Effect of electric boundary conditions on crack propagation in ferroelectric ceramics

In this paper, the effect of electric boundary conditions on Mode I crack propagation in ferroelectric ceramics is studied by using both linear and nonlinear piezoelectric fracture mechanics. In linear analysis, impermeable cracks under open circuit and short circuit are analyzed using the Stroh formalism and a rescaling method. It is shown that the energy release rate in short circuit is larger than that in open circuit. In nonlinear analysis, permeable crack conditions are used and the nonlinear effect of domain switching near a crack tip is considered using an energy-based switching criterion proposed by Hwang et al.（Acta Metal. Mater.,1995）. In open circuit, a large depolarization field induced by domain switching makes switching much more diffcult than that in short circuit. Analysis shows that the energy release rate in short circuit is still larger than that in open circuit, and is also larger than the linear result. Consequently,whether using linear or nonlinear fracture analysis, a crack is found easier to propagate in short circuit than in open circuit, which is consistent with the experimental observations of Kounga Njiwa et al.（Eng. Fract. Mech., 2006）.     

An I-integral method for crack-tip intensity factor variation due to domain switching in ferroelectric single-crystals

In the present study, an I-integral method is established for solving the crack-tip intensity factors of ferroelectric single-crystals. The I-integral combined with the phase field model is successfully used to investigate crack-tip intensity factor variations due to domain switching in ferroelectricity subjected to electromechanical loadings, which exhibits several advantages over previous methods based on small-scale switching. First, the shape of the switching zone around a crack tip is predicted by the time-dependent Ginzburg–Landau equation, which does not require preset energy-based switching criterion. Second, the I-integral can directly solve the crack-tip intensity factors and decouple the crack-tip intensity factors of different modes based on superimposing an auxiliary state onto an actual state. Third, the I-integral is area-independent, namely, the I-integral is not affected by the integral area size, the polarization distributions, or domain walls. This makes the I-integral applicable to large-scale domain switching. To this end, the electro-elastic field intensity factors of an impermeable crack in PbTiO₃ ferroelectric single crystals are evaluated under electrical, mechanical, and combined loading. The intensity factors obtained by the I-integral agree well with those obtained by the extrapolation technique. From numerical results, the following conclusions can be drawn with respect to fracture behavior of ferroelectrics under large-scale switching. Under displacement controlled mechanical loading, the stress intensity factors (SIFs) decrease monotonically due to the domain switching process, which means a crack tip shielding or effective switching-induced toughening occurs. If an external electric field is applied, the electric displacement intensity factor (EDIF) increases in all cases, i.e., the formed domain patterns enhance the electric crack tip loading. The energy release rate, expressed by the crack-tip J-integral, is reduced by the domain switching in all examples, which underlines the switching-induced-toughening effect. In contrast, under stress controlled load, the SIF evolves due to large-scale switching to a stable value, which is higher than the non-switching initial value, i.e., fracture is promoted in this case.     

Effect of crack position on stress intensity factor in particle-reinforced metal-matrix composites

In this study, a numerical model was developed to study the effects of mechanical properties of the particle and matrix materials, the crack position (in particle/in matrix) and loading conditions (mode 1 and mixed-mode) in particle-reinforced metal-matrix composites. The finite element technique was used to calculate the stress intensity factors for crack at and near-interface. The Displacement Correlation Method was used to calculate the stress intensity factors K₁ and K₂. In the present model, the particle and matrix materials were modeled in linear elastic conditions. The interface crack was considered between the particle and matrix, without the presence of the interface. For near-interface crack problem, two different crack positions (in particle/in matrix) were selected. The obtained results show the key role on the stress intensity factors played by the relative elastic properties of the particle and matrix. The results also show that loading condition has an important effect on the K₂ stress intensity factor and the crack deflection angle.     

焊接节点半椭圆表面裂纹应力强度因子的权函数计算

本文采用一种改进的权函数法来计算焊接节点半椭圆表面裂纹应力强度因子ＫＩ值，并给出了相应的数值处理方法，就Ｔ型板节点进行了数值验算。     

Analytical solution for bending stress intensity factor in an orthotropic elastic plate containing a crack and subjected to concentrated moments

The problem of estimating the bending stress distribution in the neighborhood of a crack located on a single line in an orthotropic elastic plate of constant thickness subjected to out-of-plane concentrated moments is examined. Using classical plate theory and integral transform techniques, the general formulae for the bending moment and twisting moment in an elastic plate containing cracks located on a single line are derived. The solution is obtained in a closed form for the case in which there is a single crack in an infinite plate subjected to symmetric concentrated moments.     

多层材料结构的界面裂纹尖端复应力强度因子

本文建立了一种多层材料复合结构的界面裂纹问题分析模型。当两种材料之间插入第三种薄层弹性材料,裂纹位于第三种材料与第一或第二种弹性材料的界面上,且插页材料3~#的厚度相对于裂纹尺寸或平面内其他尺寸很小时,可以得到该问题裂纹尖端的复应力强度因子通式。本文用有限元法对结果进行了数值验证,并进行了有关问题的讨论。     

New stress intensity factor solutions of a periodic array of cracks in residual stress field

Many important applications of crack mechanics involve self-equilibrating residual or thermal stress fields. For these types of problems, the traditional fracture mechanics approach based on the superposition principle has ignored the effect of crack surface contact when the crack-tip propagates into the residual compressive region. Contact between the crack faces and the wedging action are responsible for subsequent crack-tip reopening, which often leads to a much larger mode I stress intensity factor. In this study, an analytical approach is used to study the effect of crack face contact for a period array of collinear cracks embedded in several typical residual stress fields. It is found that the nonlinear contact between crack surfaces dominates the cracking behavior in residual/thermal stress fields, which is responsible for crack coalescence.     

Variation of the stress intensity factor along the front of a 3-D rectangular crack subjected to mixed-mode load

Summary  The singular integral equation method is applied to the calculation of the stress intensity factor at the front of a rectangular crack subjected to mixed-mode load. The stress field induced by a body force doublet is used as a fundamental solution. The problem is formulated as a system of integral equations with r ⁻³-singularities. In solving the integral equations, unknown functions of body-force densities are approximated by the product of polynomial and fundamental densities. The fundamental densities are chosen to express two-dimensional cracks in an infinite body for the limiting cases of the aspect ratio of the rectangle. The present method yields rapidly converging numerical results and satisfies boundary conditions all over the crack boundary. A smooth distribution of the stress intensity factor along the crack front is presented for various crack shapes and different Poisson's ratio. Received 5 March 2002; accepted for publication 2 July 2002     

Analysis of stress intensity factor in orthotropic bi-material mixed interface crack

Adopting the complex function approach, the paper studies the stress intensity factor in orthotropic bi-material interface cracks under mixed loads. With consideration of the boundary conditions, a new stress function is introduced to transform the problem of bi-material interface crack into a boundary value problem of partial differential equations. Two sets of non-homogeneous linear equations with 16 unknowns are constructed. By solving the equations, the expressions for the real bi-material elastic constant εt and the real stress singularity exponents λt are obtained with the bi-material engineering parameters satisfying certain conditions. By the uniqueness theorem of limit,undetermined coefficients are determined, and thus the bi-material stress intensity factor in mixed cracks is obtained. The bi-material stress intensity factor characterizes features of mixed cracks. When orthotropic bi-materials are of the same material, the degenerate solution to the stress intensity factor in mixed bi-material interface cracks is in complete agreement with the present classic conclusion. The relationship between the bi-material stress intensity factor and the ratio of bi-material shear modulus and the relationship between the bi-material stress intensity factor and the ratio of bi-material Young's modulus are given in the numerical analysis.     

基于子模型法的带有表面裂纹钢丝应力强度因子研究

钢丝裂纹应力强度因子是进行钢丝疲劳断裂寿命评估、疲劳裂纹扩展分析和钢丝断裂强度评估等工作的重要参数。本文首先介绍了裂纹扩展分析软件FRANC3D,然后基于子模型法模拟研究了拉伸荷载作用下带有表面裂纹钢丝的应力强度因子,裂纹种类包括直线形裂纹和半圆形裂纹,最后拟合得到拉伸荷载作用下带表面裂纹钢丝的应力强度因子形状修正系数表达式,分析了利用该公式进行承载力评估时产生误差的原因。研究结果表明,利用子模型模拟分析拉伸荷载作用下带有表面裂纹的钢丝应力强度因子时计算精度高,计算速度快,对计算机硬件要求低;利用该方法得到的钢丝裂纹应力强度因子,在进行索承式桥梁吊索安全性能评估时,评估结果更精确。     

Electroelastic analysis of a penny-shaped crack in a piezoelectric ceramic under mode I loading

Following the theory of linear piezoelectricity, we consider the electroelastic problem for a piezoelectric ceramic with a penny-shaped crack under mode I loading. The problem is formulated by means of Hankel transform and the solution is solved exactly. The stress intensity factor, energy release rate and energy density factor for the exact and impermeable crack models are expressed in closed form and compared for a P-7 piezoelectric ceramic. Based on current findings, we suggest that the energy release rate and energy density factor criteria for the exact crack model are superior to fracture criteria for the impermeable crack model.     

The 3-D stress intensity factor for a half plane crack in a transversely isotropic solid due to the motion of loads on the crack faces

Three-dimensional analysis of a half plane crack in a transversely isotropic solid is performed. The crack is subjected to a pair of normal point loads moving in a direction perpendicular to the crack edge on its faces. Transform methods are used to reduce the boundary value problem to a single integral equation that can be solved by the Wiener-Hopf technique. The Cagniard-de Hoop method is employed to invert the transforms. An exact expression is derived for the mode I stress intensity factor as a function of time and position along the crack edge. Some features of the solution are discussed through numerical results. The project supported by the Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation and the Science Foundation of Shantou University     

Effect of electrical polarization saturation on stress intensity factors in a piezoelectric ceramic

The electric-field induced stress intensity factor in a piezoelectric medium of limited electrical polarization is evaluated based on a strip-saturation model of the Dugdale-type. Particular emphasis is placed on the effect of the saturation condition on the near tip field and the stress intensity factor. To this end, the general solution is derived in terms of the (unspecified) normal electrical displacement distribution along the saturated strip. Since the saturated strip is representative of the unknown saturated zone, the normal electrical displacement may suffer discontinuity across the saturated strip. It is found that the crack-tip field and the stress intensity factors depend on the discontinuity of the normal electrical displacement across the saturated strip although this dependency disappears in some practically important cases. A crack perpendicular to the poling axis in a general poled ferroelectric is discussed in detail to illustrate the implications of the strip-saturation model for electric-field induced cracking. The results show that some discrepancies between theory and experiments, for which the classical linear piezoelectric model gives qualitatively incorrect results, can be explained clearly in terms of the stress intensity factor given by the strip-saturation model. In particular, these results are independent of the form of the saturation condition imposed on the saturated strip.     

Stress intensity factor for an edge crack in two bonded dissimilar materials under convective cooling

The transient thermal stress crack problem for two bonded dissimilar materials subjected to a convective cooling on the surface containing an edge crack perpendicular to the interface is considered. The problem is solved using the principle of superposition and the uncoupled quasi-static thermoelasticity. The crack problem is formulated by applying the transient thermal stresses obtained from the uncracked medium with opposite sign on the crack surfaces to be the only external loads. Fourier integral transform is used to solve the perturbation problem resulting in a singular integral equation of Cauchy type in which the derivative of the crack surface displacement is the unknown function. The numerical results of the stress intensity factors are calculated for both the edge crack and the crack terminating at the interface using two different composite materials and illustrated as a function of time, crack length, coefficient of heat transfer, and the thickness ratio.     

残余应力下厚壁筒表面裂纹的应力强度因子计算

本文首先介绍了边界元法计算裂纹尖端应力强度因子的基本理论,接着利用边界元法计算了在残余应力下不同厚壁筒内表面椭圆裂纹的应力强度因子,研究了其大不随椭圆裂纹不同而变化的规律,为厚壁筒结构的设计,制造以及疲劳寿命分析提供了许多有价值的参考资料。     

Effect of Maxwell stress on a moving crack with polarization saturation region in ferroelectric solid

The focus of this work is on a generalized two-dimensional problem of a crack moving in a piezoelectric solid subjected to uniform electrical load at infinity. The novel point includes that the electric field inside the crack is taken into account when polarization saturation region exists. Based on the extended Stroh formalism and complex function method, explicit expressions of both the stress fields in the solid and electric fields inside the crack are derived by using semi-permeable crack model, respectively. Effect of Maxwell stress along the crack surface is investigated and the results are illustrated graphically. It is shown that the moving speed of the crack cannot exceed the lowest bulk wave speed. It is also found that the medium properties inside the crack and surrounding the ferroelectric solid at infinity directly affect the Maxwell stress, and as a result the Maxwell stresses are remarkable and cannot be ignored under different electric load.     

Atomistic and continuum studies of stress and strain fields near a rapidly propagating crack in a harmonic lattice

Large-scale atomistic simulations of a mode I crack propagating in a harmonic lattice are presented. The objective of this work is to study the stress and strain fields near a rapidly propagating mode I crack. The asymptotic continuum mechanics solutions of the elastic fields are compared quantitatively with molecular-dynamics simulation results for different crack velocities. It is observed that both atomistic stress and atomistic strain can be successfully related to the corresponding continuum quantities. The study reveals that the atomistic simulation results agree well with the continuum theory predictions, which suggests that the continuum theory can be applied for nano-scale dynamic problems.     

Analysis of the electromechanical behavior of ferroelectric ceramics based on a nonlinear finite element model

A nonlinear finite element (FE) model based on domain switching was proposed to study the electromechanical behavior of ferroelectric ceramics. The incremental FE formulation was improved to avoid any calculation instability. The problems of mesh sensitivity and convergence, and the efficiency of the proposed nonlinear FE technique have been assessed to illustrate the versatility and potential accuracy of the said technique. The nonlinear electromechanical behavior, such as the hysteresis loops and butterfly curves, of ferroelectric ceramics subjected to both a uniform electric field and a point electric potential has been studied numerically. The results obtained are in good agreement with those of the corresponding theoretical and experimental analyses. Furthermore, the electromechanical coupling fields near (a) the boundary of a circular hole, (b) the boundary of an elliptic hole and (c) the tip of a crack, have been analyzed using the proposed nonlinear finite element method (FEM). The proposed nonlinear electromechanically coupled FEM is useful for the analysis of domain switching, deformation and fracture of ferroelectric ceramics.The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10025209, 10132010 and 90208002), the Research Grants of the Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (HKU7086/02E) and the Key Grant Project of the Chinese Ministry of Education (0306)     

Effect of the compliant interlayer on the dynamic stress intensity factor in a piecewise-homogeneous solid with a circular crack

The dynamic behavior of a circular crack in an elastic composite consisting of two dissimilar half-spaces connected by a thin compliant interlayer is studied. One half-space contains a defect aligned perpendicular to the interlayer; the defect surfaces are loaded by normal harmonic forces, which ensures the symmetry of the stress-strain state. The thin interlayer is modeled by conditions of a nonideal contact of the half-spaces. The problem is reduced to a boundary integral equation with respect to the function of dynamic opening of the defect. The numerical solution of this equation yields frequency dependences of the mode I stress intensity factor in the vicinity of the crack for different values of interlayer thickness and relations between the moduli of elasticity of the composite components. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 197–207, May–June, 2008.     

Anti-plane stress intensity, energy release and energy density at crack tips in a functionally graded strip with linearly varying properties

The fracture problem of a crack in a functionally graded strip with its properties varying in a linear form along the strip thickness under an anti-plane load is considered. The embedded anti-plane crack is located in the middle of strip half way through the thickness. The third mode stress intensity factor is derived using two different methods. In the first method, by employing Fourier integral transforms, the governing equation is converted to a singular integral equation, which is subsequently solved numerically by the collocation method based on Chebyshev polynomials. Then, the problem is solved by means of finite element method in which quadrilateral 8-node singular elements around each crack tip are used. After inspecting the validity of the solution technique, effects of crack geometry and non-homogeneous material parameter on the stress intensity, energy release and energy density are studied and the results of analytical and FEM solutions are compared.