Rapid extension of a penny-shaped crack under torsion (Q1843342)

Under quasi-static loading conditions, effects of inertia on crack propagation are significant if a crack propagates fast enough to generate appreciable wave motions in the medium. Inertia effects are also important if the external loads are rapidly applied and give rise to stress waves which strike the crack and cause fracture. In this paper the rapid extension of a penny-shaped crack under torsion is investigated. Both dynamic and quasi-static loading is considered. The wave motion is analyzed through a Green's function technique which leads to an integral equation for the stress field around the-crack. Asymptotic expansions for the stress intensity and velocity intensity functions which are valid for small time are obtained for the two types of loading. The propagation of the crack is analyzed through the balance of rates of energy criterion. The results show that a penny-shaped-crack which is struck by an incident torsional wave may begin to propagate a short time after it is struck. This is consistent with the results for analogous two dimensional antiplane problems. Also, a crack in a body which is loaded quasi-statically may begin to propagate if the load exceeds a certain critical value. In the early stages this crack will propagate with constantly increasing velocity.