A simple method for measuring surface strains around cracks

A simple system has been developed to measure surface strains that occur during in situ deformation of mechanical test specimens. The system uses photolithographically deposited displacement markers and computer image recognition routines to determine in-plane displacements and strains from digital images. The strain calculating routines are integrated into a simple mouse-driven software package that facilitates the transformation from digital images to useful strain field information. Additional routines have been developed to determine crack tip stress fields and J integrals. Crack tip stress intensities have been calculated from strain maps obtained for traction-free cracks in stainless steel. The J integrals were found to be independent of contour and consistent with applied stress intensities. Crack tip stress intensities were calculated for bridged cracks in lamellar TiAl. The toughening effect of the bridging zones was determined by including the bridged region in the contours, Resistance curves generated from strain maps were consistent with those measured during mechanical testing.