Fracture

References:
G. E. Dieter: Mechanical Metallurgy, McGraw Hill, 1988.

T. L. Anderson: Fracture Mechanics - Fundamentals and Applications, 3rd

Edition, CRC Press, 2011.

R. W. Hertzberg: Deformation and Fracture Mechanics of Engineering

Materials, 4th Edition, John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1995.
 What is fracture?
Ultimate failure of a material by breaking in to 2 or more pieces
under the influence of an external load

During failure, to separate atoms completely, a

load>Fmax should be applied

• Fracture is initiated by a microscopic crack

• When loaded stress concentration at crack

increases and when it exceeds Fmax atomic bond
breaks and crack propagates till fracture

How does fracture proceed?

• Crack initiation
• Crack propagation
 Types of Fracture
When stressed beyond elastic limit, a material can fail in 2 ways:
(a) Ductile fracture: it yields to almost 100% reduction in c/s area and complete rupture
(b) Brittle / fast fracture: it fails without any plastic deformation even when the stress is within the elastic range

(a) Highly ductile fracture in which the specimen necks down to a point. (pure gold, lead, polymers, and inorganic
glasses)
(b) Moderately ductile fracture after some necking.
(c) Brittle fracture without any plastic deformation
 How do we classify types of fracture?
•Strain to fracture
– Ductile or brittle
• Appearance of fracture surface
– Fibrous or granular
• Crystallographic mode of fracture
– Shear → Extensive slip on an active
slip plane
– Cleavage → Little or no slip

Fibrous Granular
 Ductile Fracture
Stages in the cup-and-cone fracture
Cup-and-
cone
fracture

(a) Initial necking. ( b) Small cavity formation. (c) Coalescence of cavities to form a crack. (d) Crack propagation. (e) Final
shear fracture at a 45 angle relative to the tensile direction

(a) Necking
(b) Formation of microvoids
(c) Coalescence of microvoids to form a crack
(d) Crack propagation by shear deformation
(e) Fracture

Ductile fracture is a much less serious problem in engineering materials since

failure can be detected beforehand due to observable plastic deformation prior
Cup-and-cone fracture in
to failure.
aluminum
 Brittle Fracture
➢ No appreciable plastic deformation
➢Crack propagation is very fast

➢Crack propagates nearly perpendicular to the direction of the applied stress

➢ Crack often propagates by cleavage – breaking of atomic bonds along specific

crystallographic planes (cleavage planes).

Brittle fracture in a mild steel

 Brittle fracture surface
Cleavage fracture surface is characterized by flat facets (with its size
normally similar to the grain size).

• River lines or the stress lines are steps between cleavage on parallel
planes and always converge in the direction of local crack propagation.

Schematic of river-line pattern

Brittle cleavage facet

 Microscopic Fracture Modes
• Cleavage: Tendency of crystalline materials to split along definite crystallographic structural
planes
• Quasi-cleavage
• Dimpled rupture

Cleavage Fracture Quasi-cleavage Dimpled rupture

 Transgranular Vs Intergranular Fracture
Transgranular Fracture Intergranular Fracture

Fracture travels through the grain of the material. The Crack travels along the grain boundaries, and not
fracture changes direction from grain to grain due to through the actual grains. It occurs when the phase in
the different lattice orientation of atoms in each grain. the grain boundary is weak and brittle ( i.e. Cementite
in Iron's grain boundaries).
 Ductile fracture Brittle fracture
Material fractures after plastic deformation Material fractures with very little or no
and slow propagation of crack plastic deformation.
Surface obtained at the fracture is dull Surface obtained at the fracture is shining
or fibrous in appearance and crystalling appearance
It occurs when the material is in plastic It occurs when the material is in elastic
condition condition
It is characterized by the formation of cup It is characterized by separation of normal
and cone to tensile stress
The tendency of ductile fracture is increased The tendency brittle fracture is increased
by dislocations and other defects in metals. by decreasing temperature, and increasing
strain rate.
There is reduction in cross – sectional There is no change in the cross – sectional
area of the specimen area.
 Fracture modes
Fracture mode is a function of : Material
Temperature
Stress state & rate
Environment

Some types of & causes for engineering fractures:

Type Cause (s)

Low Temperature tensile fracture Separation of atomic bonds under static loading
High Temperature tensile fracture Atomic bond separation assisted by diffusional flow
Fatigue fracture Cyclic stress induced
Embrittlement Environmentally aided fracture H2, liquid metal embrittlement
 Theoretical Cohesive Strength
• Strength in materials is basically due to the cohesive forces between atoms.
• The attractive and repulsive force acting on the two atoms lead to cohesive force between two atoms which
varies in relation to the separation between these atoms.
• Fracture is the breaking of bonds between these atoms which face each other.
A truly brittle solid (elastic solid) is put under a tensile force, F , where two rows of atoms which face each other across a
plane of fracture (pp’).
where,
σ is the applied stress,
σm is the theoretical
cohesive strength, i.e.,
stress at the instant of
fracture,
a0 is equilibrium interatomic
spacing of the atoms in the
Fracture plane pp’ breaking the bonds between unstrained condition
Cohesive force as a function of distance
atoms of two neighbouring planes under tensile
of separation between atoms
force F.
Relation between cohesive force and the distance of separation between atoms can be represented approximately by
a sine curve of the form
x = a – a0 is the displacement in atomic spacing in a
crystal lattice with sinusoidal wave length λ.
 Theoretical Cohesive Strength …Contd.
As the elastic displacements are small, i.e., sin x ≈ x, the equation
becomes
x = a – a0

As we are considering a brittle elastic solid, which follows the Hooke’s law, i.e.
σ = E  = E x / a0

Hence, σm = (Eλ) / (2 π a0)

The work done per unit area of the fracture surface (W), which is expended in bringing the specimen to the point of fracture, is
also the area under the cohesive force-displacement curve, which is,
 Theoretical Cohesive Strength …Contd.
In an ideal brittle elastic fracture, all the energy or the work done in producing the fracture
is absorbed in the creation of two new surfaces, that is, none is absorbed in plastic
deformation.
If each of these surfaces has a surface energy of  Jm-2, the total energy of these two
surfaces = 2  Jm-2.
2
Hence, (λ σm)/ π=2 Or, λ=
𝑚

We already know, σm = (Eλ) / (2 π a0)

Eleminating  in the equation we hget,
𝐸
𝑚 =
𝑎0
Where,
E is young's modulus (Nm-2)
s is the surface energy (Jm-2)
a0 is the unstrained inter atomic spacing (m)

Note: If more refined method is used than the above approximate derivation, the value of σm could lie between
E/4 to E/15. On an average, it may be taken as, σm = 0.1 E
 Why/how do materials fail?
Are typical loading conditions severe enough to rupture interatomic bonds?

NO!

Since we know the stress that is required to break bonds, why do materials fail in service?

DEFECTS or FLAWS
concentrate stress locally, levels high enough to rupture bonds

What about materials are perfect?


NOTHING
For almost all engineering applications there is always some statistical distribution of flaws.
Defects act as stress concentrators
 Consider an elliptical crack in a large plate

Note:
• Flaws concentrates stress.
• When concentrated stress reaches  , bonds break at crack tip
TCS

and crack propagates.

• Fracture related to stress concentration factor.
 Griffith Theory for brittle fracture
• In the 1920s, Griffith proposed that the discrepancy between theoretical cohesive
strength and the actual fracture strength could be explained by the presence of
very small, microscopic flaws or cracks that are always present under normal
conditions at the surface and in the interior of the material.

• Because the extremities of the crack act as stress raisers, Griffith assumed that
the theoretical cohesive strength is achieved at the ends of the crack, even though
the average stress was still far below the theoretical cohesive strength. If no flaws
are present, the fracture stress would be equal to the cohesive strength of the
material as happens in metallic and ceramic whiskers.

• These cracks are detriment to the fracture strength because an applied stress is
amplified or concentrated at the tip of the crack, the magnitude of this
amplification depends on the crack orientation and geometry.
Alan Arnold Griffith
(1893-1963)
 Energy balance

MUST DO WORK TO EXTEND A CRACK

because you create two new free surfaces
when you extend a crack.

The source of this work is the stored

elastic strain energy released as the crack
grows!

Work Done = Energy Released

As the crack extends, new surface area (dc) is created. There is

an elastic strain energy term, γs, associated with this new area
 Total energy of the cracked plate

Utotal = U0 + UE + WL + US + Q US : Opposes crack growth

UE & WL: Drives crack growth

U0 = elastic energy of uncracked plate (constant)

UE = change in elastic energy when crack is introduced
US = surface energy resulting from formation of two new crack faces
WL = Work done by external forces (= load  displacement)
Q = Other energies; not part of internal energy (e.g. KE, Thermal energy, acoustic energy, etc.)

Note: WL contributes to UE (assuming fixed external forces, WL = 0).

Q is not a concern in most fracture problems.

Utotal - U0 = U = UE+ US
 Total energy of the cracked plate…Contd.
For in infinitely large plate containing an elliptical crack as illustrated previously,
the elastic strain energy released due to the presence of a crack is:

where 2c is the length of the center of the crack and t is the thickness of the material.

The increase in surface energy of the plate due to an increase in crack length:

Where s is the surface energy for a brittle material

 Total energy of the cracked plate…Contd.

The equilibrium crack length (c*) can be determined by differentiating the potential energy expression
with respect to c and setting the result equal to zero.

Griffith equation

This is the stress required to propagate a crack of length c in a brittle material

 Total energy of the cracked plate…Contd.

With it, we can calculate the maximum tolerable crack dimension (i.e. flaw size) for a given state of stress
–or–
The maximum allowable stress if the maximum crack dimension is known

Note: These equations ONLY apply to brittle elastic solids. We must develop other relationships for plastic solids
 What about “non-brittle” solids?
• Even metals that fail in a completely brittle fashion undergo some plastic deformation prior to fracture.

• The fracture strengths of a material that yields before fracture > that for a perfectly brittle elastic solid.

Why?
• Plastic deformation at the root of the crack increases the radius of curvature at the crack tip.

• Reduces the stress concentration at the crack tip.

• This increases the fracture strength of the material (according to the Orowan).
 OROWAN (1952)
• Suggested that a plastic work term P should be added to the Griffith equation to make it
applicable to metallic materials.

• P represents the plastic work necessary to extend the crack front.

This modified Griffith equation becomes:

For ductile materials (i.e., metals and most polymers),   10-4 P (i.e. P >> S)

Thus we can neglect s in ductile materials.

 IRWIN (1958)
Replaced the 2(s + P) in Orowan’s modification with G where G is defined as the “strain energy release rate” or
“crack extension force.”

The parameter G represents the rate of transfer of energy from the elastic stress field to the crack extension
process. The critical value of G that makes the crack propagate to fracture is Gc.

The conditions for crack growth can be represented as:

This term 𝜎𝐹 𝜋𝑐 represents the driving force for crack propagation.

Note:
• When K = Kc, unstable crack growth occurs leading to fracture
• K is a material parameter known as the fracture toughness
• Kc is independent of σ or c
• Values of Kc depend upon many factors including: Type of loading on the
crack face, the material being loaded, geometry of the sample or structure
 IRWIN
Stress Intensity Factor (K)
This represents the effective local stress at the crack tip. The stress intensity factor (K) is calculated for a given
geometry and load, and compared with a threshold value of K above which cracks will propagate in the given
material. This threshold value of K is called the fracture toughness or critical stress intensity factor (KIC) and is a
characteristic of the material measured by testing.

K I = f a

Where,
f is a dimensionless constant (related to geometry of specimen and flaw)
 is the applied stress
a is the crack length or half the length of an internal crack
KI has unusual unit of MPa(m)½

If the plate has finite dimensions relative to the crack length a, then the value of must be modified
 Strain Energy Release Rate
Definition: The energy dissipated during fracture per unit of newly created fracture surface area.
The energy release rate is mathematically understood as the decrement in total potential energy scaled by the increment in
fracture surface area
Where,
𝜕𝑈
Mathematically, 𝐺 = U is the potential energy available for crack growth,
𝜕𝐴 A is the crack area (crack length for two-dimensional problems)
The unit of G is J/m2.

Since P/M =constant

P = M , M is the stiffness of a specimen with a crack of length a.

 Protection against brittle fracture
✓ Avoid sharp corners and notches in the parts to eliminate points of stress concentration.

✓ Removal of surface cracks*

▪ Provide better finish to the surface, by polishing (as it removes some of the cracks from the
surface)
▪ Etching of glass (followed by resin cover).
▪ Cracks developed during grinding of ceramics extend upto one grain  use fine grained ceramics
(grain size ~ 0.1 m).

✓ Stresses applied should be parallel to the direction of elongation.

✓ Use composites/ reinforced materials to provide protection against tensile loads.

✓ Avoid impurities in the base metal as well as during welding process.

✓ Avoid brittle continuous phase along the grain boundaries → Ensure proper distribution of solute
atoms in the metals to prevent the formation of brittle phases at grain boundaries

* As surface cracks are more deleterious

 Protection against brittle fracture….Contd.
✓ Lower value of surface energy () implies a lower fracture stress (f)  done by chemical
adsorption of molecules on the crack surfaces.

✓ Introducing residual compressive stresses on the surface. This can be done by:
 Shot peening (surface of metal is impacted by round particles to introduce residual
compressive stress).
 Carburizing and Nitriding (these processes are used to increase the hardness, but
additionally give a benefit in terms of the residual compressive stress introduced).
 Pre-stressed concrete (concrete is cast around pre-tensioned steel cables or bars → the
tension is then released → thus introducing compressive load on the concrete).

✓  Ion exchange method → smaller cations like Na+ in sodium silicate glass are
replaced by larger cations like K+ on the surface of glass → higher compressive
stresses than tempering.
✓ The glass is placed in a bath of molten salt at a temperature of approximately 400
degrees C. Smaller sodium ions leave the glass, and larger potassium ions from the
salt bath replace them. These large ions take up more room and are pressed together
when the glass cools, producing a layer of compressive stress on the surface of the
glass. Gorilla Glass is specially designed to maximize this behavior.
 Surface of molten glass solidified by cold air followed by solidification of the bulk. The shrinkage of the inner glass leads to
compressive stress on the surface (this is called tempered glass)→ this way the fracture strength can be increased 2-3 times.
 Case study: difference in fracture behaviour of ‘normal’ versus toughened glass
Glass can be toughened without changing it composition by introducing compressive residual surface stress. This is done as
follows: surface of molten glass solidified by cold air on the surface, followed by solidification of the bulk → the contraction of
the bulk while solidification, introduces residual compressive stresses on the surface → fracture strength can be increased 2-3
times.

As more interfaces are created due to severe fragmentation of toughened glass on impact, more
energy is absorbed (in creating new interfaces) → this leads to an increase in the toughness of glass.

Fracture of Fracture of
normal plate glass toughened glass
 Types of loading

Tensile fracture (KIc, GIc) Shear fracture (KIIc, GIIc) Tearing (KIIIc, GIIIc)
Just to have an overview where we are now