An Analytical Investigation on the Fracture Behaviour of Compact-Tension Test Specimens

Abstract

An analytical investigation on the fracture behaviour of a typical compact-tension (CT) test specimen is presented within the framework of the well-known weight-function technique. Simulations of this test configuration, extensively used for determining the fracture properties of a wide range of materials, have been carried out. The influence of the initial crack length is considered and a cohesivecrack model is used to establish the relevant displacement fields as well as the load ¡ displacement curve. Plane-strain finite-element models were built and comparisons with these results show that the weight-function method yields results without any appreciable error. In addition, observations of fracture behaviour in a CT specimen of Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) are used to assess the relevance of the theoretical results as well. Excellent agreement has also been achieved when comparing these experimental results available in the literature with the theoretical predictions.