Journal Published Online: 28 February 2005
Volume 2, Issue 3

Characterization of Crack Length Measurement Methods for Flat Fracture with Tunneling

CODEN: JAIOAD

Abstract

This paper compares area-average and unloading compliance crack-growth values with experimental crack-front shapes recorded at various stages of crack growth during fracture tests conducted on 2024-T351 aluminum alloy plate. Crack-front shapes were determined by fracturing the specimen up to a predetermined amount of crack growth and fatigue cycling the specimen for about 4000 cycles at a high stress ratio to mark the crack-front location. For each shape, the area-average and unloading compliance crack lengths were determined. Boundary collocation results provide an approximation to the δ5 unloading compliance crack length. The crack tunneling results show that the area-average technique produces crack-length measurements more representative of the straight-front finite element analyses than optical based surface measurements. The δ5 technique is significantly more sensitive to tunneling than the CMOD technique and is easier to apply than the area-average technique.

Author Information

James, MA
National Institute of Aerospace, Hampton, VA
Newman, JC
Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS
Pages: 16
Price: $25.00
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Details
Stock #: JAI12053
ISSN: 1546-962X
DOI: 10.1520/JAI12053