Issue 41

J. Toribio et alii, Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale, 41 (2017) 139-142; DOI: 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.41.19 139 Focused on Crack Tip Fields Crack tip field in circumferentially-cracked round bar (CCRB) in tension affected by loss of axial symmetry J. Toribio, B. González, J.C. Matos Fracture and Structural Integrity Research Group (FSIRG), University of Salamanca (USAL) E.P.S., Campus Viriato, Avda. Requejo 33, 49022 Zamora, Spain toribio@usal.es, bgonzalez@usal.es , jcmatos@usal.es A BSTRACT . In this paper, the stress intensity factor (SIF) is computed in a circumferentially-cracked round bar (CCRB) subjected to tensile loading, considering that the resistant ligament is circular and exhibits certain eccentricity in relation to the cylinder axis. The computation was performed by means of the finite element method (FEM) using a three dimensional (3D) model and the J -integral, the analyzed variable being the eccentricity of the circular ligament. Results show that the SIF is higher at the deepest point of the crack and that an increase of eccentricity (in relation to the bar axis) raises the difference between the SIF values along the crack front. From a certain value of the misalignment a bending effect appears, so that the crack remains closed in the area near the point of lower depth. K EYWORDS . Stress intensity factor; Finite element method; J -integral; Circumferentially-cracked round bar; Eccentricity of circular ligament. Citation: Toribio, J., González, B., Matos, J.C., Crack tip field in circumferentially- cracked round bar (CCRB) in tension affected by loss of axial symmetry, Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale, 41 (2017) 139-142. Received: 28.02.2017 Accepted: 15.04.2017 Published: 01.07.2017 Copyright: © 2017 This is an open access article under the terms of the CC-BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. I NTRODUCTION ylindrical samples with annular cracks exhibit numerous advantages when compared to the standard specimens recommended by the ASTM E399 Standard [1]: (i) they are easy to machine and thus cheaper; (ii) they need less amount of material to guarantee the plane strain condition because their circular geometry increases the constraint, thereby assuring a plane strain state with independence of their size; (iii); the annular crack does not end in a plane stress region. These specimens also exhibit some disadvantages such as the frequent appearance of non-symmetric crack advance [2], thus producing eccentricity of the circular ligament in relation to the bar axis. This phenomenon may be caused by slight non-symmetries regarding the sample, the grips or the testing machine, as well as non-uniform material properties [3], residual stress effects, etc. Diverse SIF solutions were published in the matter of a circumferentially-cracked round bar (CCRB) subjected to tensile loading, for both symmetric [4-6] and non-symmetric cracks [3,7] where the ligament eccentricity produces additional bending stresses. These specimens have been successfully used to obtain the fracture toughness of different materials [2,3,8,9] where the eccentricity increases the scattering of the measurements [3]. They have been used to evaluate fatigue C