Enhancing Stress Intensity Factor Reduction in Cracks Originating from a Circular Hole in a Rectangular Plate under Uniaxial Stress through Piezoelectric Actuation

Circular holes are commonly employed in engineering designs;however, they often serve as locations where cracks initiate and propagate. This paper explores a novel approach to structural repair by utilizing piezoelectric actuators. The primary focus of this study is to investigate the influence of an adhesively bonded piezoelectric actuator patch placed above a circular hole on the stress intensity factor (SIF) in an aluminium plate. The plate is subjected to uniaxial tensile stress, while the piezoelectric actuator is excited with varying voltage levels. The analysis is conducted using the finite element method (FEM), a powerful numerical technique for simulating complex structures. The study assesses the stress distribution and employs the SIF as an adequate criterion for evaluating the impact of different patch configurations. The results indicate a strong correlation between the applied voltage and the SIF. Whether the SIF increases or decreases depends on the polarization of the piezoelectric actuator. Particularly noteworthy is the finding that rectangular patches in a horizontal orientation significantly reduce the SIF compared to other patch geometries. Moreover, double-sided patches exhibit a pronounced decrease in the SIF compared to single-sided patches. In summary, this research underscores the potential of piezoelectric actuators in mitigating stress intensity in structures with circular hole with crack initiation. It offers valuable insights into the influence of applied voltage, patch geometry, and patch placement on the SIF, thereby contributing to developing effective strategies for enhancing structural integrity.

Comprehensive investigation of stress intensity factors in rotating disks containing three-dimensional semi-elliptical cracks

Initiation and propagation of cracks in rotating disks may cause catastrophic failures. Therefore, determination of fracture parameters under different working con- ditions is an essential issue. In this paper, a comprehensive study of stress intensity factors （SIFs） in rotating disks containing three-dimensional （3D） semi-elliptical cracks subjected to different working conditions is carried out. The effects of mechanical prop- erties, rotational velocity, and orientation of cracks on SIFs in rotating disks under cen- trifugal loading are investigated. Also, the effects of using composite patches to reduce SIFs in rotating disks are studied. The effects of patching design variables such as mechanical properties, thickness, and ply angle are investigated separately. The modeling and analytical procedure are verified in comparison with previously reported results in the literature.

Closed form solution of stress intensity factors for cracks emanating from surface semi-spherical cavity in finite body with energy release rate method

In this paper, a new semi-analytical and semi-engineering method of the closed form solution of stress intensity factors （SIFs） of cracks emanating from a surface semi-spherical cavity in a finite body is derived using the energy release rate theory. A mode of crack opening displacements of a normal slice is established, and the normal slice relevant functions are introduced. The proposed method is both effective and accurate for the problem of three-dimensional cracks emanating from a surface cavity. A series of useful results of SIFs are obtained.

METHOD TO CALCULATE BENDING CENTER AND STRESS INTENSITY FACTORS OF CRACKED CYLINDER UNDER SAINT_VENANT BENDING

Using the single crack solution and the regular solution of plane harmonic function, the problem of Saint_Venant bending of a cracked cylinder by a transverse force was reduced to solving two sets of integral equations and its general solution was then obtained. Based on the obtained solution, a method to calculate the bending center and the stress intensity factors of the cracked cylinger whose cross_section is not thin_walled, but of small torsion rigidity is proposed. Some numerical examples are given.

Risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder among young and middle-aged cancer patients in the intensive care unit:A casecontrol study

BACKGROUND Young and middle-aged cancer patients in intensive care unit(ICU)often suffer from stress and pressure,causing huge physical and mental damage.Currently,there is few research on post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD)among young and middle-aged cancer patients in ICU in China,and the psychological status of patients who have experienced both cancer development and ICU stay is still unclear.AIM To explore the risk factors for PTSD in young and middle-aged patients with cancer in ICU.METHODS Using convenient sampling method,we enrolled 150 young and middle-aged patients with cancer who were admitted to the ICU of our center during the period from July to December 2020.The general data of the patients and PTSDrelated indicators were collected.The Impact of Event Scale-Revised(IES-R)was used for assessing PTSD one month after the discharge from the ICU.Binary Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the independent risk factors for PTSD in these patients.RESULTS Among these 150 patients,32(21.33%)were found to be with PTSD.Binary Logistic regression analysis revealed that factors significantly associated with PTSD among young and middle-aged patients with cancer in ICU included monthly income(OR=0.24,P=0.02),planned transfers(OR=0.208,P=0.019),and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation(APACHE II)score(OR=1.171,P=0.003).CONCLUSION The low monthly income,unplanned transfers,and increased APACHE II score are the risk factors for PTSD in young and middle-aged patients with cancer in ICU.

An analytical solution for the stress field and stress intensity factor in an infinite plane containing an elliptical hole with two unequal aligned cracks

The existing analytical solutions are extended to obtain the stress fields and the stress intensity factors(SIFs) of two unequal aligned cracks emanating from an elliptical hole in an infinite isotropic plane. A conformal mapping is proposed and combined with the complex variable method. Due to some difficulties in the calculation of the stress function, the mapping function is approximated and simplified via the applications of the series expansion. To validate the obtained solution, several examples are analyzed with the proposed method, the finite element method, etc. In addition, the effects of the lengths of the cracks and the ratio of the semi-axes of the elliptical hole(a/b) on the SIFs are studied. The results show that the present analytical solution is applicable to the SIFs for small cracks.

Determination of stress intensity factor with direct stress approach using finite element analysis

In this article, a direct stress approach based on finite element analysis to determine the stress intensity factor is improved. Firstly, by comparing the rigorous solution against the asymptotic solution for a problem of an infinite plate embedded a central crack, we found that the stresses in a restrictive interval near the crack tip given by the rigorous solution can be used to determine the stress intensity factor, which is nearly equal to the stress intensity factor given by the asymptotic solution. Secondly, the crack problem is solved numerically by the finite element method. Depending on the modeling capability of the software, we designed an adaptive mesh model to simulate the stress singularity. Thus, the stress result in an appropriate interval near the crack tip is fairly approximated to the rigorous solution of the corresponding crack problem. Therefore, the stress intensity factor may be calculated from the stress distribution in the appropriate interval, with a high accuracy.

DETERMINATION OF THE DYNAMIC STRESS INTENSITY FACTORS,K_Ⅰ~d AND K_Ⅱ~d,FOR A MIXED-MODE PROPAGATING CRACK

In this paper,the dynamic propagation problem of a mixed-mode crack was studied by means of the experimental method of caustics.The initial curve and caustic equations were derived un- der the mixed-mode dynamic condition.A multi-point measurement method for determining the dy- namic stress intensity factors,K_Ⅰ~d and K_Ⅱ~d,and the position of the crack tip was developed.Several other methods were adopted to check this method,and showed that it has a good precision.Finally, the dynamic propagating process of a mixed-mode crack in a three-point bending beam specimen was investigated with our method.

METHOD TO CALCULATE STRESS INTENSITY FACTOR OF V-NOTCH IN BI-MATERIALS

Based on Zak＇s stress function, the eigen-equation of stress singularity ofbi-materials with a V-notch was obtained. A new definition of stress intensity factor for a perpendicular interfacial V-notch of bi-material was put forward. The effects of shear modulus and Poisson＇s ratio of the matrix material and attaching material on eigen-values were analyzed. A generalized expression for calculating/（i of the perpendicular V-notch of bi-materials was obtained by means of stress extrapolation. Effects of notch depth, notch angle and Poisson＇s ratio of materials on the singular stress field near the tip of the V-notch were analyzed systematically with numerical simulations. As an example, a finite plate with double edge notches under uniaxial uniform tension was calculated by the method presented and the influence of the notch angle and Poisson＇s ratio on the stress singularity near the tip of notch was obtained.

Evaluation of Stress Intensity Factors for Multiple Cracked Circular Disks Under Crack Surface Tractions with SBFEM

Stress intensity factors （SIFs） for the cracked circular disks under different distributing surface tractions are evaluated with the scaled boundary finite element method （SBFEM）. In the SBFEM, the analytical advantage of the solution in the radial direction allows SIFs to be directly determined from its definition, therefore no special crack-tip treatment is necessary. Furthermore anisotropic material behavior can be treated easily. Different distributions of surface tractions are considered for the center and double-edge-cracked disks. The benchmark examples are modeled and an excellent agreement between the results in the present study and those in published literature is found. It shows that SBFEM is effective and possesses high accuracy. The SIFs of the cracked orthotropic material circular disks subjected to different surface tractions are also evaluated. The technique of substructure is applied to handle the multiple cracks problem.

Evaluation of Stress Intensity Factors Subjected to Arbitrarily Distributed Tractions on Crack Surfaces

The stress intensity factors （SIF） considering arbitrarily distributed surface tractions are evaluated based on the sealed boundary finite element method （SBFEM）. The semi-analytical solving process for the stress intensity factors including the effects of surface tractions is presented. Provided are the numerical examples for the evaluation of mode I and Ⅱ stress intensity factors with linear and non-linear distributing forces loaded on the crack surfaces. The crack problems of anisotropy and bimaterial interface are also studied and the stress intensity factors of single-edge-cracked orthotropic material and bi-material interface problems with surface tractions are calculated. Comparisons with the analytical solutions show that the proposed approach is effective and possesses high accuracy.

Evaluation of stress intensity factors for bi-material interface cracks using displacement jump methods

The aim of the present work is to investigate the numerical modeling of interfacial cracks that may appear at the interface between two isotropic elastic materials. The extended finite element method is employed to analyze brittle and bi-material interfacial fatigue crack growth by computing the mixed mode stress intensity factors(SIF). Three different approaches are introduced to compute the SIFs. In the first one, mixed mode SIF is deduced from the computation of the contour integral as per the classical J-integral method,whereas a displacement method is used to evaluate the SIF by using either one or two displacement jumps located along the crack path in the second and third approaches. The displacement jump method is rather classical for mono-materials,but has to our knowledge not been used up to now for a bimaterial. Hence, use of displacement jump for characterizing bi-material cracks constitutes the main contribution of the present study. Several benchmark tests including parametric studies are performed to show the effectiveness of these computational methodologies for SIF considering static and fatigue problems of bi-material structures. It is found that results based on the displacement jump methods are in a very good agreement with those of exact solutions, such as for the J-integral method, but with a larger domain of applicability and a better numerical efficiency(less time consuming and less spurious boundary effect).

THE EVALUATION OF STRESS INTENSITY FACTORS OF PLANE CRACK FOR ORTHOTROPIC PLATE WITH EQUAL PARAMETER BY F2LFEM

In this paper, the evaluation of stress intensity factor of plane crack problems for orthotropic plate of equal-parameter is investigated using a fractal two-level finite element method （F2LFEM）. The general solution of an orthotropic crack problem is obtained by assimilating the problem with isotropic crack problem, and is employed as the global interpolation function in F2LFEM. In the neighborhood of crack tip of the crack plate, the fractal geometry concept is introduced to achieve the similar meshes having similarity ratio less than one and generate an infinitesimal mesh so that the relationship between the stiffness matrices of two adjacent layers is equal. A large number of degrees of freedom around the crack tip are transformed to a small set of generalized coordinates. Numerical examples show that this method is efficient and accurate in evaluating the stress intensity factor （SIF）.

STRESS INTENSITY FACTORS FOR A FINITE PLATE WITH AN INCLINED CRACK BY BOUNDARY COLLOCATION

In this paper, we combine the Muskhelishvili＇s complex variable method and boundary collocation method, and choose a set of new stress function based on the stress boundary condition of crack surface, the higher precision and less computation are reached. This method is applied to calculating the stress intensity factor for a finite plate with an inclined crack. The influence of θ （the obliquity of crack） on the stress intensity factors, as well as the number of summation terms on the stress intensity factor are studied and graphically represented.

Simulation Research on Stress Intensity Factors of Different Crack Aspect Ratios on Hollow Axles

Because of the wicked service environment of the high speed train, it is possible that the hollow axle of the train may encounter the foreign object damage and form a sharp notch. Under the fatigue loading a crack can initiate from the notch and propagate to failure. It is noted that the stress intensity factor is the control parameter of the crack propagating, for the purpose of getting the more exact propagation characteristics, the stress intensity factor is studied mainly. The service loads of hollow axles are defined, and the stress distribution of hollow axles is obtained according to the load spectrum. The semi-ellipse crack configuration is defined with three parameters： the aspect ratio, the relative depth and the relative location along the crack front. Quarter point 20-node isoparametric degenerate singular elements are used for the region near the crack tip. The finite element model of crack extension of hollow axle is created, and the crack front is dispersed which can realize orthogonal extension. Based on this the stress intensity factors of crack front were calculated, and the distribution rules of the stress intensity factors of different initial crack shapes are obtained. The conclusions are compared with that of the analytic method and they agree with each other very well, and the calculating results show that there is a close relationship between the stress intensity factor and the initial crack shape. For a round crack the stress intensity factor at the surface point increases faster than the one at the center point with the crock propagation. However, for a narrow crack, the results are in contrast with that of a round one. So, all the cracks with different shapes propagate toward to a similar shape, and they grow at this shape to end. The study may contribute to the crack propagate characteristics research.

SEMI-WEIGHT FUNCTION METHOD ON COMPUTATION OF STRESS INTENSITY FACTORS IN DISSIMILAR MATERIALS

Semi_weight function method is developed to solve the plane problem of two bonded dissimilar materials containing a crack along the bond. From equilibrium equation, stress and strain relationship, conditions of continuity across interface and free crack surface, the stress and displacement fields were obtained. The eigenvalue of these fields is lambda. Semi_weight functions were obtained as virtual displacement and stress fields with eigenvalue?_lambda. Integral expression of fracture parameters, K Ⅰ and K Ⅱ, were obtained from reciprocal work theorem with semi_weight functions and approximate displacement and stress values on any integral path around crack tip. The calculation results of applications show that the semi_weight function method is a simple, convenient and high precision calculation method.

STRESS INTENSITY FACTOR OF AN ANTI-PLANE CRACK PARALLEL TO THE WEAK/MICRO-DISCONTINUOUS INTERFACE IN A BI-FGM COMPOSITE

The problem considered is a mode Ⅲ crack lying parallel to the interface of an exponential-type functional graded material （FGM） strip bonded to a linear-type FGM substrate with infinite thickness. By applying the Fourier integral transform, the problem was reduced as a Cauchy singular integral equation with an unknown dislocation density function. The collocation method based on Chebyshev polynomials proposed by Erdogan and Gupta was used to solve the singular integral equation numerically. With the numerical solution, the effects of the geometrical and physical parameters on the stress intensity factor （SIF） were analyzed and the following conclusions were drawn： （a） The region affected by the interface or free surface varies with the material rigidity, and higher material rigidity will lead to bigger affected region. （b） The SIF of the crack in the affected region and parallel to the micro-discontinuous interface is lower than those of the weak discontinuous cases. Reducing the weak-discontinuity of the interface will be beneficial to decrease the SIF of the interface-parallel crack in the region affected by the interface. （c） The effect of the free surface on SIF is more remarkable than that of the interface, and the latter is still more notable than that of the material rigidity. When the effects of the interface and free surface are fixed, increase of the material rigidity will enhance the value of SIF.

Compensation of stress intensity factors in hollow cylinders containing several cracks under torsion by electro-elastic coating

In this article, a formulation for a hollow cylinder reinforced with an electroelastic layer is investigated. The hollow cylinder and its electro-elastic coating are under the Saint-Venant torsional loading. First, the solution to the problem containing a Volterra-type screw dislocation is obtained by using the Fourier transform. The problem is then reduced to a set of Cauchy singular integral equations by the distributed dislocation method. Finally, several examples are presented to show the effect of the electro-elastic coating on the reduction of the stress intensity factors at the crack tips.

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 con- sideration 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 dif- ferential 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 be- tween the bi-material stress intensity factor and the ratio of bi-material Young＇s modulus are given in the numerical analysis.

A fractional differential constitutive model for dynamic stress intensity factors of an anti-plane crack in viscoelastic materials

Fractional differential constitutive relationships are introduced to depict the history of dynamic stress inten- sity factors （DSIFs） for a semi-infinite crack in infinite viscoelastic material subjected to anti-plane shear impact load. The basic equations which govern the anti-plane deformation behavior are converted to a fractional wave-like equation. By utilizing Laplace and Fourier integral transforms, the fractional wave-like equation is cast into an ordinary differential equation （ODE）. The unknown function in the solution of ODE is obtained by applying Fourier transform directly to the boundary conditions of fractional wave-like equation in Laplace domain instead of solving dual integral equations. Analytical solutions of DSIFs in Laplace domain are derived by Wiener-Hopf technique and the numerical solutions of DSIFs in time domain are obtained by Talbot algorithm. The effects of four parameters α, β, b1, b2 of the fractional dif- ferential constitutive model on DSIFs are discussed. The numerical results show that the present fractional differential constitutive model can well describe the behavior of DSIFs of anti-plane fracture in viscoelastic materials, and the model is also compatible with solutions of DSIFs of anti-plane fracture in elastic materials.