CVE 720

Fracture Mechanics and Plasticity Theory

The stress and deformation field in the region of a crack are derived using linear elastic analysis. Topics include analyzing the change in potential energy due to crack propagation (Griffith's analysis), understanding the origin of critical fracture toughness parameters, and developing fundamental fracture criteria. In addition, the course focuses on time-dependent plastic deformation analysis. Relationships between stress and strain that agree with experimental observations beyond the yield stress are constructed. Other highlighted topics include the application of these inelastic constitutive relationships in predicting plastic deformations in simple components; Drucker's stability postulates; the principles of slip-line theory; general theorems of limit analysis and their application in structural analysis; and the J-integral and fundamentals of elastic-plastic fracture analysis.

Units: 4.0