Mode-I fracture toughness testing of thick section FRP composites using the ESE(T) specimen

Experimental and numerical analyses are performed to determine the translayer mode-I fracture toughness of a thick-section fiber reinforced polymeric composite using the eccentrically loaded, single-edge-notch tension, ESE(T) specimen. Finite element analyses using the virtual crack closure technique were performed to assess the effect of material orthotropy on the mode-I stress intensity factors in the ESE(T) specimen. The stress intensity factors for the proposed ESE(T) geometry, are calculated as a function of the material orthotropic parameters. The formula is validated for a class of thick composite materials. The thick composite tested in this study is a pultruded composite material that consists of roving and continuous filament mat layers with E-glass fiber and polyester matrix materials. Data reduction from the fracture tests was performed using two methods based on existing metallic and composite ASTM [ASTM E 1922, Standard Test Method for Translaminar Fracture Toughness of Laminated Polymer Matrix Composites, Annual Book of ASTM Standards, 1997; ASTM E 399, Standard Test Method for Plane-Strain Fracture Toughness of Metallic Materials, Annual Book of ASTM Standards, 1997] fracture testing standards. Criteria for assessing test validity and for determining the critical load used in calculating the fracture toughness were examined. Crack growth measurements were performed to determine the amount of stable crack growth before reaching critical load. The load versus notch mouth opening displacement, for different crack length to width ratios is affected by material orthotropy, nonlinearity, and stable crack propagation. The mode-I translayer fracture toughness and response during crack growth is reported for ESE(T) specimen with roving layers oriented both, transverse and parallel to the loading direction.     

Determining double-K fracture parameters of concrete for compact tension and wedge splitting tests using weight function

The paper presents use of universal form of weight functions for determining the double-K fracture parameters and on compact test and wedge splitting test specimens. The proposed method enables to obtain a closed form expression of cohesion toughness of concrete specimens. A comparison with existing analytical method shows that the weight function method for determination of double-K fracture parameters yields results without any appreciable error. Significant influence of initial notch to depth (a₀/D) ratio on the double-K fracture parameters is not also observed. Finally, a possible definition of brittleness of concrete using double-K fracture parameters is proposed.     

Green’s function for KI determination of axisymmetric elastic solids containing external circular crack

A new Green’s function is derived to determine the mode-I stress intensity factor for axisymmetric solids containing external circular crack. The formulated boundary integral equation is applied to a finite cylindrical bar with an external crack, and the obtained solution is compared with existing published results, indicating good agreement. The proposed method compared with the finite element method or the conventional application of the boundary element method provides the following main advantages: (a) it does not require discretization of the crack surface, (b) it does not require multi-region modeling and (c) it reduces the 3-D discretization of the solid to 1-D resulting in substantially reduced effort.     

Acoustic emission method to study fracture (Mode-I,II) and residual strength characteristics in composite-to-metal and metal-to-metal adhesively bonded joints

Failure behaviour of two types of adhesively bonded joints (composite-to-metal, metal-to-metal) has been studied under failure modes (Mode I: double cantilever beam (DCB) and Mode II: three-point end notch flexures (3-ENF)) using acoustic emission (AE) technique. The bonded specimens were prepared using two types of adhesive bond materials with three variations of adhesive bond quality. The effect of the presence of interfacial defects along the interface on the residual strength of the joint has also been studied. It was possible using the maximum AE amplitude method to select the AE events of mechanical significance. However, it proved difficult to propose a definitive AE trait for the mechanical phenomena occurring within specific AE event signals, for all adhesive types, bond qualities, and substrate configurations, therefore, all specimen combinations. There was a notable shift in spectral energy proportion as the AE source of mechanical significance varied along the specimen length for specimen combinations. However, it was difficult to confirm this distinctive trait for all specimen combinations due to difficulty in confirming the location and exact mechanical source. The proposed measurement technique can be useful to assess the overall structural health of a bonded system and may allow identification of defects.     

The Effect of Gravity on Plane Waves in a Rotating Thermo-Microstretch Elastic Solid for a Mode-I Crack with Energy Dissipation

The present article is aimed at studying the effect of gravity on the general model of the equations of generalized thermo-microstretch for a homogeneous isotropic elastic half-space solid rotating about the fixed axis of rotation and whose surface is subjected to a Mode-I crack problem considered. The problem is in the context of the Green and Naghdi theory (GN). The normal mode analysis is used to obtain the exact expressions for the displacement components, force stresses, temperature, couple stresses, and microstress distribution. The variations of the considered variables perpendicular to the axis of rotation are illustrated graphically. Comparisons are made with the results in the presence and absence of gravity and rotational frequency of a particular case for the generalized micropolar thermoelasticity elastic medium (without microstretch constants) between the two types (II, III).     

Tapered beam on elastic foundation model for compliance rate change of TDCB specimen

A modified beam theory is developed to predict compliance rate change of tapered double cantilever beam (TDCB) specimens for mode-I fracture of hybrid interface bonds, such as polymer composites bonded to wood. The analytical model treats the uncracked region of the specimen as a tapered beam on generalized elastic foundation (TBEF), and the effect of crack tip deformation is incorporated in the formulation. A closed-form solution is obtained to compute the compliance and compliance vs. crack length rate change. The present TBEF model is verified with finite element analyses and experimental calibration data of compliance for wood-wood and wood-composite bonded interfaces. The compliance rate change can be used with experimental critical fracture loads to determine the respective critical strain energy release rates or fracture toughness of interface bonds. The present analytical model, which accounts for the crack tip deformation, can be efficiently and accurately used for compliance and compliance rate-change predictions of TDCB specimens and reduce the experimental calibration effort that is often necessary in fracture studies. Moreover, the constant compliance rate change obtained for linear-slope TDCB specimens can be applied with confidence in mode-I fracture tests of hybrid material interface bonds.     

Mode I delamination toughness of laminated composites with through-thickness reinforcement

Through-thickness reinforcement is an effective way to suppress delamination in laminated composites. Micromechanics based models are developed to study the effect of through-thickness reinforcement (stitching) in improving the Mode I delamination crack growth resistance of laminated composites. In the development of these models, two types of stitch geometries are considered. In the first case, the stitches are assumed disconnected as in many cases the top and the bottom surfaces of the stitched laminates are ground off to remove surface in-plane waviness caused by stitching loops. The force in the stitches in this case is estimated from frictional bonding between stitches and the matrix. In the second case, interconnected stitches are considered and the force carried by the stitches is modelled as Winkler elastic foundation type of stress-separation relation. The effect of stitches is expressed in terms of a single stitching parameter Gl or Gb and closed form analytical expressions for the crack-growth resistance (K _R (a)) are obtained. The effects of the stitching parameter and various geometric and material properties are examined.On leave at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong.     

Influence of specimen geometry on determination of double-K fracture parameters of concrete: a comparative study

Comparative study on analytical method, simplified method and weight function approach for determination the double-K fracture parameters using three-point bend and compact tension tests specimen geometries is presented in the paper. The input data required for numerical calculations are obtained using Fictitious Crack Model. The study reports that the double-K fracture parameters computed depends on factors such as initial-notch length/depth ratios, specimen geometry and size-effect. In addition, it is demonstrated that the use of weight function will further improve the computational efficiency without loss of accuracy.