SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “cracking”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 73 records · Page 4

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1988

Predicting the growth of small and large cracks using a crack-closure model

An evaluation is conducted of the ability of a crack-closure model to predict the fatigue life of notched specimens under spectrum loading, for the cases of crack initiation and growth along the bore of a semicircular notch and the growth of large cracks in 2024-T3 Al alloy sheets under constant-amplitude loading. These cases are used to establish an initial defect size and relationship between the stress-intensity factor range and crack-growth rate. Experimental and calculation results for small-crack growth rates are in good agreement and exhibited a stress level effect at equal values of stress-intensity factor range.

Newman, J. C., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Three-dimensional elastic-plastic analysis of shallow cracks in single-edge-crack-tension specimens

Three dimensional, elastic-plastic, finite element results are presented for single-edge crack-tension specimens with several shallow crack-length-to-width ratios (0.05 less than or equal to a/W less than or equal to 0.5). Results showed the need to model the initial yield plateau in the stress-strain behavior to accurately model deformation of the A36 steel specimens. The crack-tip-opening-displacement was found to be linearly proportional to the crack-mouth-opening displacement. A new deformation dependent plastic-eta factor equation is presented for calculating the J-integral from test load-displacement records. This equation was shown to be accurate for all crack lengths considered.

Shivakumar, Kunigal N.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Three-dimensional elastic-plastic analysis of shallow cracks in single-edge-crack-tension specimens

Three-dimensional, elastic-plastic, finite-element results are presented for single-edge crack-tension specimens with several shallow crack-length-to-width ratios (0.05 less than or equal to a/W less than or equal to 0.5). Results showed the need to model the initial yield plateau in the stress-strain behavior to accurately model deformation of the A36 steel specimens. The crack-tip-opening-displacement was found to be linearly proportional to the crack-mouth-opening displacement. A new deformation dependent plastic-eta factor equation is presented for calculating the J-integral from test load-displacement records. This equation was shown to be accurate for all crack lengths considered.

Shivakumar, Kunigal N.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Stress Ratio Effects on Crack Opening Loads and Crack Growth Rates in Aluminum Alloy 2024

The effects of stress ratio (R) and crack opening behavior on fatigue crack growth rates (da/dN) for aluminum alloy (AA) 2024-T3 were investigated using constant-delta K testing, closure measurements, and fractography. Fatigue crack growth rates were obtained for a range of delta K and stress ratios. Results show that constant delta K fatigue crack growth for R ranging from near 0 to 1 is divided into three regions. In Region 1, at low R, da/dN increases with increasing R. In Region 2, at intermediate R, fatigue crack growth rates are relatively independent of R. In Region 3, at high R, further increases in da/dN are observed with increasing R.

Riddell, William T.↗

NASA NTRS2013

Observation of Intralaminar Cracking in the Edge Crack Torsion Specimen

The edge crack torsion (ECT) test is evaluated to determine its suitability for measuring fracture toughness associated with mode III delamination growth onset. A series of ECT specimens with preimplanted inserts with different lengths is tested and examined using nondestructive and destructive techniques. Ultrasonic inspection of all tested specimens reveals that delamination growth occurs at one interface ply beneath the intended midplane interface. Sectioning and optical microscopy suggest that the observed delamination growth results from coalescence of angled intralaminar matrix cracks that form and extend across the midplane plies. The relative orientation of these cracks is approximately 45 deg with respect to the midplane, suggesting their formation is caused by resolved principal tensile stresses arising due to the global mode-III shear loading. Examination of ECT specimens tested to loads below the level corresponding to delamination growth onset reveals that initiation of intralaminar cracking approximately coincides with the onset of nonlinearity in the specimen's force-displacement response. The existence of intralaminar cracking prior to delamination growth onset and the resulting delamination extension at an unintended interface render the ECT test, in its current form, unsuitable for characterization of mode III delamination growth onset. The broader implications of the mechanisms observed in this study are also discussed with respect to the current understanding of shear-driven delamination in tape-laminate composites.

Czabaj, Michael W.↗

NASA NTRS1972

Elasto-plastic bending of cracked plates, including the effects of crack closure

A capability for solving elasto-plastic plate bending problems is developed using assumptions consistent with Kirchhoff plate theory. Both bending and extensional modes of deformation are admitted with the two modes becoming coupled as yielding proceeds. Equilibrium solutions are obtained numerically by determination of the stationary point of a functional which is analogous to the potential strain energy. The stationary value of the functional for each load increment is efficiently obtained through use of the conjugate gradient. This technique is applied to the problem of a large centrally through cracked plate subject to remote circular bending. Comparison is drawn between two cases of the bending problem. The first neglects the possibility of crack face interference with bending, and the second includes a kinematic prohibition against the crack face from passing through the symmetry plane. Results are reported which isolate the effects of elastoplastic flow and crack closure.

Jones, D. P.↗

NASA NTRS1973

Cyclic deformation at a crack tip and its correlation with fatigue crack propagation

Results of measurements of fatigue crack growth and the cyclic surface strains near crack tips in 2024-T351 aluminum alloy for two plate thicknesses and two stress ratios. It is shown that crack tip necking complicates cyclic deformation. In this case, crack growth rate not only reflects the material property, but is also affected by specimen geometry. It is concluded that for general material evaluation it is more desirable to use a specimen thick enough so that the condition of plane strain prevails.

Kang, T. S.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Statistical distribution of time to crack initiation and initial crack size using service data

Crack growth inspection data gathered during the service life of the C-130 Hercules airplane were used in conjunction with a crack propagation rule to estimate the distribution of crack initiation times and of initial crack sizes. A Bayesian statistical approach was used to calculate the fraction of undetected initiation times as a function of the inspection time and the reliability of the inspection procedure used.

Heller, R. A.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Effect of crack size on the natural frequencies of a cracked plate

Results are presented for a finite element modal analysis of a centrally cracked rectangular plate made of linearly elastic material. The objective is to assess the effect of crack size on the natural vibration frequencies of the cracked plate. Only the in-plane vibration modes are studied. The results presented are finite-element mesh-size dependent. Namely, shrinking the mesh size, especially in the crack tip region, would change the magnitudes of the natural frequencies, and the trends would be the same as shown in the present note.

Ko, W. L.↗

NASA NTRS1987

The effects of crack surface friction and roughness on crack tip stress fields

A model is presented which can be used to incorporate the effects of friction and tortuosity along crack surfaces through a constitutive law applied to the interface between opposing crack surfaces. The problem of a crack with a saw-tooth surface in an infinite medium subjected to a far-field shear stress is solved and the ratios of Mode-I stress intensity to Mode-II stress intensity are calculated for various coefficients of friction and material properties. The results show that tortuosity and friction lead to an increase in fracture loads and alter the direction of crack propagation.

Ballarini, Roberto↗

NASA NTRS1987

The effects of crack surface friction and roughness on crack tip stress fields

A model is presented which can be used to incorporate the effects of friction and tortuosity along crack surfaces through a constitutive law applied to the interface between opposing crack surfaces. The problem of a crack with a saw-tooth surface in an infinite medium subjected to a far-field shear stress is solved and the ratios of mode I stress intensity to mode II stress intensity are calculated for various coefficients of friction and material properties. The results show that tortuosity and friction lead to an increase in fracture loads and alter the direction of crack propagation.

Ballarini, Roberto↗

NASA NTRS1987

Accelerated crack growth, residual stress, and a cracked zinc coated pressure shell

During a partial inspection of a 42 year old, operating, pressurized wind tunnel at NASA-Ames Research Center, a surface connected defect 114 in. long having an indicated depth of a 0.7 in. was detected. The pressure shell, constructed of a medium carbon steel, contains approximately 10 miles of welds and is cooled by flowing water over its zinc coated external surface. Metallurgical and fractographic analysis showed that the actual detect was 1.7 in. deep, and originated from an area of lack of weld penetration. Crack growth studies were performed on the shell material in the laboratory under various loading rates, hold times, and R-ratios with a simulated shell environment. The combination of zinc, water with electrolyte, and steel formed an electrolytic cell which resulted in an increase in cyclic crack growth rate by as much as 500 times over that observed in air. It was concluded that slow crack growth occurred in the pressure shell by a combination of stress corrosion cracking due to the welding residual stress and corrosion fatigue due to the cyclic operating stress.

Dittman, Daniel L.↗

NASA NTRS1988

The influence of crack closure on fatigue crack growth thresholds in 2024-T3 aluminum alloy

Crack opening loads were determined in load-shedding fatigue crack growth threshold tests on 2024-T3 aluminum alloy at stress ratios R of -2, -1, 0, 0.33, 0.5, and 0.7. The effects of load-shedding procedure and rate were investigated. Values of threshold Delta-K were found to vary significantly with R, whereas values of threshold effective Delta-K did not. That is, the variation of threshold Delta-K with R was almost completely explained by accounting for the measured variation in crack opening load behavior with R. The load-shedding guidelines of ASTM Test Method for Measurement of Fatigue Crack Growth (E 647) produced a threshold Delta-K value for R = 0.7 that was in agreement with the value determined using a procedure that should minimize closure effects. At both R = 0 and R = 0.7, high load-shedding rates produced high values of threshold Delta-K caused by large closure effects.

Phillips, Edward P.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Slow Crack Growth of Brittle Materials With Exponential Crack-Velocity Formulation: Constant Stress Rate Experiments - Part 2

The previously determined life prediction analysis based on an exponential crack-velocity formulation was examined using a variety of experimental data on glass and advanced structural ceramics in constant stress rate and preload testing at ambient and elevated temperatures. The data fit to the relation of strength versus the log of the stress rate was very reasonable for most of the materials. Also, the preloading technique was determined equally applicable to the case of slow-crack-growth (SCG) parameter n greater than 30 for both the power-law and exponential formulations. The major limitation in the exponential crack-velocity formulation, however, was that the inert strength of a material must be known a priori to evaluate the important SCG parameter n, a significant drawback as compared with the conventional power-law crack-velocity formulation.

Choi, Sung R.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Slow Crack Growth of Brittle Materials With Exponential Crack-Velocity Formulation: Constant Stress and Cyclic Stress Experiments - Part 3

The previously determined life prediction analysis based on an exponential crack-velocity formulation was examined using a variety of experimental data on advanced structural ceramics tested under constant stress and cyclic stress loading at ambient and elevated temperatures. The data fit to the relation between the time to failure and applied stress (or maximum applied stress in cyclic loading) was very reasonable for most of the materials studied. It was also found that life prediction for cyclic stress loading from data of constant stress loading in the exponential formulation was in good agreement with the experimental data, resulting in a similar degree of accuracy as compared with the power-law formulation. The major limitation in the exponential crack-velocity formulation, however, was that the inert strength of a material must be known a priori to evaluate the important slow-crack-growth (SCG) parameter n, a significant drawback as compared with the conventional power-law crack-velocity formulation.

Choi, Sung R.↗

NASA NTRS1974

The effect of pre-stress cycles on fatigue crack growth - An analysis of crack growth mechanism

Cyclic prestress increases subsequent fatigue crack growth rate in 2024-T351 aluminum alloy. This increase in growth rate, caused by the prestress, and the increased rate, caused by temper embrittlement as observed by Ritchie and Knott (1973), cannot be explained by the crack tip blunting model alone. Each fatigue crack increment consists of two components, a brittle and a ductile component. They are controlled by the ductility of the material and its cyclic yield strength, respectively.

Kang, T. S.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Influence of fatigue crack wake length and state of stress on crack closure

The location of crack closure with respect to crack wake and specimen thickness under different loading conditions was determined. The rate of increase of K sub CL in the crack wake was found to be significantly higher for plasticity induced closure in comparison to roughness induced closure. Roughness induced closure was uniform throughout the thickness of the specimen while plasticity induced closure levels were 50 percent higher in the near surface region than in the midthickness. The influence of state of stress on low-high load interaction effects was also examined. Load interaction effects differed depending upon the state of stress and were explained in terms of delta K sub eff.

Telesman, J.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Automatic crack growth tracking of bimaterial interface cracks

The propagation process of an interfacial crack in composite material is studied using the modified maximum dilatational strain energy density criterion, NT-criterion. Some necessary assumptions have been adopted to facilitate the use of the NT-criterion in this case. The stress intensity factors at the crack tip are extracted from the complex displacement field and finite element results. A simple algorithm for automatic crack propagation is presented with an illustrative example.

Yehia, Nabil A. B.↗