Brittle failures at rounded V-notches: a finite fracture mechanics approach

Abstract

Finite Fracture Mechanics (FFM) is appl- ied to investigate the brittle failure behavior of rounded V-notched elements subjected to mode I loading. According to the criterion, fracture does not propa- gate continuously, but by finite crack extensions, whose value is determined by the contemporaneous fulfil- ment of a stress requirement and an energy balance. Consequently, the crack advance becomes a structural parameter. By assuming the generalized apparent stress intensity factor as the governing failure parameter, as expected for a brittle structural behavior, the expres- sion of the apparent generalized fracture toughness as a function of the material properties as well as of the notch opening angle and root radius is achieved. FFM predictions are then successfully compared to exper- imental data available in the Literature and to results provided by other theoretical approaches based on a critical distance.