Extreme value probabilistic theory for mixed-mode brittle fracture

    Authors

    D. W. Nicholson;P. Z. Ni

    Comments

    Authors: contact us about adding a copy of your work at STARS@ucf.edu

    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Eng. Fract. Mech.

    Keywords

    fracture; probabilistic fracture; cracks; brittle materials; mixed mode; reliability; biaxial load; CRACK; CRITERION; STRESS; STATES; Mechanics

    Abstract

    In this investigation, extreme value probabilistic methods are combined With Sih's mixed-mode fracture model to furnish strength distributions in plates of brittle materials with random cracks. The crack lengths are described by a two-parameter probability density function, their orientations follow a uniform distribution and the crack number follows a binomial distribution. Materials of interest are assumed to be isotropic and statistically homogeneous. A ''weakest link'' model, thought to be appropriate for brittle materials, is used in which catastrophic failure occurs if the dominant crack attains a critical condition. Extreme value distributions for strength of the plates are derived as a function of the size (crack number) of the plates, the parameters of the fracture model and the parameters of the crack length distribution. Numerical results are presented showing the effect of the normalized variance of the crack length distribution on the scale dependence of the mean and variance of the plate strength distribution. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.

    Journal Title

    Engineering Fracture Mechanics

    Volume

    58

    Issue/Number

    1-2

    Publication Date

    1-1-1997

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    121

    Last Page

    132

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:A1997YE79100010

    ISSN

    0013-7944

    Share

    COinS