APPLICATION OF FRACTURE MECHANICS TO ORTHOTROPIC PLATES

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The Griffith-Irwin (or linear-elastic) fracture concept was used to investigate the feasibility of the application of fracture mechanics to orthotropic plates. The problem of an infinite plate containing a single crack orientated in the direction of one of the planes of elastic symmetry of the plate subjected to arbitrary plane loading was examined. Two analytical crack tip stress analyses for this case were presented, and unlike the isotropic case, the stress distributions were observed to be dependent on the material constants. However, as in the isotropic case the crack tip stress singularity was ob served to be r-1/2 and stress intensity factors k1 a and k2 a for loading symmetric and skew-symmetrical to the crack respectively could be used. Further, the existence of a functional relation between k1 and k2 was proposed. Results of the experimental investigation using balsa wood plates indicated that the critical stress intensity factors k1c and k2c were constants for tension and pure shear. Moreover, under combined tension and shear, k1c and k2c were found to be related by the function ((k1/k1c)+(k2/k2c)-sq)=1 which satisfied the physical considerations.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: