SEDL / STP / STP945-EB / STP23235S

The Stress Field Surrounding a Rapidly Propagating Curving Crack

Shukla, A
Associate professor, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI

Chona, R
Assistant professor, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

Pages: 14    Published: Jan 1988

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Abstract

Results are presented from experiments conducted with a cross-shaped, biaxial fracture specimen which was eccentrically loaded to obtain rapid crack propagation along a curved path. High-speed photographs of the crack-tip isochromatic patterns were analyzed to obtain the leading coefficients of the dynamic, mixed-mode, crack-tip stress field expressed in series form. Values of K^II associated with the propagating crack were found to be essentially zero when compared with the dominant opening mode stress intensity factor, K^I.