Combined tension–shear fracture analysis of V-notches with end holes

Abstract

In the present research, two stress-based failure criteria were proposed to predict brittle fracture in components containing V-notches with end holes (VO-notches) under mixed mode I/II loading. The first criterion, called VO-MTS, was an extension of the maximum tangential stress (MTS) criterion, and the second one, called VO-MS, was developed based on the mean stress (MS) failure concept. Two different groups of critical distances were utilized in the predictions. The first group was equal to the critical distances for sharp crack, and the second one was computed by using the mode I fracture test results on notched specimens. To verify the criteria, the theoretical fracture curves were compared with numerous experimental results gathered from 108 new brittle fracture tests performed on the Brazilian disk specimens weakened by central V-notches with end holes and made of PMMA under mode I and mixed mode I/II loadings. It was found that both the criteria provide very good predictions to the experimental results for different mode mixity ratios. Also, found in this research was that the curves are almost independent of the critical distance groups, meaning that one can simply utilize the critical distances of sharp crack in both the VO-MTS and the VO-MS criteria without requiring performing mode I VO-notch fracture experiments.