Evaluating mixed-mode stress intensity factors from full-field displacement fields obtained by optical methods

A method for evaluating mode 1, mode 11 and mixed-mode stress intensity factors from in-plane displacement fields using the method of nonlinear least-squares is proposed in this paper. Along with stress intensity factors, crack tip location and rigid body displacement components are determined Simultaneously from both displacement components obtained using full-field optical methods or numerical methods. The effectiveness is validated by applying the proposed method to mixed-mode displacement fields obtained through digital image correlation, displacement fields obtained by analysis using elasto-plastic finite element method, and displacement fields around a fatigue crack obtained by electronic speckle pattern interferometry. Results show that the proposed method can extract stress intensity factors from the displacement fields both accurately and easily. Furthermore, they can be determined even if the material at a crack tip exhibits small-scale yielding. It is expected that the proposed method is applicable to various fracture problems during experimental and numerical evaluation of structural components. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.