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Chapter 4
Overview

2
 In case of LEFM (Linear elastic fracture mechanics)
is not valid, EPFM (Elastic Plastic Fracture
Mechanics) will be adopted – especially for ductile
materials.
 For ductile materials, the crack faces moves prior to
fracture and creates a blunt crack tip, this crack
opening can be used as a measure of the toughness of
the material.
 This parameter is known as Crack Tip Opening
Displacement or commonly in the form of
abbreviation CTOD – this parameter developed by
Wells.
 The displacement at the original crack tip and the
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90° intercept. These are equivalent if the crack
blunts in a semicircle.
Evolution of Crack Blunting

As crack opens under applied load

FIGURE 3.2: Estimation of CTOD from the

displacement of the effective crack in the Irwin
plastic zone correction.

area of local yielding of material Crack advances at critical

reducing the stress-concentration 4
effect value of CTOD
 The effect of a plastic zone at the crack tip is to extend the
effective length of the crack by ry - half the diameter of the
plastic zone.
 Hence the opening of the crack at it’s real tip can be
approximated from the calculated elastic displacements of the
virtual (extended) crack evaluated at a point some ry from the
virtual crack tip as shown in Figure 4.1.

Figure 4.1 : Additional crack opening as a result of plasticity at crack tip

 The CTOD is given by double the displacement uyy in the tensile direction,
for plane stress this is given by the equation:

 u yy 
KI r  q   q  3 
sin   K  1 2 cos 2   where K  for plane stress
2 2  2   2  1 
 Evaluating this at ry from the crack tip q = 180o;
K I K  1 ry
u yy 
2 2
 Substituting for the plastic zone size;
2

ry 
1  KI 
 

K  1 KI
2

2  
 ys 
gives u yy
2 2 ys

E
and substituting 
21 
Hence
2 6
4 KI
  2u yy 
E  ys
 2
4 KI
CTOD,   2u yy 
E  ys
2
K
However from Chapter 2 (LEFM); G  I
E

Or according to Dugdale model;

G R
 
m ys m ys

where m is a constant 1 for plane stress and 2 for plane strain (1< m < 3)

GC R
C  
m ys m ys
7

Where; R is work of fracture = GC at fracture

CTOD Measurement/Testing
 The main objective of the test is to determine the critical
crack at the onset of crack extension.
 This is done by measuring the displacement at the
mouth of the crack using a clip gauge.
 This procedure is detailed in the ASTM E1820 Standard
provides for CTOD measurements on both compact and
SENB specimens.
 The machine notch is precracked produced under
carefully controlled fatigue loading conditions (the rate
of stress intensity factor is between 0.5 and 2.5 MPam
s-1).
 The specimen is then gradually loaded until the
maximum load.
 Plot of the load versus the clip gauge displacement
situated close to the mouth opening is made.
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CTOD analysis using ASTM standards

loa d Pc Pu Pm
Pi
Pi
f racture f racture

(a) (b) (c)

M outh opening

Three main categories of fracture surface

Figure (a) - Fracture surface does not exhibit tearing and the final fracture occurs
under increasing load.
Figure (b) - Fracture surface exhibits tearing and the final fracture occurs under
increasing load. 9
Figure (c) - Fracture surface exhibits tearing and the final fracture occurs under
decreasing load.
Experimental determination of CTOD
 Experimental CTOD can be expressed as;
 = el + pl

 The plastic displacement at the crack

mouth, Vp is related to the plastic CTOD,
pl through similar triangles construction:
Vp
z
a

r p( W
- a)
W

P p 10
Experimental determination of CTOD cont’d

   el   pl 

K 2I 1 2  rp W  a Vp
m ys E rp W  a   a  z

Where rp is rotational factor. Experiments show that rp lies btween 0.33 to

0.48.

 el 
K I 1  2
2
 
2 ys E

rp W  a Vp
 pl 
rp W  a   a  z

PS a
KI  3
 f  11
W 
Bw 2
Experimental determination of CTOD cont’d
 The plastic component Vp is obtained from the
load-displacement curve by constructing a line
parallel to the elastic loading line as
illustrated

Load

ve
Vp

Mouth opening displacement

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EXAMPLE
A three-point bend specimen with S = 25 cm, W = 6 cm, a = 3 cm, and B = 3 cm is
used to determine the critical crack opening displacement c of a steel plate
according to British Standard BS 5762. The load-versus crack mouth displacement
(P-V) record of the test is shown in figure below. Determine the critical crack
opening displacement, c when E = 210 Gpa,  = 0.3, YS = 800 MPa

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Solution
 C   el   pl  el 
K I 1 
2
 2

2 ys E
For SENB specimen KI can be calculated as follows;
PS a
KI  3
 f 
W 
Bw 2

Where P is estimated about 31.6 kN from the graph.

a
For = 0.5, f  a  can be calculated using the formula for SENB
W W 
specimen or can be obtained from the table in section A 3.5 of ASTM
E399. 1
 a 2  a  a   a   a
2
a
a
3  1.99  1  2.15  3.93   2.7  
 w   w  w   w  w   ; hence f = 2.66
f  3
W 
W   a  a  2
21 2 1 
 w  w 

And KI can be calculated as;

KI 
31.6  10 0.25   2.66  47.7MPa
3
m
14

3
0.030.06  2
 Solution cont’d

The elastic component of the crack mouth displacement Vp

is; 47.7 2 1  0.3 2 
 el   0.006

2800  210  10 3

The plastic component of the crack
mouth displacement Vp is
determined from the test record P –
V by drawing a line from the
maximum load parallel to the linear
portion of the curve. We have Vp =
1mm. p is determined as;
0.40.06  0.03   1 10 3
p   0.286 mm
0.4  0.03  0.03
The critical crack opening displacement c is;
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 C   el   pl  0.006  0.286  0.292 mm

 J Integrals
 The J-integral represents a way to calculate the strain
energy release rate, or work (energy) per unit fracture
surface area, in a material.
 The theoretical concept of J-integral was developed in
1967 by Cherepanov and in 1968 by Jim Rice
independently, who showed that an energetic contour
path integral (called J) was independent of the path
around a crack.

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Figure 4.4 : Line integral around the crack tip – J integral

J Integrals Cont’d
 It can be evaluated experimentally by measuring the
stress strain curves for a number of identical specimens
containing cracks of different lengths and plotting the
area under the graph U for each specimen as a function
of the crack length and thus evaluating dU/dA and hence
J.
 It is the rate of energy absorbed per unit area as the
crack grows; it is not however the energy release rate
because the plastic energy is not recoverable as it would
be in the elastic case.
 There are also specific specimen geometries (deeply
double notched and notched three point bending
specimens) that allow J to be measured from a single
specimen. 17
 These experiments allow J to be plotted as a function of
the crack extension.
 J Integrals Cont’d
 Plotting two curves for specimens differing only in the
length of the crack, a and a + a, the energy required to
grow the crack is the difference in the areas under the two
graphs shaded in the Figure 4.5.
 Since the area decreases as the crack grows dU/da is
negative and J = ‐dU/da at unit thickness.
 Hence;

 Where U is the
potential energy of
the system and A
the area of the
crack.
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Figure 4.5 : Energy release rate for nonlinear deformation

 Although J = dU/dA is the same as the definition of the energy
release rate, G used earlier, the J integral for the plastic case
does not represent the energy released as the crack grows
because much of the energy used performs plastic deformation.
(LEFM, J = G; EPFM, J = R, resistance to crack growth)
 The standardised test method for determining JIC material
values;
 JIC Determination – A Procedure for the Determination of
Ductile Fracture Toughness Values Using J Integral
Techniques.
 EPFM - On the Determination of Elastic-Plastic Fracture
Material Parameters: A Comparison of Different Test
Methods
 ASTM-E1820 - Standard Test Method for Measurement of
Fracture Toughness.

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 Calculation of J for SENB specimen.
 Where;
J  J el  J pl
 Jel = elastic component of J
 Jpl = plastic component of J

J el 

K 2 1  2 
E
h pl Apl
J pl 
Bw  a 
 Where;
 hpl = 1.9 if the load-line displacement is used for Apl.
 hpl = 3.667 – 2.199 (a/w) + 0.437 (a/w)2 if the CTOD is
used for Apl.
 Validation; 20
• JQ where  YS   ult
B, w  a  25 Y 
Y 2
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 Minimum four specimens
with the same size of
fatigue crack, a/W > 0.5.
 Each specimen is loaded
to a different point on the
load displacement curve
and then unloaded.
 Crack is marked (steel
specimens - heat tinting)
to enable measurement of
stable crack growth.

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 EXERCISE
 The following data were obtained from a series of tests
on three-point bend specimens with thickness B = 30
mm and crack ligament, b = 30 mm made of a steel
with 0.2 offset yield stress = 450 MPa and ultimate
tensile stress = 550 MPa, E = 207 Gpa,  = 0.3.
 Estimate the provisional value JQ as according to ASTM
standard E1820 or equivalent.
 Check whether JQ = J1c and
 Determine the thickness for valid K1c test.

J(kJ/m2) 120 150 180 220 260 280 310 340 360

a(mm) 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.7 1.0 1.2 1.5 1.8 2.0

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