A mathematical model of Panin’s prefracture zones and stability of subcritical cracks

Abstract

Basic concept underlying Griffith’s theory of fracture of solids was that, similar to liquids, solids possess surface energy and, in order to propagate a crack by increasing its surface area, the corresponding surface energy must be compensated through the externally added or internally released energy. This assumption works well for brittle solids, but is not sufficient for quasi-brittle and ductile solids. Some new forms of energy components must be incorporated into the energy balance equation, from which the input of energy needed to propagate the crack and subsequently the stress at the onset of fracture can be determined. The additional energy that significantly dominates over the surface energy is the irreversible energy dissipated by the way of the plastic strains that precede the leading edge of a moving crack. For stationary cracks the additional terms within the energy balance equation were introduced by Irwin and Orowan. An extension of these concepts is found in the experimental work of V. Panin, who has shown that the irreversible deformation is primarily confined to the prefracture zones associated with a stationary or a slowly growing crack. The present study is based on the structured cohesive crack model equipped with the “unit step growth” or “fracture quantum”. This model is capable to encompass all the essential issues such as stability of subcritical cracks, quantization of the fracture process and fractal geometry of crack surfaces, and incorporate them into one consistent theoretical representation.