4B. Fracture v2

4B.
Fracture
Teacher: Maitane Gabilondo Nieto ([email protected])
Materials for Engineering 1

INDEX
4.1. Introduction
4.2. Ductile fracture
4.3. Brittle fracture
4.4. Stress concentration
4.5. Brittle vs ductile materials
4.6. Griffith’s theory of linear elastic fracture
4.7. Fracture toughness

4.1. Introduction
Fracture is the separation of a body into two or more pieces in response to an applied stress.
In general, two fracture modes are possible: ductile and brittle. Classification is based on the
ability of a material to experience plastic deformation.
• Ductile: substantial plastic deformation with high energy absorption before fracture.
• Brittle: little or no plastic deformation with low energy absorption.

4.2. Ductile fracture
The fracture process usually occurs in several stages. First, once necking begins, small voids are
formed in the interior of the cross section. Next, as deformation continues, the voids enlarge
and coalesce (come together) to form an elliptical crack. The long axis of the crack is
perpendicular to the stress direction. The crack continues to grow in a direction parallel to its
major axis. Finally, fracture results from the propagation of a crack around the outer perimeter
of the neck.

4.3. Brittle fracture
Brittle fracture happens without any appreciable deformation and by
rapid crack propagation. Brittle fractures usually start where there is a
defect: pore, crack…
The direction of crack growth is more or less perpendicular to the
direction of the applied tensile stress and the surface of fracture is flat.
The materials contain inside pores, cracks… they are not perfect. The defects that a brittle
material has inside act as stress concentration points. Due to the ability of defects to amplify the
applied load in their surroundings, they are sometimes called stress concentrators.
Stress concentration factor Kt:

1/2
𝜎𝑚 𝑎
𝐾𝑡 = =2
𝜎0 𝜌𝑡
Kt is a measure of the degree to which an external stress is amplified at the tip of the defect.

Stress concentration factor Kt: σm: maximum stress, occurs at the crack tip
1/2 σo: applied stress

𝜎𝑚 𝑎
𝐾𝑡 = =2
𝜎0 𝜌𝑡 ρt: radius of curvature of the tip of the crack
a: length of the crack
The danger that a defect can produce

with the same form and size varies
with the orientation in which it is
applied the force.

4.5. Brittle vs ductile materials
Brittle materials Ductile materials
• If the maximum stress reached locally at the • If the maximum stress reached locally
tip of a defect, σm, is greater than tensile at the tip of a defect, σm, is greater
strength, it breaks. than the elastic limit, the area
around the tip is deformed.
• Fracture is catastrophic, it does not give
notice. • Cracks can grow due to stress
concentration but slowly. Stable
• The cracks that lead to fracture are called cracks.
unstable cracks.
• A component can be fully operational
even with internal cracks.
Ductile fracture is usually preferred to brittle for two reasons:
1) Brittle fracture occurs suddenly and catastrophically without any warning, whereas in ductile
fracture the presence of plastic deformation gives warning that the failure is imminent,
allowing preventive measures to be taken.
2) More energy is necessary to induce ductile fracture because materials are generally tougher.

4.6. Griffith’s theory of linear elastic fracture (for brittle materials)
What is the defect size that produces brittle fracture in a material for a given stress?
Griffith theory: establishes the criterion for the propagation of an elliptical crack. The critical
stress required to propagate a crack in a brittle material is:
1/2 E: elastic modulus (materials property)
2𝐸𝛾𝑠
𝜎𝑐 = γs: surface energy of fracture (materials
𝜋𝑎 property)
a: half the length of an internal crack
Rearrenging the intrinsic characteristics, a new intrinsic property of the material is defenided:
Stress intensity factor for mode I, or fracture

toughness in plane strain KIC

Fracture toughness is a property that measures the resistance of the material to brittle fracture
when a crack is present, or the capacity to withstand without breaking despite the defects. In
pacticular, KIC is the fracture toughness in plane strain:
a: defect size
σ: applied stress
F: is a geometric adimensional factor related to the specimen and defect
Units of MPa 𝑚
What does plane strain mean?
Toughness is not the same for all types of stresses:
Materials behave different depending on the

type of stress applied.

B is the thickness
for behavior in
plane strain
Plane stress performance Plane strain performance

The capacity of a material to resist crack growth depends on a large number of factors:
• Larger defects reduce the allowable stress
• The deformability of a material is critical
• As the temperature increases, the fracture toughness normally increases
• Typically small grain structure improves fracture toughness.

Exercise
A structural component in the form of a very wide sheet has to be manufactured with 4340
steel. Two sheets of this alloy are available, each one with a different heat treatment and
threfore, with different mechanical properties. Sheet A has an elastic limit of 860 MPa and
a fracture toughness in plane deformations of 98,9 MPa·m1/2. The other sheet, sheet B, has
values of σy and KIC equal to 1515 MPa and 60,4 MPa·m1/2 , respectively. For each alloy,
determine if there are flat deformation conditions in the case that the sheet is 10 mm thick.
It is not posible to detect defects smaller than 3 mm, which is the resolution limit of the
available detection section. If the thickness of the sheet is sufficient that the KIC value can
be used, determine wheter or not a critical crack can be detected. Assume that the design
stress is equal to half the elastic limit, for this configuration f=1.0.

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4B.

Teacher: Maitane Gabilondo Nieto ([email protected])

Materials for Engineering 1

4.2. Ductile fracture

4.3. Brittle fracture

4.4. Stress concentration

4.5. Brittle vs ductile materials

4.6. Griffith’s theory of linear elastic fracture

4.7. Fracture toughness

Materials for Engineering 2

Materials for Engineering 3

Materials for Engineering 4

Stress concentration factor Kt:

Materials for Engineering 5

1/2 σo: applied stress

a: length of the crack

The danger that a defect can produce

Materials for Engineering 6

Materials for Engineering 7

Stress intensity factor for mode I, or fracture

Materials for Engineering 8

Materials behave different depending on the

Materials for Engineering 9

Plane stress performance Plane strain performance

Materials for Engineering 10

• Larger defects reduce the allowable stress

• The deformability of a material is critical

• As the temperature increases, the fracture toughness normally increases

• Typically small grain structure improves fracture toughness.

Materials for Engineering 11

Materials for Engineering 12

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