Constraint Quantification of Single Edge Notched Bend Specimens Under Large-Scale Yielding

Abstract

Because crack-tip fields of single edge notched bend (SENB) specimens are significantly affected by the global bending moment under the conditions of large-scale yielding (LSY), the classical crack tip asymptotic solutions fail to describe the crack-tip fields within the crack tip region prone to ductile fracture. As a result, existing theories do not quantify correctly the crack-tip constraint in such specimens under LSY conditions. To solve this problem, the J-A2 three-term solution is modified in this paper by introducing an additional term derived from the global bending moment in the SENB specimens. The J-integral represents the intensity of applied loading, A2 describes the crack-tip constraint level, and the additional term characterizes the effect of the global bending moment on the crack-tip fields of the SENB specimens. The global bending stress is derived from the strength theory of materials, and proportional to the applied bending moment and the inverse of the ligament size. Results show that the global bending stress near the crack tip of SENB specimens is very small compared to the J-A2 three-term solution under small-scale yielding (SSY), but becomes significant under the conditions of LSY or fully plastic deformation. The modified J-A2 solutions match well with the finite element results for the SENB specimens at all deformation levels ranging from SSY to LSY, and therefore can effectively model the effect of the global bending stress on the crack-tip fields. Consequently, the crack-tip constraint of such bending specimens can now be quantified correctly.