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1. Characterization of Fracture Process Zone in Short Beam Compression Tests on Barre Granite

   https://doi.org/10.56952/ARMA-2022-0466  

   Garg, Prasoon ; Hedayat, Ahmadreza ; Griffiths, D. V. ( June 2022 , 56th U.S. Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium)

   Due to rock mass being commonly subjected to compressive or shear loading, the mode II fracture toughness is an important material parameter for rocks. Fracturing in rocks is governed by the behavior of a nonlinear region surrounding the crack tip called the fracture process zone (FPZ). However, the characteristics of mode II fracture are still determined based on the linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM), which assumes that a pure mode II loading results in a pure mode II fracture. In this study, the FPZ development in Barre granite specimens under mode II loading was investigated using the short beam compression (SBC) test. Additionally, the influence of lateral confinement on various characteristics of mode II fracture was studied. The experimental setup included the simultaneous monitoring of surface deformation using the two-dimensional digital image correlation technique (2D-DIC) to identify fracture mode and characterize the FPZ evolution in Barre granite specimens. The 2D-DIC analysis showed a dominant mixed-mode I/II fracture in the ligament between two notches, irrespective of confinement level on the SBC specimens. The influence of confinement on the SBC specimens was assessed by analyzing the evolution of crack displacement and changes in value of mode II fracture toughness. Larger levels of damage in confined specimens were observed prior to the failure than the unconfined specimens, indicating an increase in the fracture resistance and therefore mode II fracture toughness with the confining stress.

   The fracturing in laboratory-scale rock specimens is often characterized by the deformation of the inelastic region surrounding the crack tips, also known as the fracture process zone (FPZ) (Backers et al., 2005; Ghamgosar and Erarslan, 2016). While the influence of the FPZ on mode I fracture in rocks has been extensively investigated, there are limited studies on FPZ development in rocks under pure mode II loading (Ji et al., 2016; Lin et al., 2020; Garg et al., 2021; Li et al., 2021).

    

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2. Combined electromechanical dynamic fracture behavior of lead zirconate titanate (PZT)

   https://doi.org/10.1111/jace.18279  

   Mendoza, Isabella ; Drury, Daniel ; Koumlis, Stylianos ; Ivy, Jacob ; Brennecka, Geoff ; Lamberson, Leslie ( January 2022 , Journal of the American Ceramic Society)

   Coupon specimens of poled and depoled lead zirconate titanate (PZT) are examined under combined stress wave and electric loading conditions. Mode‐I crack initiation and fracture behavior is examined using ultrahigh‐speed imaging and two‐dimensional digital image correlation. The dynamic critical stress intensity factor () is extracted using measured displacement fields ahead of the impulsively loaded crack tip, and compared between poled and depoled plates that were either under no electric field, positive 0.46 kV/mm electric field, or negative 0.46 kV/mm electric field. Poled specimens had a poling direction and applied electric field direction normal to the crack front. The addition of an electric field resulted in a crack‐enhancing effect, where the dynamic fracture toughness of poled specimens under0.46 kV/mm was almost half that of samples with no electric field. Depoled samples experienced almost no change in dynamic fracture toughness with the addition of an electric field.

    

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3. Microstructural Controls on Mixed Mode Dynamic Fracture Propagation in Crystalline and Porous Granular Rocks

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JB022528  

   Braunagel, Michael J. ; Griffith, W. Ashley ( March 2022 , Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth)

   Brittle fracture propagation in rocks is a complex process due to significant grain‐scale heterogeneity and evolving stress states under dynamic loading conditions. In this work, we use digital image correlation and linear elastic fracture mechanics to make instantaneous measurements of the opening (mode I) and in plane shear (mode II) components of the stress intensity field during dynamic mixed mode crack initiation and propagation in crystalline and granular rocks. Both rock types display some similar fracture behaviors as observed in engineered materials, including rate dependent fracture initiation toughness and a direct relationship between propagation toughness and crack velocity; however, measured propagation toughness is higher than quasi‐static values at crack velocities well below the branching velocity in both rocks. Additionally, due to grain scale controls on the fracture process, mixed mode crack propagation is fundamentally different between these two rock types. Mixed mode propagation is energetically more favorable than pure opening mode propagation in sandstone, while the opposite is true in granite. Furthermore, following initiation, propagation in granite occurs so as to minimize the mode II contribution, irrespective of the initiation conditions, while fractures in sandstone maintain a non‐negligible mode II contribution during propagation across the sample.

    

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4. Numerical Simulation of Fracture Initiation in Barre Granite using an Experimentally Validated XFEM Model

   Garg, P ; Hedayat, A ; Griffiths, D.V. ( June 2020 , 54th US Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium)

   null (Ed.)

   Fracturing in brittle rocks with an existing crack results in the development of a significant nonlinear region surrounding the crack tip called the fracture process zone. Various experimental and numerical studies have shown that the crack tip parameters such as the crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) and the fracture energy are critically important in characterizing the fracture process zone. In this study, numerical simulations of rock specimens with a center notch subjected to three-point bending were conducted using the extended finite element method (XFEM) along with the cohesive zone model (CZM) to account for fracture process zone. The input parameters of CZM such as the elastic and critical crack opening displacements were first estimated based on the results of three-point bending tests on the center notched Barre granite specimens. Displacements were measured using the two dimensional digital image correlation technique and used to characterize the evolution of the fracture process zone and estimate the parameters of the cohesive zone model. The results from the numerical simulations showed that CZM provided a good agreement with experimental data as it predicted all three stages of cracking from fracture process initiation to macro-crack growth. 

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5. The effect of microstructural barriers on transient crack growth in shape memory alloys

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-665X/ace74d  

   Mutlu, Fatma ; Anlaş, Günay ; Şehitoğlu, Hüseyin ( July 2023 , Smart Materials and Structures)

   There are several issues to be solved in the fracture mechanics of shape memory alloys, one of them being the resistance to crack growth and therefore to fracture. This paper discusses the crack growth in a single crystal CoNiAl shape memory alloy under cyclic loading and the effect of micro-structural barriers. To observe the crack growth in detail, tests are conducted on edge-notched specimens. The displacement field is obtained using digital image correlation (DIC), and the fracture parameters are calculated by fitting anisotropic crack tip displacement equations to DIC data. Similar crack growth behaviors are observed in both superelastic and shape memory specimens, with a comparatively higher crack growth rate in the superelastic case: first a crack initiates at the notch and grows, then new cracks are observed to form near the tip of the main crack, or on the notch when the growth slows down. Then, further cyclic loading leads to the growth of the main crack and the new crack simultaneously with the two cracks merging at the end. Test specimens are examined post-failure with optical microscopy to better understand this complicated behavior. Results showed the presence of a non-transforming secondary (γ) phase around the regions where the propagating cracks slowed down, deviated, and/or stopped, improving the resistance of the shape memory alloy specimen to fracture.

    

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