Assessment of structural integrity under dynamic loading using path-independent integral

Abstract

In the present work, the integral, originally developed for a 2D stationary circular arc crack in a homogeneous and isotropic material subjected to multiple loads, has been implemented into a finite element postprocessing program for examining the path-independence behavior under elastic deformation while employing rapidly varying mechanical load. Under different loading rates, the integral has been computed on several contours in order to describe the invariant property of the integral. Numerical results reveal that, within the limits of computational accuracy, the path-invariant property is well preserved over the integration contours for the present loading rates. The variation of the integral with respect to time has also been studied for both plane strain and plane stress conditions. The numerical investigations confirm that the performance of the integral is sufficiently impressive and therefore suggest applicability in fracture-related studies. © 2013 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.