International Journal of Fracture (INT J FRACTURE)

Publisher: Springer Verlag

Journal description

The International Journal of Fracture is an outlet for original analytical numerical and experimental contributions which provide improved understanding of the mechanisms of micro and macro fracture in all materials and their engineering implications. The Journal is pleased to receive papers from engineers and scientists working in various aspects of fracture. Contributions emphasizing empirical correlations unanalyzed experimental results or routine numerical computations while representing important necessary aspects of certain fatigue strength and fracture analyses will normally be discouraged; occasional review papers in these as well as other areas are welcomed. Innovative and in-depth engineering applications of fracture theory are also encouraged. In addition the Journal welcomes for rapid publication concise Letters in Fracture and Micromechanics which serve the Journal 's Objective. Letters include: Brief presentation of a new idea concept or method; new experimental observations or methods of significance; short notes of quality that do not amount to full length papers; discussion of previously published work in the Journal and Letters Errata.

Impact Factor Rankings

2015 Impact Factor Available summer 2015 1.348 1.25 1.485 1.043 0.804 1.147 1.003 0.685 0.705 0.95 1.008 0.797 0.767 0.531 0.612 0.443 0.398 0.529 0.603 0.548 0.541 0.642

Impact factor over time

Impact factor
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Year

5-year impact 1.31 0.00 0.21 0.01 0.67 International Journal of Fracture website International journal of fracture, Fracture 0376-9429 1771045 Periodical, Internet resource Journal / Magazine / Newspaper, Internet Resource

Publisher details

• Pre-print
• Author can archive a pre-print version
• Post-print
• Author can archive a post-print version
• Conditions
• Author's pre-print on pre-print servers such as arXiv.org
• Author's post-print on author's personal website immediately
• Author's post-print on any open access repository after 12 months after publication
• Publisher's version/PDF cannot be used
• Published source must be acknowledged
• Must link to publisher version
• Set phrase to accompany link to published version (see policy)
• Articles in some journals can be made Open Access on payment of additional charge
• Classification
​ green

Publications in this journal

• Article: Analytical homogenization modeling and computational simulation of intergranular fracture in polycrystals
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ABSTRACT: Failure at grain boundaries has a critical effect on the overall fracture behaviour of polycrystalline aggregates, as is the case in many metals. In the case of dynamic embrittlement, segregation of impurities occurs at grain boundaries, lowering their cohesive strength. The material response is then dominantly determined by grain boundary properties. The self-consistent scheme is extended to account for grain boundary decohesion by using a cohesive law to represent crack initiation and propagation. After introducing the imperfect interface conditions into the Eshelby’s equivalent inclusion solution, the effective tensile response and brittle intergranular fracture of a Cu–Ni–Si alloy is predicted. The proposed analytical model allows for the identification of parameters for both crystal plasticity and cohesive constitutive laws, from a single macroscopic tensile curve. Afterwards, multiscale computations of artificial microstructures are done using the analytically calibrated values of material parameters. Comparison of the results with experimental data shows a satisfactory agreement.
International Journal of Fracture 04/2015; DOI:10.1007/s10704-015-0018-1
• Article: Dugdale model for a dynamically expanding crack in an orthotropic solid
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ABSTRACT: The Dugdale model has been extended to a dynamically expanding crack in an orthotropic material. The stresses in the plastic zone as functions of applied stress, plastic zone tip speed and crack speed are derived. Expression for the energy release rate is obtained. The effects of plastic anisotropy and elastic anisotropy on ductile crack propagation are studied using a quadratic yield criterion and an admissible condition for self-similar crack expansion.
International Journal of Fracture 04/2015; 192(2):245-251. DOI:10.1007/s10704-015-0012-7
• Article: Crack initiation in single lap joints: effects of geometrical and material properties
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ABSTRACT: Brittle failure of adhesively bonded single lap joints is considered in this paper. A coupled stress and energy criterion in the framework of finite fracture mechanics is employed to study crack initiation by means of a numerical model presented by Hell et al. (Eng Fract Mech 117:112-126, 2014). Two different formulations of the coupled criterion are compared and the effect of geometrically nonlinear bending deformation of the adherends is analysed. A comparison to experimental results on the effect of the overlap length for single lap joints with composite adherends is given, showing a very good agreement of the failure load predictions. A detailed study of the effects of the geometrical and material parameters of a single lap joint configuration is given. As the energy release at crack formation is considered, the size effect of the adhesive layer thickness is covered correctly. The paper closes with an analysis of the effect of the unbonded adherend length. An approximate explicit expression for a minimum unbonded adherend length is given, which is required to optimize joint designs and to allow for the study of individual parameter effects in numerical and experimental studies.
International Journal of Fracture 04/2015; 192(2):155-166. DOI:10.1007/s10704-015-9992-6
• Article: Crystallographic orientation analysis of cleavage facets adjacent to a fracture trigger in low carbon steel
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ABSTRACT: The microstructure and crystallographic orientation under a cleavage crack trigger point, which was detected on a fracture toughness specimen of low carbon steel, were investigated. SEM fractographs of an etched cleavage facet reveal that a flat cleavage facet between facet ridges spreading from the trigger point is divided by a grain boundary between ferrite and pearlite. Even a different phase boundary does not occasionally create any steps and ridges on the cleavage facet: it suggests this phase boundary is not an obstacle to cleavage cracking. Electron diffraction analysis for the thin foil sample milled out from this phase boundary demonstrates that the crystallographic orientation of the ferrite grain is consistent with that of the ferrite in the adjacent pearlite block. It is strictly examined that the ferrite/pearlite boundary does not act as a local resistance to cleavage crack growth when the crystallographic orientation of the ferrite in the pearlite block is aligned with an adjacent ferrite grain.
International Journal of Fracture 04/2015; 192(2):253-257. DOI:10.1007/s10704-015-0014-5
• Article: On the direct numerical simulation of plane-strain fracture in a class of strain-limiting anisotropic elastic bodies
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ABSTRACT: In this paper, using a special class of nonlinear response relations between linearized strain and Cauchy stress tensors, we study a quasi-static mixed-mode (combination of mode-I and mode-II) fracture boundary value problem. A special subclass of such relations are strain-limiting in which the strains are guaranteed to be uniformly bounded in the neighborhood of crack-tip. In this article, we consider a finite element method based direct numerical simulation (DNS) of plane-strain mixed-mode fracture in a class of strain-limiting, transversely isotropic elastic bodies. We study the numerical solution of a nonlinear fracture boundary value problem with displacement as the primary unknown. The linearized version of the strong form was derived using damped Newton’s method and the corresponding weak formulation was solved using a conforming finite element method. The results of this DNS indicate that even very near the crack tip, both stress and strain remain much smaller in magnitude than the corresponding predictions from the linearized elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM). While away from strain concentrating crack-tip region, the solution to the nonlinear, strain-limiting model agrees closely with the LEFM solution. This supports recent asymptotic theoretical studies of anti-plane and plane-strain fracture boundary value problems. Further, we also study the behavior of cleavage stress in the neighborhood of crack-tip. The numerical results indicate that the cleavage stress is largest along a line directly ahead of the crack-tip in agreement with the classical LEFM solution for pure mode I loading.
International Journal of Fracture 04/2015; 192(2):217-232. DOI:10.1007/s10704-015-0006-5
• Article: Acoustic emission technique for fracture analysis in wood materials
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ABSTRACT: Understanding the failure mechanisms of construction materials, as well as their damage evolution, constitute two key factors to improving structural design tools. Depending on the failure modes to be highlighted and studied, several test methods and analysis tools have been developed. One such development, the acoustic emission technique (AET), is an experimental tool appropriate for characterizing material behavior by means of monitoring the fracture process. Despite the widespread uses of acoustic emission techniques to characterize and monitor the damage evolution of composite materials, only a few research studies have focused on using AET to characterize the mechanical behavior of wood materials. In the present work, the failure process in Douglas fir under monotonic loading is studied by comparing three experimental methods: force-displacement curve analysis, acoustic emission measurements, and digital image acquisition. First of all, results show good correlation and complementarities among the methods employed. Second, analyzing acoustic emission signals by considering the event number and the cumulative events yields interesting information on crack initiation and growth without the material. Moreover, an additional analysis of acoustic emission data (involving the determination of source locations and the study of amplitude distributions) opens the possibility to characterize the fracture process zone which is a key damage mechanism in wood materials.
International Journal of Fracture 03/2015; 192(1). DOI:10.1007/s10704-014-9985-x
• Article: Estimation of the energy of crack propagation in different zones of a welded joint by the local technique
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ABSTRACT: The fatigue damage of a material generally goes through of an incident or a heterogeneity producing a local stress concentration. The growth of crack is related to the existence of a plastic zone at the crack tip and accompanied by an energy dissipation. The objective of this study is to analyze the evolution of the energy at the crack tip during the propagation of a crack in a welded joint. In order to determine the energy nearest the end of the crack in the plastic zone, we used microhardness measurements. The estimate of the total strain in each measurement point was determined by a polynomial relation between Hv and $$\upvarepsilon _{\mathrm{t}}/2$$ . After the determination of the average strain, the total energy in each zone was deducted. The higher value of this energy is in the Weld Metal, it is more lower in the Base Metal and even lower in the Heat Affected Zone.
International Journal of Fracture 02/2015; 192(1). DOI:10.1007/s10704-015-9989-1
• Article: Erratum to: A new approach to the design of RC structures based on concrete mix characteristic length
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ABSTRACT: A new approach to the design of reinforced concrete (RC) structures is proposed. It does not rely on the traditional characteristic compressive strength of the concrete mix which is the basis of all current codes for the design of RC structures. Instead, the approach is based on the characteristic length of the concrete mix that has its origins in the concepts of fracture mechanics. Based on the research done in Cardiff University over the past 6 years on long and short beams and slender columns, it is shown that this new approach leads to a substantial reduction in the amount of reinforcing steel needed in RC structures made from high strength concrete mixes without jeopardising their ductility. This provides conclusive evidence that the current design code provisions for reinforcement based on the mix characteristic compressive strength grossly overestimate the requirements for high strength mixes leading to wastage of steel, reinforcement congestion and high cost of construction. The adoption of this new design approach, which is based on sound physical principles, should help promote the use of high performance, durable and sustainable concrete in the construction industry without increasing the cost of construction or compromising the safety of structures.
International Journal of Fracture 02/2015; 191(1-2). DOI:10.1007/s10704-015-0009-2
• Article: In Memoriam Max Lea Williams (February 22, 1922–September 18, 2013)
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ABSTRACT: A seminal mind has departed: His students and the whole engineering community shall miss a concerned, rational engineer and scientist, whose actions were broadly based in the desire to improve the world in which we live. Though M. L. Williams was associated with academic institutions throughout his career, he demonstrated a firm belief in practical, hands-on engineering. He was a Registered Engineer and had a major influence in guiding national programs of defense research, saving millions of dollars through judiciously supporting, criticizing or phasing studies and programs. His practical insights transitioned into engineering management through guidance of (over 20) start-up engineering ventures, which depended critically on mature engineering judgment and the teaching by his economics mentor Economics Professor Horace Gilbert while a graduate student at Caltech.Max Lea Williams, Jr. was born on 22 February 1922 in Aspinwall, Pa. He attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology—now C ...
International Journal of Fracture 02/2015; 191(1-2). DOI:10.1007/s10704-015-0008-3
• Article: Damage measurements via DIC
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ABSTRACT: The present paper is devoted to the measurement of damage by resorting to image correlation techniques. This full-field measurement procedure gives access to 2D and 3D displacements that can be utilized to analyze damage mechanisms, to estimate damage fields, and to determine material parameters of damage growth laws. Different features associated with image correlation are addressed in the context of continuum damage mechanics. Applications concerning damage detection, damage quantification and damage model validation are presented.
International Journal of Fracture 02/2015; 191(1-2):77-105. DOI:10.1007/s10704-015-0004-7
• Article: On the equivalence between the $$s$$ s -method, the XFEM and the ply-by-ply discretization for delamination analyses of laminated composites
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ABSTRACT: Two hierarchical approaches, the $$s$$ -method and the extended finite element method (XFEM), are compared to the classical ply-by-ply discretization approach in terms of their effectiveness in modeling delamination in laminated composites. In the two hierarchical approaches, a smooth approximation field based on the mesh made of through-the-thickness solid laminated elements is first introduced to resolve a delamination-free response of the composite structure. The initiation and propagation of delamination is modeled by either superposition of element patches (s-method) or by enrichment functions (XFEM). A cohesive zone model is employed to model decohesion at the inter-ply interfaces. In terms of representing strong discontinuities, the two hierarchical methods have been shown to represent an identical approximation space as the classical ply-by-ply discretization approach, even though the s-method gives rise to sparser matrix structure. In terms of representing weak discontinuities, the s-method has been shown to be equivalent to the ply-by-ply discretization approach and provides a seamless transition from weak to strong discontinuity.
International Journal of Fracture 02/2015; 191(1-2). DOI:10.1007/s10704-015-9996-2
• Article: Creep and creep–fatigue crack growth
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International Journal of Fracture 02/2015; 191(1-2). DOI:10.1007/s10704-015-9994-4
• Article: Influence of the stress state on void nucleation and subsequent growth around inclusion in ductile material
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ABSTRACT: A three-dimensional unit cell model with an inclusion is established, where an interfacial layer between the matrix and inclusion is modeled by a cohesive zone mode. This model is then used to investigate the effect of the stress state of the unit cell on the crack nucleation at the interface and subsequently the void growth, which gives the evolutions of the macro equivalent stress and relative void volume fraction associated with the macro equivalent strain. The interface debonding process indicates that both the stress triaxility and the Lode parameter play a remarkable role in the process and void nucleation and growth. Compared with the model of pure void, the inclusion increases the load carrying capacity and lowers the void growth rate for the same stress triaxiality. Meanwhile the inclusion causes a lag in the expansion of the void due to the interface fracture, which becomes significant as the stress triaxiality increases. The interfacial crack nucleates from different position for different Lode parameter and propagates in different pattern as the Lode parameter changes the principal stresses even for the same stress triaxiality. The two points, where the crack initiates and where the interface is fully debonded, vary with stress triaxiality and Lode parameter, and are getting closer for different Lode parameters when stress triaxiality increases.
International Journal of Fracture 01/2015; DOI:10.1007/s10704-015-0016-3
• Article: Direct observation of the thickness effect on critical crack tip opening displacement in freestanding copper submicron-films by in situ electron microscopy fracture toughness testing
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ABSTRACT: We evaluated the thickness effect on fracture toughness in freestanding Cu films with thicknesses of approximately 100, 500, and 2600 nm, on the basis of crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) concept by means of in situ (field emission scanning electron microscopy) FESEM and (transmission electron microscopy) TEM fracture toughness testing. During testing, an acute pre-crack tip blunted gradually and necking deformation in the out-of-plane direction occurred in the region ahead of the crack tip in all the specimens. A crack then initiated from the pre-crack tip and propagated along the necking region resulting in chisel point fracture. Since the small scale yielding condition was not satisfied in the 500 and 2600 nm specimens, the critical CTOD, $$\delta _\mathrm{i}$$ , at the onset of crack extension was directly evaluated from the in situ images. The results indicate a clear thickness effect on $$\delta _\mathrm{i}$$ (i.e. $$\delta _\mathrm{i}$$ decreases as the thickness decreases). Normalized critical CTOD, defined as $$\delta _\mathrm{{i}}/B$$ (where $$B$$ is the thickness), of 100 and 500 nm specimens are similar, $$\delta _\mathrm{{i}}/B = 1.6$$ . This suggests the presence of a fracture criterion, $$\delta _\mathrm{{i}} = 1.6B$$ , in the submicron scale regardless of the film thickness. On the other hand, $$\delta _\mathrm{{i}}/B$$ of the 2600 nm specimen was roughly half of those of the 100 and 500 nm specimens.
International Journal of Fracture 01/2015; DOI:10.1007/s10704-015-0003-8
• Article: Viscous energy dissipation of kinetic energy of particles comminuted by high-rate shearing in projectile penetration, with potential ramification to gas shale
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ABSTRACT: While dynamic comminution is of interest to many processes and situations, this work is focused on the projectile impact onto concrete walls, in which predictions have been hampered by the problem of the so-called ‘dynamic overstress’. Recently, in analogy with turbulence, Bažant and Caner modeled the overstress as an additional viscous stress generated by apparent viscosity that accounts for the energy dissipation due to kinetic comminution of concrete into small particles at very high shear strain rate. Their viscosity estimation, however, was approximate since it did not satisfy the energy balance exactly. Here their model is extended and refined by ensuring that the drop of local kinetic energy of high shear strain rate of forming particles must be exactly equal to the energy dissipated by interface fracture of these particles. The basic hypothesis is that the interface fracture occurs instantly, as soon as the energy balance is satisfied. Like in the preceding work, this additional apparent viscosity is a power function of the rate of the deviatoric strain invariant. But here the power exponent is different, equal to $$-7/3$$ , and the apparent viscosity is found to be proportional also to the time derivative of the rate of that invariant, i.e., to the second derivative of the shear strain. It is assumed that the interface fracture that comminutes the material into small particles occurs instantly, as soon as the local kinetic energy of shear strain rate in the forming particles becomes equal to the energy required to form interface fractures. The post-comminution behavior, including subsequent further comminution and clustering into bigger particle groups to release the kinetic energy that is being dissipated by inter-group friction, is discussed and modeled. The present formulation makes it possible to eliminate the artificial damping of all types, which is normally embedded in commercial finite element codes but is not predictive since it is not justified physically. With the aforementioned improvements, and after implementation into the new microplane model M7 for fracturing damage in concrete (which includes the quasi-static rate effects), the finite element predictions give superior agreement with the measured exit velocities of steel projectiles penetrating concrete walls of different thicknesses and with the measured depths of penetration into concrete blocks by projectiles of different velocities. Finally it is pointed out that the theory presented may also be used to predict proximate fragmentation and permeability enhancement of gas shale by powerful electric pulsed-arc explosions in the borehole.
International Journal of Fracture 01/2015; DOI:10.1007/s10704-015-0019-0