A fiber-bridged crack with rate-dependent bridging forces

A rate-dependent model is used to represent the bridging forces acting acro ss a fiber-bridged slit crack in a homogeneous anisotropic elastic material , with the potential to characterize the inelastic behavior of bridged crac ks in composites. The basic equilibrium equations are presented and solved, using a series of Chebychev polynomials and a suitable approximation numer ical scheme. An example of a bridged crack in an isotropic homogeneous mate rial is examined in detail. Results show that, under a constant external lo ad, the stress intensity factors and the energy release rate increase with time until a critical time is reached, after which all these quantities app roach the corresponding values for an unbridged crack. (C) 2001 Elsevier Sc ience Ltd. All rights reserved.