Numerical Parametric Study of Crack Parameters Near Crack Tip

It is necessary to measure accurately crack tip parameters to analyze crack and rate of crack propagation in fracture mechanics. Numerous efforts have been made towards the determination of stress intensity factor (SIF) and other crack parameters using experimental and analytical methods after the pioneer work of Irwin. Stress intensity factor is the parameter which determines, whether the crack in the material is critical or not. The stress intensity factor depends on the specimen geometry, crack geometry and the magnitude of load applied. This paper discusses the application of ANSYS in calculating crack parameters and discusses the effect of various crack parameters, on the stress intensity factor and the crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD), by simulating the crack. The SIF and CMOD has been calculated at several crack mouth opening angles, different crack lengths and different loads for mode-Ifracture under bending, using a side edge notch bending specimen. It has been found that, the CMOD and SIF decreases with crack angle, CMOD increases with crack length, whereas a mixed effect can be noticed in SIF with an increase in crack length.