Early structural concepts

Some of the structures in earlier have endured

for ages.
Materials used were brittle type like bricks, stones,
mortar: poor to carry tensile loads.
Avoided fracture possibilities by selecting
appropriate geometric shapes like arches, domes
The structure were designed to carry load by
compression

New structural concepts

Availability of metals lead to change in structural
concepts: allowed tension in structure. (this invited
additional problems like fracture)
Designs based on strength allowed a factor of safety
ranging from 2 to 10, but still structures failed by
sudden brittle fracture
Eg. 1919 rupture of Molasses tank in Boston
spilling 2 million gallons of molasses

* When ever there is new

material or new design
concepts produces
unexpected results leading
to catastrophic failure

1943, Liberty ship: a cargo ship

Prior to II world war liberty ships were riveted (very slow process) having no
fracture problems
During war, to accelerate ship building, England sought help from USA. USA
companies offered to build ship faster, by welding joints.
They maintained same geometric shape, ship hull turned out to be a single
envelope of steel.
Ships were sailing across Atlantic and Artic ocean. (cold temperatures). During
which two ships fractured suddenly in to two halves ( brittle fracture). Out of
2700 ships built, 400 ships suffered fractures of various degree.

Analysis
Unequal distribution of cargo and ballast was
causing hogging bending moment
Wave motion also caused hogging BM,
resulting in tensile stress on the deck.
Welds were produced by semi skilled work
force, which contained crack like flaws

Hogging Bending Moment

*Negligence during
construction or operation some
times results in catastrophic
failures

Flaw

Analysis (contd.)
cracks were found to initiate at square hatch
which induced stress concentration due tensile
stress
The high strength steel used for the ship had
poor toughness (Charpy impact test).
Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) will have low
ductility, behaving like a hardened material.
Due to rapid cooling, tensile residual stress
are induced. This is equivalent to crack like
defect.

Riveted joints
act as crack
arrester

welded joints
produce
continuous
crack

Conclusion on liberty ship failure

Steel-BCC crystal.
They can fracture by extended slip in some preferred planes producing
plasticity or
Fracture by cleavage under different plane under tensile stress without
plastic deformation, at a stress level below yield strength
Cleavage fracture are predominant at lower temperatures ( at lower
temperature yield strength is higher than fracture strength)
The combined effect of low ductile steel, freezing temperature, presence
of crack like defect (residual tensile stress), crack like defect in the weld lead
to sudden brittle fracture, which initiated at the hatch on the deck due to
tensile service load, crack propagated at fast rate (crack velocity = velocity
of sound) through the entire cross section of the hull breaking ship into two
halves.

Points to be noted
At service load tensile stress is induced in the deck due to which crack is
initiates/grows.
Presence of microcrack leading to stress concentration

Conventional Design Method

F
f
Structure or
a structural component
Applied Stress

Re

Safe Design
Accept

ign

< Yield
Strength

s
de

Conventional method ensures safety of

structure based on strength characteristics
often structure may have a FS varying
from 2 to 10
Design does not safeguard against possible
failure by fracture (brittle, ductile, fatigue,
dynamic)

> Yield
Strength

Unsafe Design

Design based on Strength of Material Approach

Fracture Mechanics Design approach

Structure or
a structural component

f
Applied Stress
Flaw
size

Fracture parameter

d
Re

< Fracture
Toughness

Safe Design
Accept

i gn
es

Fracture mechanics approaches

require that an initial crack size be
known or assumed. For components
with imperfections or defects (such as
welding porosities, inclusions and
casting defects, etc.) an initial crack
size may be known.
Fracture Mechanics ensures safety
against fracture failure
Evaluation of fracture parameter
may be required
In presence of visible crack for
ductile or fatigue loading condition,
FM can predict safety and life of the
structure

> Fracture
Toughness

Unsafe Design

Design based on Fracture Mechanics Approach

Ductile Fracture
Ductile fracture is preceded by extensive plastic
deformation
Ductile fracture is caused due to growth and
coalescence of voids (at the sites of inclusion)
Ductile fracture is a slow process , gives enough
precaution before catastrophic failure
Ductile fracture usually follows transgranular path
If the density of inclusion are more along grain
boundary, crack grows along boundaries leading to
fibrous or ductile intergranular fracture
If inclusions are not present, voids are formed at
severely deformed regions leading to localized slip
bands and macroscopic instability resulting in
necking or shear fracture

Intragranular
(Transgranular)

Intergranular

Plasticity retards crack growth and it

provides a factor of safety against over
loading or oversight in design.
Rupture by Necking

Rupture by Shear

Voids formed (at particle sites) during plastic

deformation and ductile fracture

Voids formed (at non-particle sites) during plastic deformation

and ductile fracture

Brittle fracture
Fast crack growth without excessive or no
plastic deformation.
Fracture stress will be lower than yield
strength
Brittle fracture may be transgranular
(cleavage) or intergranular
Brittle fracture are mostly predominant in
metals with bcc crystal at cryogenic
temperature or at high strain rate.
Micro cracks initiated by fatigue loading
may lead to brittle fracture
HAZ induces high tensile residual stress
HAZ also reduces the ductility
Shrinkage tears in weld may also cause
brittle fracture

Cleavage
fracture

Intergranular
brittle fracture

What are the general characteristics of brittle

fracture?
Very little general plasticity - broken pieces can be fitted together
with no obvious plastic deformation;
Rapid crack propagation (one third the speed of sound), eg 1 km/s
for steel;
Low energy absorption;
Low failure load relative to load for general yield;
Usually fractures are flat and perpendicular to the maximum
principal stress;
Fracture always initiates at a flaw or a site of stress concentration.
Examples
Mild steel at low temperature;
high strength Fe, Al and Ti alloys;
glass; perspex
ceramics
concrete
carrots (particularly fresh ones)