Closure of plane‐strain cracks under large‐scale yielding conditions

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Abstract
This paper presents computational and theoretical investigations of the plasticity‐induced crack‐closure of a plane‐strain crack under large‐scale yielding conditions. Solutions of the crack‐tip opening displacements for a stationary crack and a growing fatigue crack have been obtained using the finite element method. The self‐similar crack‐closure model has been extended to the plane strain case by introducing two plastic constraint factors: one for tension yielding and the other for compression yielding. These two plastic constraint factors are identified by matching the model predictions with the computational results. It is shown that the first constraint factor decreases rapidly with the applied stress while the second constraint factor is approximately equal to unity. The findings of this study allow the cohesive‐zone based crack‐closure model to be extended to plane‐strain cracks, especially under large‐scale yielding conditions.

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