Investigation of constantly and transiently propagating cracks in functionally graded materials by dynamic photoelasticity

In this study, the stress intensity factors (SIFs) for steady and transient propagation of cracks in transparent homogeneous functionally graded materials were analyzed by using the photoelasticity technique. The fracture analysis was carried out for the cracks propagating from a region with high elasticity towards low elasticity, as well as the cracks propagating from a region with low elasticity towards high elasticity. The analysis includes cracks propagating (1) at an almost steady speed, and (2) with the rapid increase, followed by a decrease in speed. For cracks with almost constant velocity, the SIFs were greater when a crack started from a high elasticity region, as compared to the cracks which initiated from a low elasticity region. For cracks propagating with rapid acceleration and deceleration, when the strain energy accumulated in the material due to an increase in load or stress was released at the moment of crack propagation, the SIF was momentarily lowered by approximately 45 %–50 % of the static SIF(before crack initiation), which subsequently increases by approximately 30 % eventually, the crack acceleration approaches nearly zero; the SIF decreases and increases respectively as the crack propagates in a material with decreasing and increasing modulus of elasticity.