Influences of equal biaxial tensile loads on the stress fields near the mixed mode crack

Abstract

A hybrid method for photoelasticity is introduced and applied to the plane problems of isotropic polycarbonate plates with a central crack under uniaxial and equal biaxial tensile loads. Also, the influences of equal biaxial tensile loads on the isochromatic fringes, stress fields and stress intensity factors near the mixed mode crack-tip have been investigated. The results show that, when an equal lateral tensile load is added to the specimen under uniaxial tensile load, the asymmetric isochromatic fringes about the line of crack gradually become symmetric, and the slope of the isochromatic fringe loop near the crack-tip is inclined towards the crack surface according to the increasing of the inclined angle of crack. Furthermore, the shapes of distribution of all stress components are changed from asymmetric to symmetric. In the equal biaxial tensile load condition against the uniaxial tensile load condition, the values of stress intensity factors are changed little, and only the region of compressive stress of σx/σO is changed when β = 0°, but the values of KI/K0 are increased and those of KII/K0 become almost zero, namely, we have the mode I condition when β = 15°∼45°.