PSEUDO PLANE-STRESS PLASTIC FIELD FOR MODE-I CRACK-GROWTH

The pseudo plane stress field for a mode I crack growth is analyzed fo r both perfectly plastic and power law hardening plastic materials. Wh en finite strain is taken into account, it is found that for perfectly plastic materials, the plastic domain is a narrow strip ahead of the crack tip. For power law hardening plastic material, the plastic domai n contains a strip and a region ahead of the strip. The fracture crite rion is discussed. The energy dissipated in the plastic strip is found to be proportional to the square of the thickness. Singular solutions to the field are ruled out by analysis. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V .