Chapter- 5

Anelastic Deformation at the Crack Tip

The material in the vicinity of a crack tip is most affected. We, of course, took the simple

route of assuming that the material remains elastic even at the crack tip where the

stresses are very large. The assumption is difficult to accept for most of the engineering

materials because they do not remain elastic at high stresses. Under real conditions, the

material in the vicinity of the crack tip deforms anelastically. In metallic components,

the material yields and flows to decrease the stress.

Anelastic deformation has not been considered so far in the analysis of our models. We

assume, only for the sake of analysis, that the entire body remains elastic. Such analysis,

as mentioned in the earlier chapters, is known as Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics

(LEFM).

For a large plastic zone, more sophisticated analytical methods have been developed

which would be discussed in the subsequent chapters.

Now, we will investigate what happens at the crack tip when loads are applied on a

component. The material in the neighborhood of the crack tip tries to reduce the

danger of high stresses. The material flows in such a manner that high stresses are

reduced dramatically. Quite often the flow of material makes the crack tip blunt, which

in turn decreases the magnitude of stress components. Thus, many potential

catastrophic failures are avoided just by the local plastic deformation at the crack tip.

Those materials which are not able to release high stresses are usually found to
Chapter- 5 Page 1
Those materials which are not able to release high stresses are usually found to

have low toughness. Diamond is a good example of such materials. Its inter-

atomic bonds are so strong that the material in the vicinity of a crack tip does not

yield. Consequently, any plastic zone is not formed at the crack tip and the

material toughness is very low.

Since plastic zone plays a vital role in a fracture, we will investigate the shape of

the plastic zone, yield planes, and the factors which control the size of the plastic

zone.

APPROXIMATE SHAPE AND SIZE OF THE PLASTIC ZONE

The stress field in the vicinity of a crack tip has been determined in chapter- 3,

assuming the material of the component remains elastic even at the crack tip.

Knowing the stress field, we may invoke one of the two commonly accepted yield

criteria, Mises or Tresca, for evaluating the size and shape of the plastic zone.

Rigorous analysis becomes complex because two sets of constitutive equations

should be used; one for plastic deformation inside the plastic zone, and another

for elastic deformation outside the zone. The surface that separates the two

zones is not known and the rigorous analysis may require iterative solutions to

many problems.

A rigorous analysis is complex as closed form solutions are not available for most

problems. We will determine only approximate solutions. The procedure adopted

for finding the interface between a plastic and an elastic zone is as follows:

Consider that one moves on a radial line from a faraway place (where the stress

Chapter- 5 Page 2
Consider that one moves on a radial line from a faraway place (where the stress

field is definitely elastic) towards the crack tip and a yield criterion is being

applied continuously. As soon as the material is found to yield, we mark that point

as the interface between the elastic and plastic fields. Similar consideration on

other radial lines generates the shape and the size of the plastic zone.

Before we apply a yield criterion, it is useful to determine the principal stresses.

Considering a case of Mode I, We need to rotate axes in x1 -x2 plane to determine

the principal stresses σ1 and σ2.

These equations determine principal stresses σ1 and σ2 as

Chapter- 5 Page 3
These equations determine principal stresses σ1 and σ2 as

The third principal stress σ3 becomes

σ1 is always largest principal stress in plane stress as well as plane strain case. σ3

is the smallest principal stress in plane stress case. Noe the question is for plane

strain case which is the smallest principal stress σ2 OR σ3?

After solving above equation for θ, for Poinsson's ratio 

for small θ i.e. (θ ≤ 38.9o) σ3 is the smallest principal stress.

for large θ i.e. (θ ≥ 38.9o) σ2 is the smallest principal stress.

Chapter- 5 Page 4
 FRACTURE MECHANICS

Important point while using Irwin’s correction to determine SIF

 If in the given problem, the mentioned plate is finite plate then while using Irwin’s
correction, we have to go for iterative process to determine SIF.

 If in the given problem, the mentioned plate is infinite plate then while using Irwin’s
correction, we will not go for iterative process to determine SIF.

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 FRACTURE MECHANICS

Exercise
1. A large plate of 5 mm thickness, made of medium carbon steel (ys = 350 MPa)
with a through-the-thickness centre-crack of 2a = 40 mm length, is subjected to a
stress of 150 MPa. For Mode I loading, determine the effective crack length using
Irwin's correction.
Solution
In the given problem, the mentioned plate is infinite plate hence while using Irwin’s
correction, we will not go for iterative process to determine SIF.
We start by assuming that the plate is loaded in plane stress.

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 FRACTURE MECHANICS

Since rp is not negligible in comparison to plate thickness, our assumption of plane

stress conditions is justified.

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 FRACTURE MECHANICS

The plastic zone size is given by

And then the effective crack length becomes:

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 FRACTURE MECHANICS

Exercise
2. A steel plate (ys = 350 MPa) of width 80 mm and thickness 5 mm has a centre
crack 2a = 40 mm length. If the far field stress is 150 MPa, determine the SIF and
the length of the effective crack, using Irwin's correction.
Solution
In the given problem, the mentioned plate is finite plate hence while using Irwin’s
correction, we have to go for iterative process to determine SIF.

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 FRACTURE MECHANICS

Questions
1. In comparison to a plane strain case, a plane stress loading gives much larger
plastic zone for the same SIF? Why?
2. Looking at a fractured surface, can you distinguish whether the loading was in
plane stress, plane strain or transitional?
3. Show the yield planes of plane stress cases through a clear diagram.
4. Why is the fracture plane of plane strain case normal to the free surface and in the
plane of the original crack surface for Mode I loading?
5. Why is burr developed during machining?

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 FRACTURE MECHANICS

Problems
1. Show that the approximate plastic zone shape around the crack tip of a Mode II
crack in an infinite plate is given by:

For plane stress employing Mises yield criterion. Plot the shape of the plastic
zone.
2. Apply the Mises yield criterion to show that the approximate plastic zone shape
around the crack tip of a Mode II crack in an infinite plate for plane strain loading is
given by

Plot the shape of the plastic zone.

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 FRACTURE MECHANICS

Problems
3. Invoke the Mises yield criterion to show that the approximate plastic zone around
the tip of a Mode III crack is a circle of radius

4. Apply Irwin's correction to determine the SIF, the length of the effective crack and
the plastic zone size for an edge crack of 15 mm length in a plate 80 mm width.
The thickness of the plate is 5 mm and the far field stress is 150 MPa ( ys = 350
MPa)

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 FRACTURE MECHANICS

Problems
5. A thin plate with an edge crack of 35 mm length is loaded in Mode I with a far field
stress of 300 MPa. If the yield stress of the material is 900 MPa and the material is
idealized as elastic-perfectly plastic, determine the plastic zone size on x1-axis
using Irwin's correction. What is the length of plastic zone size if the Dugdale
Approach is applied?

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