Solution of Crack Problems: The Distributed Dislocation Technique: 44 (Solid Mechanics and Its Applications) - Tapa blanda

This book is concerned with the numerical solution of crack problems. The techniques to be developed are particularly appropriate when cracks are relatively short, and are growing in the neighbourhood of some stress raising feature, causing a relatively steep stress gradient. It is therefore practicable to represent the geometry in an idealised way, so that a precise solution may be obtained. This contrasts with, say, the finite element method in which the geometry is modelled exactly, but the subsequent solution is approximate, and computationally more taxing. The family of techniques presented in this book, based loosely on the pioneering work of Eshelby in the late 1950's, and developed by Erdogan, Keer, Mura and many others cited in the text, present an attractive alternative. The basic idea is to use the superposition of the stress field present in the unfiawed body, together with an unknown distribution of 'strain nuclei' (in this book, the strain nucleus employed is the dislocation), chosen so that the crack faces become traction-free. The solution used for the stress field for the nucleus is chosen so that other boundary conditions are satisfied. The technique is therefore efficient, and may be used to model the evolution of a developing crack in two or three dimensions. Solution techniques are described in some detail, and the book should be readily accessible to most engineers, whilst preserving the rigour demanded by the researcher who wishes to develop the method itself.

This book describes a family of state-of-the-art numerical and semi-analytical techniques for determining stress intensity factors for cracks; the quantities which determine and control the fatigue life of engineering components.
Fatigue problems are dominated by behaviour of the crack when it is short, and in the neighbourhood of the source of nucleation, as this is where the majority of the life is used up. A knowledge of crack-tip stress intensity factors in this regime is paramount.
The techniques described in this book are very efficient methods of determining stress intensity factors with great precision and computational efficiency. This will allow for accurate estimates of component life and inspection intervals.