Orthogonal crack approaching an interface

• Published in: Engineering fracture mechanics Vol. 76; no. 16; pp. 2476 - 2485
• Main Authors: Dyskin, A.V., Caballero, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: Crack tip; Crack–interface interaction; Exact sciences and technology; Fracture mechanics (crack, fatigue, damage...); Frictionless interface; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Penalty coefficients; Physics; Solid mechanics; Static elasticity (thermoelasticity...); Structural and continuum mechanics; Zero-thickness interface elements; Crack tip; Frictionless interface; Crack–interface interaction; Zero-thickness interface elements; Penalty coefficients; Stress concentration; Solid solid interface; Mechanical properties; Simple support; Crack arrest; Modeling; Crack propagation; Finite element method; Crack-interface interaction; Uniform load; Interface crack
• ISSN: 0013-7944; 1873-7315
• DOI: 10.1016/j.engfracmech.2009.08.009

We consider the problem of a tensile crack approaching a sliding interface in the direction normal to it in an attempt to find the mechanisms that control the crack offset. The crack in a plane free of loading is driven by uniform load applied to its faces. The interface is assumed to have no resistance to opening. The common conception is that as the crack approaches the interface it creates a zone of opening. When the crack touches the interface this opening zone eventually arrests the crack such that the continuation of the crack growth through the interface is only possible from an offset position. Our computer simulations conducted for frictionless interface and supported by a simple analytical model show that the situation is more complex. As the crack tip gets close, the zone of opening shrinks and the opening displacement increases. After the crack tip touches the interface, the opening zone disappears. Frictionless interface produces concentration of this stress only at the ends of the interface which physically corresponds to the points where sliding is artificially arrested.