A method for predicting crack growth in nonhomogeneous viscoelastic media

✍ Scribed by R. A. Schapery

• Publisher: Springer Netherlands
• Year: 1978
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 868 KB
• Volume: 14
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1573-2673
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00034690

✦ Synopsis

Equations are developed for predicting crack growth in the opening mode for quite general situations, including many quasi-static and dynamic problems involving moisture and temperature gradients in monolithic and composite materials. Except for the small zone of failing material at the crack tip, the body is assumed to be linearly viscoelastic. A method for obtaining viscoelastic stresses and displacements from elastic solutions is first described. The traction boundary condition for the crack faces is not in general satisfied by these results. However, it is shown by modifying the failure zone in the elastic problem this condition can be met, and an integral equation for the stress in the modified failure zone is derived. Approximate analysis similar to that used previously by the author in stress analysis is then employed to solve the integral equation and develop relatively simple equations for predicting crack speed; these equations relate crack speed in the viscoelastic material to stress intensity factors in a suitably defined elastic body.