From P- curve, PQ is obtained and plug into KI
equation to obtain a provisional KQ.
If KQ meets all the required conditions then the
fracture toughness, KIc, is attained. Otherwise it is
just a another Kc for a given thickness.
Note, it is difficult to guarantee to obtain a KIc value
in such a complex test.
Brittle and very high strength materials enhance
the possibility of attaining KIc.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 33
 Fracture Toughness Stress Intensity Factor
K F Sg a
F = F(geometry, a/b)

Stress intensity factors for three cases of cracked plates under tension for different geometries.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 34
 Fracture Toughness notes

Brittle materials:
Low KIc
Susceptible to catastrophic
failure.
Ductile materials:
Fairly large KIc.
KIc decreases with increase
in, y, strain rate and
decrease in T.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 35
 Fracture Toughness Design Problem
Consider a thin walled spherical pressure vessel
of radius r and thickness t. It is subjected to an
internal pressure p and has a radial crack 2a in
its wall. Assume a plane strain condition.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 36
 Fracture Toughness Design Problem
Design 1:
Yielding of the of the wall material prior to
failure (formation of critical size crack size &
subsequent rapid crack propagation).
This means: plastic distortion of the wall may
be observed warns for release of the
pressure to avoid a catastrophic failure.
This implies that materials with large critical
crack lengths are desired.
Rank the materials of Table provided

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 37
 Fracture Toughness Design Problem
Design 1 (contd.):
It is required that the wall
stress be < y
A factor of safety N also needs
to be incorporated:

K I c Y app ac
2
1 K IC y
ac 2 ; app
Y N
app
2
N K IC
2
ac 2
Y y

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 38
 Fracture Toughness Design Problem
K I c Y app ac
2
1 K IC y
ac 2 ; app
Y N
app
2
N K IC
2
ac 2
Y y

constant
Thus, ac (Kic/y)2

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 39
 Fracture Toughness Design Problem
Design 2: (leak-before-break)
An alternative design often used with pressure vessels
is termed leak-before-break.
Allowance is made for the growth of a crack through

the thickness of the vessel wall prior to the occurrence

of rapid crack propagation =>
The crack will completely penetrate the wall without

catastrophic failure, allowing its detection by the

leaking of the pressurized fuid.
With this criterion in mind, instead of taking ac = aint.

ac = t (wall thickness of the pressure vessel).

From the Table below rank the metal alloys

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 40
 Fracture Toughness Design Problem
Design 2: (leak-before-break)
The circumferential wall stress is a function of the
pressure p in the vessel, the radius r and the thickness t:

=
2

Recall in leak-before-break criterion a = t, then:

=

=
2

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 41
 Fracture Toughness Design Problem
Design 2: (leak-before-break), contd
The stress is replaced by the yield strength because
the tank should be designed to contain the pressure
without yielding:
2
2
= 2

Thus, for a given spherical pressure vessel of radius r,

the maximum allowable pressure consistent with this
criterion is proportional to this quantity

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 42
 Fracture Toughness Design Problem
Room Temperature Properties of Ranking of Metal Alloys Relative to
Candidate Materials Maximum Allowable Pressure

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 43
 Impact Fracture Testing
Impact testing existed before fracture mechanics
tests.
Tensile tests cannot predict fracture behavior:
e.g. ductile metal may fracture abruptly with little plastic
deformation if load suddenly applied.
factors that influence brittle failure: temperature, strain
rate and triaxial stress state.
Standard tests:
Charpy and Izod.
Both measure the impact energy or notch toughness.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 44
 Impact Fracture Test
Specimen geometry.
Description of apparatus.
Differences between Charpy
and Izod.
Energy of absorption = (impact
energy): CVN energy.
Results from impact tests are
more qualitative in nature. Not Reading of
absorbed energy

used for design.

Correlation of CVN-energies
and plane strain fracture
toughness have not been
successful.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 45
 Impact Testing
Impact loading: (Charpy)
-- severe testing case
-- makes material more brittle
-- decreases toughness
Adapted from Fig. 8.12(b),
Callister & Rethwisch 8e. (Fig.
8.12(b) is adapted from H.W.
Hayden, W.G. Moffatt, and J.
Wulff, The Structure and
Properties of Materials, Vol. III,
Mechanical Behavior, John Wiley
and Sons, Inc. (1965) p. 13.)

final height initial height

46
CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 46
 Impact Testing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpGhqQvftAo

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 47
 Impact Fracture Test
93C 50C 25C 0C -196C

93C 25C

196C
Dimple and some shear
(ductile) fracture (170 ft-lb).

Charpy impact vs. temperature for SAE Mixed fracture (40 ft-lb)

1020 steel, hot-rolled.

Cleavage fracture (<1 ft-lb)

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 48
 Impact Fracture Test
Ductile-to-Brittle Transition:
Defines the change in fracture behavior and transition of
energy of absorption of the material.
It is influenced by T.
There is a difference in fracture appearance of the
broken sample: shear (ductile) vs cleavage (brittle)

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 49
 Impact Fracture Test
Ductile-to-Brittle Transition:
Criterion for specifying transition temperature.
Materials showing ductile-to-brittle behavior should
be used at Ts > transition temperature. This is to
avoid brittle or catastrophic behavior.
Not all metals display a ductile-to-brittle transition.
Most ceramics & polymers also experience d-t-b
transition. The transition temp. for ceramics is
above 1000C.

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 50
 Impact Fracture Test
Ductile-to-Brittle Transition:

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 51
 Impact Fracture Test
Tsea= 2C
Titanic disaster
The Titanic was a British passenger ship
Ductile-to-brittle
believed by experts to be unsinkable until Transition
it struck an iceberg April 14, 1912, about Temperatures
153 km (about 95 mi) south of
Newfoundland, and sank early the next
morning. Considered as one of the worst
disasters in maritime history. Of the more
than 2200 passengers and crew on board,
over 1500 died.
Sea water temperature = 2C
Tdbt> 50C

Table II. The Composition of Steels from the Titanic, a Lock Gate, and ASTM A36 Steel

Mn-S:
C Mn P S Si Cu O N Ratio

Titanic
Hull Plate 0.21 0.47 0.045 0.069 0.017 0.024 0.013 0.0035 6.8:1

Lock Gate* 0.25 0.52 0.01 0.03 0.02 0.018 0.0035 17.3:1

ASTM A36 0.20 0.55 0.012 0.037 0.007 0.01 0.079 0.0032 14.9:1

CME 470 Physical & Mechanical Properties of Materials J. Ernesto Indacochea UIC 52