Fracture analysis of blunt V-notched PMMA under compression-shear loading

The fracture load and the fracture initiation angle are experimentally measured for round-tip V-notched Brazilian disk (RV-BD) specimen made of PMMA under compressive-shear loading. It is shown by means of finite element analysis that although the notch bisector line is under compressive-shear loading, one side of the notch border still sustains tensile stresses. Both the experimental observations and the finite element analyses indicated that fracture takes place from the tensile side of the notch border. Then, the experimentally obtained fracture loads and fracture initiation angles are predicted by using the round-tip V-notch maximum tangential stress (RV-MTS) fracture criterion. The criterion is developed in the form of fracture curves, in terms of the notch stress intensity factors (NSIFs). A very good agreement is shown to exist between the theoretical predictions and the experimental results for various notch opening angles and different notch radii.

کلیدواژه ها:

Brittle fracture ، Mixed mode loading ، Negative mode І ، V-notched Brazilian disk