The damage performance in the vicinity of a crack tip is examined by l
ooking at the damage distribution and the size of damage zones just ah
ead of a macrocrack. The effects of damage caused by fracture path loc
al deflections, a reduction in the modulus of elasticity and a release
of the residual stresses on the stress intensity factor during microc
racking are studied. It is found that all these three factors produce
shielding effects on the stress intensity factor under Mode I loading.
Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.