A CATASTROPHE ANALYSIS ON THE STABILITY OF THE CRACK GROWTH IN THREE-POINT BENDING SPECIMENS

This paper presents an attempt at the application of catastrophe theory to the stability analysis of J-controlled crack growth in three-point bending specimens. By introducing the solutions of J-integral in the completely yielding state for the ideal plastic material, the critical condition of losing stability for the crack propagation in the specimen is obtained, based on the cusp catastrophe theory. The process of the crack growth from geometrical sense is described.

Extending application of asymmetric semi-circular bend specimen to investigate mixed mode Ⅰ/Ⅱ fracture behavior of granite

The asymmetric semi-circular bend(ASCB)specimen has been proposed to investigate the cracking behavior in different geo and construction materials and attracted the attention of researchers due to its advantages.However,there are few studies on the fracture toughness determination of rock materials.In this work,a series of fracture tests were performed with the ASCB specimens made of granite.The onset of fracture,crack initiation angle and crack propagating trajectory was analyzed in detail combined with several mixed mode fracture criteria.The influence of the crack length on the mode Ⅰ/Ⅱ fracture toughness was studied.A comparison between the fracture toughness ratios predicted by varying criteria and experimental results was conducted.The relationship between experimentally determined crack initiation angles and curves of the generalized maximum tangential stress(GMTS)criterion was obtained.The fracture process of the specimen was recorded with the high-speed camera.The shortcomings of the ASCB specimens for the fracture toughness determination of rock materials were discussed.The results may provide a reference for analysis of mixed mode I and II fracture behavior of brittle materials.

A New Method for Determining J_(IC) of High StrengthHigh Fracture Toughness Steels by SingleThree Point Bend Specimen

A single three point bend specimen compliance method for determining JIC of high strength high fracture toughness steels is presented and a formula for calculatinff J-integral is proposed as follows.It is simple and valid for high strength high fracture toughness steels. The values of JIC and KIC measured by this method are in good agreement with those measured by standard test method.

Tensile and tear-type fracture toughness of gypsum material:Direct and indirect testing methods

In this context,four specimens,i.e.(i)circumferentially notched cylindrical torsion(CNCT),(ii)circum-ferentially notched cylindrical direct tension(CNCDT),(iii)edge notch disc bend(ENDB)and(iv)three-point bend beam(3PBB),were utilized to measure the modesⅠandⅢfracture toughness values of gypsum.While the CNCT specimen provides pure modeⅢloading in a direct manner,this pure mode condition is indirectly produced by the ENDB specimen.The ENDB specimen provided lower KⅢc and a non-coplanar(i.e.twisted)fracture surface compared with the CNCT specimen,which showed a planar modeⅢfracture surface.The ENDB specimen is also employed for conducting pure modeⅠ(with different crack depths)and mixed modeⅠ/Ⅲtests.KIc value was independent of the notch depth,and it was consistent with the RILEM and ASTM standard methods.But the modeⅢfracture results were highly sensitive to the notch depth.While the fracture resistance against modeⅢwas significantly lower than that of modeⅠ,the greater work of fracture under modeⅢwas noticeable.

Determination of dynamic modeⅠfracture toughness of rock at ambient high temperatures using notched semi-circular bend method

To investigate the influence of loading rate and high temperature on the dynamic fracture toughness of rock,dynamic fracture tests were carried out on notched semi-circular bend specimens under four temperature conditions based on the split Hopkinson pressure bar system.Experimental and analytical methods were applied to investigating the effect of temperature gradient on the stress waves.A high-speed camera was used to check the fracture characteristics of the specimens.The results demonstrate that the temperature gradient on the bars will not significantly distort the shape of the stress wave.The dynamic force balance is achieved even when the specimens are at a temperature of 400°C.The dynamic fracture toughness linearly develops with the increase of loading rate within the temperature range of 25-400°C,and high temperature has a strengthening effect on the dynamic fracture toughness.