7 articles
Energy release rate
The energy release rate, usually written G, is a fracture mechanics quantity measuring the energy released per unit of new crack surface as a crack extends.
Fracture mechanics
Fracture mechanics is the field of engineering science that predicts the behavior of cracks in solids using parameters such as the stress intensity factor, and underpins aircraft damage tolerance analysis.
Fracture toughness
Fracture toughness is a material property measuring resistance to crack extension, the critical stress intensity factor Kc at which a pre-existing sharp crack begins to grow rapidly.
Mixed-mode fracture
Mixed-mode fracture is crack growth under a combination of fracture modes, mode I opening, mode II sliding, and mode III tearing; real structural cracks are rarely loaded in a single pure mode.
Process zone
A process zone is the region of material damage ahead of a crack tip where nonlinear processes such as plasticity or microcracking locally reduce strength before the crack grows.
R-curve
An R-curve, or crack growth resistance curve, is a fracture mechanics plot of a material's resistance to crack extension against stable crack growth, proposed by Irwin and Kies in the 1950s.
Stress intensity factor
The stress intensity factor (SIF), denoted K, characterizes the stress field at a sharp crack tip in a linear elastic body, combining applied stress, crack size, and geometry.