PRINCIPLES OF LINEAR

ELASTIC FRACTURE
MECHANICS (LEFM)

Chapter 2

OVERVIEW

Type

of Loading Modes

Stress Intensity Factor Approach

Experimental Determination of
Fracture Toughness

Energy Balance Approach Strain
Energy Release Rate

Limitation of LEFM and Kdominance

Case Studies

Type of Loading Modes

In general a crack in a body may be loaded in one or combination of any three different
modes. These are classified as:

Mode I: Opening

Mode II: In-Plane Shear,

Sliding

Mode III: Out-of-Plane Shear,

Tearing

In mode I loading, the principal load is applied normal to the crack plane and tends
to open the crack, the displacements of the crack surfaces are perpendicular to the
crack plane.

Mode II or the sliding mode is resulted from in-plane shear, tends to slide one crack
face with respect to the other, the displacement of the crack surfaces is in plane of
the crack and perpendicular to the leading edge of the crack.

Mode III is caused by out-of-plane shear. The crack surface displacements are in
plane with the crack and parallel to the leading edge of the crack.

Mode I is technically the most important since it is the most severe loading
condition that a crack can be subjected.

Analysis of cracked body

In deriving the solutions, there are two
alternative approaches:
the stress intensity/concentration approach,
and

the energy balance approach.

Both approaches are equivalent in certain

circumstances as demonstrated later in
the course

Stress--intensity Approach
Stress

The stressstress-intensity (concentration) factor (K) is used to

determine the fracture toughness of most materials.
A stress concentration is a site on the surface or in a
material where;

the stress is locally greater than the nominal gross
stress.

the lines of force bunch together is an area of high stress.
The severity of a particular stress concentration depends on
the; geometry and the type of loading.

Saint--Venants Principle
Saint

Saint-Venants principle states that both localized

deformation and stress tend to even out at a distance
sufficiently removed from these regions.

Stress Concentration

Stress distribution near circular

hole in flat bar under axial loading.

Stress distribution near fillets in flat bar

under axial load loading.

When a structural member contain a discontinuity, such as hole or a sudden change

in cross section, high localised stresses may occur near the discontinuity.
However the information are only useful for the specific design only
Hence the ratio of stress is used;
; Dimensionless, no unit
This ratio, K is referred stress concentration factor for the given discontinuity.
K may be computed once and for all in terms of ratios of the geometric parameters
involved.
The results obtained may be expressed in the form of tables of graphs.

Stress Concentration Factor (K)

Example 2.1:
Determine the largest axial load P that can be safely supported by
a flat steel bar consisting of two portions both 10 mm thick and
respectively, 40 mm and 60 mm wide, connected by fillets of radius
r = 8 mm. Assume an allowable normal stress of 165 MPa.

Solution 2.1
Compute the ratios;

From the graph, K = 1.82

Given that;
max = cannot exceed 165 Mpa

Recalling that;
9

P = 36.3 kN

Stress Concentration Factor (K)

The presence of sharp corners, notches, or cracks serves to concentrate the applied
stress at these points.
Inglis showed, using elasticity theory, that the degree of stress magnification at the
edge of the hole in a stressed plate depended on the radius of curvature of the hole.
The smaller the radius of curvature, the greater the stress concentration.
Inglis found that the stress concentration factor, K, for an elliptical hole is equal
to:
K = 1+ 2

Contd

........ Eq. 2.2a

where c is the hole radius and is the radius of

curvature of the tip of the hole.
For a very narrow elliptical hole, the stress
concentration factor may be very much greater than
one.
For a circular hole, Eq. 2.2a gives K = 3 (as shown in
Fig. 2.2.1). It should be noted that the stress
concentration factor does not depend on the absolute
size or length of the hole but only on the ratio of the
size to the radius of curvature.

10

Stress--intensity Factor (K)

Stress

Most cracks are long and have sharp tip.

Equations that describe the elastic stress field in the vicinity of a crack tip
for tensile stresses normal to the plane of the crack (Mode I deformation)
formulated by Irwin and Williams (1957).
Equation 1;

x =

3
cos 1 sin sin
2
2
2
2r

y =

3
cos 1 + sin sin
2
2
2
2r

xy =

3
sin cos cos
2
2
2
2r

= applied stress

z = 0 ...plane strain (thin sheet)

z = (x+y) ...plane stress (thick sheet)

11

Stress--intensity Factor (K) Contd

Stress
Previous equations show that all the stresses tend to
infinity at r = 0 (at the crack tip) and are products of the
1
geometrical position 2r f ( ) and a factor a .

This factor is called the mode I Stress intensity factor,

K I = a

Hence equation 1 became

KI
3

cos 1 sin sin

2
2
2
2r
KI
3

cos 1 + sin sin

y =
2
2
2
2r
KI
3

sin cos cos

xy =
2
2
2
2r

x =

Equation 2
12

Examples 2.2
If a through crack of dimension 2.5 cm is placed in
the material and fracture takes place at a stress of
700 MPa. What is the critical stress intensity factor
of this material?
Solution

K I = a

= 700 10 6 2.5 10 2
= 196.2 MPa m

Stress--intensity Factor (K) Contd

Stress

Solution for stress intensity factor in Equation 2

is valid only for an infinite plate.
Stress intensity factor depends on the applied
stress, the crack shape, size, and
orientation, and the structural
configuration of structural components.
A Roman numeral subscript indicates the mode of
fracture and the three modes of fracture are
illustrated in the image to the right.
The stress intensity factor for finite plate may
be represented by the following equation:
K I = C a

KI is the fracture toughness in

is the applied stress in MPa or psi
a is the crack length in meters or inches
C is a crack length and component geometry factor that is different for each specimen,
dimensionless.

14

Stress--intensity Factor (K)

Stress

Contd

Stress intensity values of plate with finite width for

some typical cases are given as;
Centre cracked plate
Fracture Mechanics H.L Ewalds & R.J.H Wanhill
Wanhill,, Edward Arnold, 1985

K I = C a
Brown
2

a
a
a
C = 1 + 0.256 1.152 + 12.2
w
w
w

Feddersen
a
C = sec
w
Dixon
C=

1
2a
1
w

15

Stress--intensity Factor (K) Contd

Stress

16

Example 2.2:

Solution:

17

Example 2.3:

18

Critical StressStress-intensity Factor, KC

All brittle materials contain a population of small
cracks and flaws that have a variety of sizes, geometries
and orientations.

When the magnitude of a tensile stress at the tip of one
of these flaws exceeds the value of this critical stress, a
crack forms and then propagates, leading to failure.

Condition for crack propagation:
K Kc

Stress Intensity Factor:

--Depends on load & geometry.

Fracture Toughness:
--Depends on the material, temperature,
environment & rate of loading.

If K becomes KC, then crack propagate.

KIC ; plane strain fracture toughness; normally reported
19
as material property

Fracture toughness - good diagrams

http://www.ndt-ed.org/EducationResources/CommunityCollege/Materials/Mechanical/FractureToughness.htm

K - Parameters

Stress Concentration factor (Dimensionless)

max
Kt =
ave

Stress Intensity factor ( Pa.m1/2 / Pa.m)

K I = a

Critical Stress Intensity factor or Fracture

Toughness ( Pa.m1/2 / Pa.m)

K IC = f a

20

Fracture Toughness
is the ability that a material possesses to absorb
energy in the presence of a flaw.

21

increasing yield strength generally implies decreasing fracture toughness.

Design Against Crack Growth

Crack growth condition: K Kc
C a
Largest, most stressed cracks grow first.
--Result 1: Max flaw size
dictates design stress.

design <

Kc
C amax

--Result 2: Design stress

dictates max. flaw size.

amax

1 K c
<
C design

amax

fracture
no
fracture

fracture

amax

no
fracture

22

Uses of PlanePlane-Strain Fracture Toughness

KIC values are used to determine the critical crack length when a given stress is
applied to a component.

KIC values are also used to calculate the critical stress value when a crack of a
given length is found in a component.

Where:

c
KIC

is the critical applied stress that will cause failure

is the plane-strain fracture toughness

is a constant related to the sample's geometry

is the crack length for edge cracks

or one half crack length for internal crack

is the stress applied to the material

23

Problems:
1. A large sheet containing a 50 mm long crack fractures when loaded to 500 MPa. Determine
the fracture load of a similar sheet with a 100 mm crack. [ 354 MPa ]
2. Rocket motor casings may be fabricated from either of two steels ; (a) low alloy steel, yield
1.2 GPa, toughness 70 MPam, (b) maraging steel, yield 1.8 GPa, toughness 50 MPam .
The relevant Code specifies a design stress of yield/1.5.
Calculate the minimum defect size which will lead to brittle fracture in service for each
material. [ 4.9, 1.1 mm ]
3. Consider a plate with an edge crack (see figure). The plate thickness is such that a plane strain
condition is present. Given: W = 1000 mm, stress intensity factor KI = C a where C =
1.12

Answer the next questions for the three materials given in the table above:
a) Does fracture occur at a stress = 2/3 ys and a crack length a = 1 mm?
b) What is the critical defect size at a stress = 2/3 ys ?
c) What is the maximum stress for a crack length a = 1 mm without permanent
consequences?

24

[ Yes, no, no, 0.59, 1.6, 2.47 mm, 756, 1461, 500 N/mm2 ]

Problems: contd
5. A noted philanthropist offers you the chance to earn 50 000 by simply hanging from a rope for
just one minute. The rope is attached to a sheet of glass which is 300 cm long by 10 cm wide and
0.127 cm thick. Complicating the situation are: The glass sheet contains a central crack with a
length of 1.62 cm that is orientated parallel to the ground and perpendicular to the longest side of
the glass sheet. The fracture toughness of the glass is known to be 0.83 MPa m1/2. The rope is
suspended over a deep pit containing rather annoyed green mamba snakes. Would you try for the
pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? [ ???]
6. A welded structure is to be fabricated from large sheets of 0.45C-Ni-Cr-Mo steel. The
detection limit of available NDT techniques limits the critical defect size to sizes > 3 mm,
as cracks smaller than this are not detectable. A design stress level of half the tensile
strength is proposed. To save weight in the structure it has been suggested that the steel
could be heat treated to a higher tensile strength level.
The current grade has a tensile strength of 1520 MPa,
and a candidate replacement grade has a 2070 MPa
strength level. Is this change supportable in fracture
mechanics terms? You may assume plane strain
conditions in all computations, and Figure 3
indicates the relationship between fracture toughness
and tensile strength for this steel. Compare the
allowable stress levels, and hence weights, in both
grades of steel for an allowable initial defect size of
approximately 5 mm.

25

Figure 3

Experimental Determination
of Fracture Toughness

KIC fracture toughness of material is obtained by determining the ability of

material to withstand the load in the presence of a sharp crack before failure.
The standardised test method for determining KIC material values;

ASTM-E399 - Standard Test Method for Plane-Strain Fracture
Toughness of Metallic Materials.

ASTM 5045 - Standard Test Methods for Plane-Strain Fracture
Toughness and Strain Energy Release Rate of Plastic Materials.
Four steps of KIC determination;

Specimen preparation
Testing procedure
Calculation of KIC value
Validation of KIC value

26

Specimen preparation

The recommended KIC specimen are illustrated in Figure 3;

Fatigue pre-cracking by applying fatigue load at a controlled
condition of small load and amplitude to obtain a sharp
fatigue pre-crack to ensure high stress distribution ahead of
the crack tip.

27

Compact tension (CT) specimen

single edge notch

bend (SENB or
three-point bend)
28

Specimen preparation

Three general ways of sizing test specimens before the required KIC is
actually obtained;

Overestimate KIC on the basis of experience with similar materials and
empirical correlation with other types of notch toughness test, e.g
Charpy impact test.

Use specimen that have as large a thickness as possible.

For high strength materials the ratio of ys/E can be used according to
the following table;

For engineering metal

20 < KIC < 200 MPam
For engineering
polymers and ceramics
1 < KIC < 5 MPam
29

SPECIMEN CONFIGURATIONS

30

Testing procedure
The usual practice is to machine a notch with certain
geometry and size in the specimen and then produce a
fatigue crack in the root of the notch by cycle-loading the
specimen.

The experiments are usually performed using servohydraulic mechanical testing machines equipped with
autographic instrumentation to record load and
displacement.

Displacement is usually measured using a clip gauge
which is mounted at the mouth of the machined notch

SEB testing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr84akWDS8A

CT testing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2wtVLYXzDI

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Calculation of KIC value

If the load/displacement
behaviour shows some
degree of nonlinearity as
depicted in Figure 7.13 (Type
I). This effect can be
attributed to limited stable
crack extension or the plastic
zone growth prior to instability.
In this situation, failure is
defined as 2% crack growth,
which in normal specimen types
would result in a deviation from
a linear trace off about 5%.
Thus, the intersection off a line with a 5% smaller slope than the elastic line
with the load-displacement curve is considered as the critical load.
Type II curve, a small amount of unstable crack growth (pop in) occurs, PQ is
defined at the pop-in.
If the specimen fails in a linear brittle manner,
Type III, the failure load PQ = Pmax is used to
calculate KIQ.

K IQ

PS a
= Q 3 f
w
BW 2

32

Validation of KIC value

Since the stress distribution under the notch varies due to specimen
thickness, which also affect toughness of materials of different test
specimen dimensions.
Due to the criterion for brittle fracture in the presence of the notch, the
plane strain condition, is required for the validation of fracture
toughness KIC values. If the following criterion is met;

K IQ

B,W ao , ao 2.5

ys

Then KIQ is considered as KIC.

33
Ref: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2yEgXW1RBs

Plane Stress and Plane Strain

For thin samples, the value KC decreases with increasing sample thickness, B,
as shown by Figure 1
KC becomes independent of B, at this point the sample is said to be under the
conditions of plane strain.
This fixed value of KC becomes known as the plane strain fracture toughness,
KIC.
Plane Strain - a condition of a body in which the displacements of all points in
the body are parallel to a given plane, and the values of theses displacements
do not depend on the distance perpendicular to the plane. There is zero strain
perpendicular to both the stress axis and the direction of crack propagation;
this condition is found in thick plates, and the zero-strain direction is
perpendicular to the plate surface.
Plane Stress - a condition of a
body in which the state of stress
is such that two of the principal
stresses are always parallel to a
given plane and are constant in
the normal direction.

34

Energy Balance Approach

o

Total Strain Energy of an elastic loaded cracked plate is;

U = U o + U a + U F

Crack growth instability will occur as U

no longer increases with increasing crack
length a, hence;
dU
0
da
Since UO is constant;
d
(Ua + U F ) 0
da
Rearrange;
dU
d
(F Ua )
da
da

Total energy, U

Where; UO = elastic energy content of the loaded uncracked plate (a constant).

Ua = change in the elastic strain energy caused by introducing the crack in the
plate.
U = change in elastic surface energy caused by the formation of the crack
surfaces.
F = work performed by external forces.
Instability, dU = 0
da

UO

Crack length, a

Variation of total energy U as a function

of crack length a

35

Energy Balance Approach contd

o

dF/da - represents the energy provided by the external work F

dF/
perunit crack extension.
dUa/da - is the increase of elastic energy owing to the external
work dF
dF//da
da..
d
Hence da (F Ua ) is the amount of energy that remains available for
crack extension.
Meanwhile dU represents the elastic surface energy of the crack
da
surfaces.
If elastic energy release rate, G per unit thickness;
G=

The crack resistance, R perunit thickness as;

R=

o
o

Hence;
dU
d
(F Ua )
da
da

d
(F Ua )
da

dU
da
36

can be rewritten as

GR

Energy Balance Approach contd

o

Griffith showed that change in the elastic strain energy due to crack;
crack;
Ua =

U a = 1

2a 2
E

2a 2
E

- for plane stress (z = yz = xz = 0)

- for plane strain (
(z = 0)

For constant load condition dF

dF//da = 0;

Hence

Differentiating the equation for a half crack length a;

G=

d
(F Ua ) G = dUa
da
da

G=

o
o
o

G = 1

2a
E

2a
E

- for plane stress

- for plane strain, since K I = a

The relation between G and KI

2

K
G= I
E

K
G = I 1 2
E

- for plane stress

) - for plane strain

37

Limitation of LEFM and KK-dominance

In order to ensure the applicability of LEFM, the plastic zone size needs to
be small compared to the crack length.
One basic assumption in Irwin's linear elastic fracture mechanics is small
scale yielding, the condition that the size of the plastic zone is small
compared to the crack length.
However, this assumption is quite restrictive for certain types of failure in
structural steels though such steels can be prone to brittle fracture, which
has led to a number of catastrophic failures.
Some materials are not perfectly elastic but undergo significant plastic
deformation at the tip of a crack.

K Iq
B, W ao , ao 2.5

ys

38

Case Study 11- Brittle Fracture of Liberty Ship

o Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II.
o Early Liberty ships suffered hull and deck cracks, and a few were lost to such
structural defects.

39

Case Study 11- Brittle Fracture of Liberty Ship

o During World War II, there were nearly 1,500 instances of significant brittle
fractures.
o Twelve ships, including three of the 2,710 Liberties built (between 1941 and
1945), broke in half without warning.
o The ships in the North Atlantic were exposed to temperatures that could fall
below a critical point when the mechanism of failure changed from ductile to
brittle, and thus the hull could fracture rather easily.
o The predominantly welded (as opposed to riveted) hull construction then
allowed cracks to run for large distances unimpeded.
o One common type of crack nucleated at the square corner of a hatch which
coincided with a welded seam, both the corner and the weld acting as stress
concentrators.
o Furthermore, the ships were frequently grossly overloaded and some of the
problems occurred during or after severe storms at sea that would have placed
any ship at risk.
40

Case Study 22- Aloha Airlines Flight

243 (1988)
o Flight suffered extensive damage after an explosive
decompression in flight, but was able to land safe.
o Only 1 fatality.

41

Case Study 22- Aloha Airlines Flight

243 Contd
o A small section on the left side of the roof ruptured with a
"whooshing" sound.
o The door to the cockpit was gone so the Captain could look
behind him and see blue sky.
o A major portion of the upper crown skin and structure of section
43 separated in flight causing an explosive decompression of the
cabin.
o Investigation by the United States National Transportation Safety
Board (NTSB) concluded that the accident was caused by metal
fatigue exacerbated by crevice corrosion.
o The plane was 19 years old and operated in a coastal
environment, with exposure to salt and humidity.
42
o The quality of inspection and maintenance programs were
deficient.

Case Study 22- Aloha Airlines Flight

243 Contd
o Fuselage failure initiated in the lap joint along S-10L; the
failure mechanism was a result of multiple site fatigue
cracking of the skin adjacent to rivet holes along the lap
joint upper rivet row and tear strap disbond which negated
the fail-safe characteristics of the fuselage.
o Finally, the fatigue cracking initiated from the knife edge
associated with the countersunk lap joint rivet holes; the
knife edge concentrated stresses that were transferred
through the rivets because of lap joint disbonding.
o Fuselage failed at multiple points at once.
43

Case Study 33- MRR2 (2004(2004-2008)

oThe Kepong Flyover was reported to be faulty because 31 of 33
pillars supporting the flyover were reported to have obvious
cracks.

44

Case Study 33- MRR2 Contd

oInvestigations were held by the government and as a result,
Kepong Flyover was closed to traffic and then reopened with
only 4 out of 6 lanes.

45

Case Study 33- MRR2 Contd

o Initial findings by PWD suggested that the temporary
hoisting crane mounted on the permanent RC structural
piers to launch the precast beams to the bridge decks could
have exerted pressure on the concrete crossbeams and
caused the cracks.
o In its report to the parliamentary Public Accounts
Committee, the department said its preliminary checks
found that the structure at the 11th package of the MRR II
was found to be unstable because of the strain and caused
the beams to split at three sections.
46

Case Study 33- MRR2 Contd

o Halcrow (consultant) - found a rare phenomenon - the
expansion of a chemical compound (ettringite), had caused
serious cracks. Recommendation - to waterproof the bridge
immediately, so that the delayed ettringite formation would not
result in further cracks.
o Ettringite is usually found in cement, it does no harm. But,
under rare conditions such as during concrete hardening,
temperature reaching over 70oC in the presence of sulphate and
plenty of water, ettringite is formed, expanding dangerously.
o If all the cracks are not water proofed, more water seeps into
them, aggravating the situation.
47

Other Failure ?

48

Sinking of Titanic ?

49

50