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Random trajectories of crack growth caused by spatial stress fluctuations

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Abstract

The results of 2D computer simulations of crack trajectories in an elastic material under a superposition of external uniaxial or biaxial tension and spatially random stress fluctuations are presented. The initial crack is straight. The criterion of maximum tensile stress near the crack tip is used to determine the crack trajectory. It is assumed that crack propagates in linear segments, step by step from either left or right tip depending on where the local circumferential stress is higher. Each segment is subjected to randomly-generated uniform tractions whose values are normally distributed with zero mean, independent of loads on previous segments. It is shown that the deflection of the actual crack paths from the trend increases with the crack length; its standard deviation grows stronger than predicted by the `random walk' model.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil and Recourse Engineering, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia

    A.N. Galybin & A.V. Dyskin

Authors
  1. A.N. Galybin
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  2. A.V. Dyskin
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Galybin, A., Dyskin, A. Random trajectories of crack growth caused by spatial stress fluctuations. International Journal of Fracture 128, 95–103 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:FRAC.0000040971.81270.db

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:FRAC.0000040971.81270.db

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