Asymptotic Crack Tip Fields in Linear and Nonlinear Materials and Their Role in Crack Propagation

The famous Wieghardt, Griffith and Irwin criteria predict the onset of fracture in linear elastic materials. They have to be supplemented by appropriate criteria for predicting the path that the fracture will follow until the failure of the structure. These require the knowledge of the stress and displacement fields at the front of propagating fracture which depend on the actual loading on the structure and its boundary conditions. In this paper...