Asymptotic Crack-Tip Fields for Perfectly Plastic Solids Under Plane-Stress and Mixed-Mode Loading Conditions

Abstract

In this paper, we first discuss some of the properties of the crack-tip sectors for perfectly plastic materials under plane-stress conditions. Then starting with the plane-stress mixed-mode crack-tip fields suggested by Shih (1973), we assemble these sectors in a slightly different manner from those in Shih (1973). The missing governing equations needed to completely specify the crack-tip fields for both near mode I and near mode II mixed-mode loadings are derived. The mode I crack-tip field, as the limit of the near mode I cases, differs from Hutchinson’s solution (1968) by the appearance of a small constant stress sector ahead of the crack tip. In addition, the relevance of the solutions of the near mode II cases to some interesting features of the mixed-mode crack-tip fields, as suggested by Budiansky and Rice (1973), is also discussed.