Use of interferometric techniques for measuring the displacement field in the plane of a part-through crack existing in a plate

Abstract

An experimental procedure based on holographic interferometry coupled with computer-aided image processing techniques was used to estimate the stress intensity factor (SIF) of a part-through crack in a plate. The loading consisted of a uniform remote tensile stress, leading to an opening and edge rotation displacement field along the crack plane. The evaluation of the crack opening displacements and edge rotations, carried out after the numerical interpretation of the fringe pattern, made possible an estimation of the SIF along the crack line, following the theoretical basis of the Line-Spring Model developed by Rice and Levy.