Fully Plastic Plane Stress Solutions for Biaxially Loaded Center-Cracked Plates

Abstract

Numerical values for the J integral of fracture mechanics, crack opening and load-point displacements are given for stationary cracks in thin quadratic plates where the material is assumed to obey a power-law relation. The plates are loaded biaxially in their own plane under plane stress conditions and the solutions are given under the restriction of small strain and deformation theory. The remote boundaries of the plates are kept straight but free to slide in the tangential direction. This approximates the loading conditions for cruciform specimens with thinner center-sections as used in biaxial testing. It also represents a unit cell in a periodically cracked material. The cracks are loaded in Mode I. The present analysis clarifies the influence of load parallel to the crack and the sensitivity of remote boundary conditions on fracture mechanics parameters.