Nuclear Engineering and Design 80 (1984) 233-245 233

North-Holland, Amsterdam

HOW TO USE DAMAGE MECHANICS *

(This paper is dedicated to the memory of A. Sawczuk (1927-1984))

Jean LEMAITRE
Professor at University Paris 6, Laboratoire de Mbcanique et Technologie, E.N.S.E. T/Universitb PARIS 6/CNRS,
61, Avenue du Prbsident Wilson, 94230 Cachan, France

Received 22 August 1983

The background of continuum damage mechanics is first presented in the framework of thermodynamics with some
examples of constitutive equations for ductile damage, creep damage and fatigue damage. After the general scheme of
structural calculations for macro-crack initiation, through non-coupled or coupled strain damage equations, some examples of
"simple applications" are given: fracture limits of metal forming, surface initial damage in fatigue, creep fatigue interaction,
and bifurcation of cracks.

1. Introduction
Damage mechanics has now reached a state of devel-
opment which allows engineering applications. This part
of solid mechanics based on metallurgy gives a better
understanding of rupture problems in structures by the
definition of a variable which represents the deteriora-
tion of the materials before the initiation of a macro-
crack. This variable has to be local in the sense of
continuum mechanics in order to be introduced in
structural calculations.
Damage in metals is mainly the process of the initia-
tion and growth of micro-cracks and cavities. At that
scale the phenomenon is discontinuous. Kachanov in
1958 [1] was the first to introduce a continuous variable
related to the density of such defects. This variable has
constitutive equations for evolution, written in terms of
stress or strain which may be used in structural calcula-
tions in order to predict the initiation of macro-cracks.
These constitutive equations have been formulated in
the framework of thermodynamics and identified for
many phenomena: dissipation and low cycle fatigue in
metals (Lemaitre [2] 1971), coupling between damage
and creep (Leckie [3]-Hult [4] 1974), high cycle fatigue
(Chaboche [5] 1974), creep-fatigue interaction [6],
* Invited lecture of Division L of the 7th International Con-
ference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology
(SMiRT-7), Chicago, Illinois, USA, August 22-26, 1983.
ductile plastic damage [7]; that is the three main kinds
of damage: fatigue damage, ductile damage and creep
damage.
The assumption of isotropic damage, is often suffi-
cient to give a good prediction of the carrying capacity,
the number of cycles or the time to local failure in
structural components. The calculations are not too
difficult because of the scalar nature of the damage
variable in this case. For anisotropic damage the varia-
ble is of tensorial nature (Chaboche [8] 1978, Murakami
[9], Krajcinovic [10]) and the work to be done for
identification of the models and for applications is
much more complicated [10,11]. Nevertheless, since
1975, damage mechanics has been applied with success
in several fields to evaluate the integrity of structural
components and it is the conviction of the present
writer that it will bec. ome in the near future one of the
main tools for analyzing the strength of materials as a
complement to fracture mechanics. Before explaining
" h o w to use damage mechanics" with some examples, it
is necessary to give a short background on the subject.
2. Elements of damage mechanics
2.1. Damage variable
In a damaged body, let us consider a volume element
at macro-scale, that is of a size large enough to contain

0 0 2 9 - 5 4 9 3 / 8 4 / $ 0 3 . 0 0 E l s e v i e r S c i e n c e P u b l i s h e r s B.V.
( N o r t h - H o l l a n d Physics P u b l i s h i n g D i v i s i o n )
234 J. Lemaitre / How to use damage mechanics

2.1.3. Hypothesis o f strain equivalence

The effective resisting area S can be calculated
through m a t h e m a t i c a l homogenization techniques [12]
~<~ -~
but the shape a n d the size of the defects must be
I/ known, which is somewhat difficult, even with a good
electron microscope! To avoid this difficulty the follow-
ing hypothesis is m a d e [13]:
Every strain behavior of a d a m a g e d material is repre-
\S
sented by constitutive equations of the u n d a m a g e d
material in the potential of which the stress is simply
Fig. 1. Damaged element.
replaced by the effective stress.
Example of one-dimensional linear elasticity:

~ = o/E u n d a m a g e d state,
m a n y defects, a n d small enough to be considered as a
o
material point of the mechanics of c o n t i n u a (fig. 1). Let e = 6 / E damaged state,
(1 - D ) E
S the overall section area of this element, defined by the
n o r m a l n, a n d S the effective resisting area, that is S c ~ being the elastic strain and E the Young's modulus.
diminished from the surface intersections of the micro-
cracks a n d cavities a n d corrected for the microstress
concentrations in the vicinity of discontinuities a n d for 2.2. Thermodynamics
the interactions between closed defects. By definition,
the d a m a g e variable D associated with the direction of In order to model the isotropic p h e n o m e n a of elas-
the normal n is: ticity, thermal effects, plasticity a n d damage within the
framework of the t h e r m o d y n a m i c s of irreversible
processes the state variables given in table 1 must be
D. S s ~ , introduced [13]. The plastic strain tensor is defined from
the total strain tensor by c p = c - c * and the scalar p by:
D. = 0 corresponds to the u n d a m a g e d state,
p = (2iP: iP)1/2.
D. = De, a critical value, corresponds to the rupture of
the element in two parts (0.2 ~< De ~< 0.8 for metals).
2.2.1. Thermodynamic potential
The free energy ~b, taken as the t h e r m o d y n a m i c
2.1.1. Hypothesis o f isotropy potential in which elasticity a n d plasticity are uncou-
W h e n cracks a n d cavities are oriented D, is a func- pled, gives the law of thermoelasticity coupled with
tion of n which leads to an intrinsic variable of tensorial d a m a g e and the definition of the associated variables
n a t u r e [8,9]. If cracks a n d cavities are equally distrib-
uted in all d i r e c t i o n s , / 9 , does n o t depend u p o n n a n d
the isotropic intrinsic variable is a scalar: D. Table 1
Observable Internal Associated
2.1.2. Concept o f effective stress variables variables variables
The stress vector taken as the density of forces with Elastic strain Stress tensor
regard to the effective area S is called effective stress tensor o
vector ~'. It is related to the usual stress vector T by: ~e
S T Temperature Entropy
1"= T-~ or ]?= 1 _ D T s
Accumulated Increment of
which leads to the effective Cauchy stress tensor o plastic the yield
strain p surface: R
related to the usual stress tensor o by:
Damage D Damage strain
energy release
rate y
 J. Lemaitre / How to use damage mechanics 235

related to internal variables. As ( - y ) is a quadratic function: b >/0.

The rupture criterion:
= ~ e ( , e, T, D ) + % ( T , p ) .
- Y =Yc ~ crack initiation,
In the case of linear elasticity where a is the fourth
order tensor of elasticity and p the density considered as may be written in terms of D through the one-dimen-
constant: sional rupture stress oR:
1
I/%= ~ p a : c : ( 1 - D ) . 02 OR
Yc 2 E ( 1 - De) --* De = 1
(2Eyo) 1/2"
The damage elasticity law obeys the hypothesis of strain
equivalence: Many experiments have shown that:
a~
o=p~ce=a:~.c(1-D) or O = a : e. 0.2 ~< De ~< 0.8

The variable y associated with D is defined by: which allows (1 - De) x to be neglected with regard to 1
when x is much greater than 1.
y=p-ff-~
a~ = - a : ce: c~" The potential of dissipation is a scalar convex func-
tion of flux variables (iP, p, 19, and the heat flux q ) or
We, being the density of elastic strain energy defined by their dual variables (by means of the Legendre-Fenchel
dW = a : dc , the expression for y shows that: transform), the state variables acting as parameters:
1 dW
-y = - -- at constant a and T. q 0 . ( ~ p , p , y , q; , T,p, D).
1-D 2 dD
By analogy with " G " in fracture mechanics, - y is It gives the constitutive equations for the evolution of
called " d a m a g e strain energy release rate". dissipative variables, in particular for D:
- y may be calculated as a function of the hydro-
static stress o H = tr(o), the Von Mises equivalent stress D= -O~*/Oy ].
(related to the second invariant of the stress deviator)
and the Poisson ratio v:
2.3. Damage models
O'q ~ [ 2~(0' -- OH'I) : ( O -- OH1)] 1/2
Many models may be derived from this formalism,
e2 [](l+v)+3(l_2v)(.] 2] the difficulty being in the choice of the analytic expres-
Y = 2 E ( 1 - D ) 2 Oeq ] J" sions for the function 9~* and in its identification from
experiments in each particular case of damage. Thus a
By analogy with the one-dimensional case, taken as a measure of damage is needed. A m o n g several different
stress reference o*, Oeq = O*, OH = 3o 1 . , --y =
methods [13] it may come from the variation of Young's
o ' 2 / 2 E ( 1 - D) 2, it is possible to define a " d a m a g e modulus through elasticity law coupled with damage:
equivalent stress" [14]:
ti=E% or o=E(1-D)~e.

o* = Ooq z3(1 + v) + 3 ( 1 - 2 v ) ( ~ - ~ The quantity E ( 1 - D ) = E can be considered as the

elasticity modulus of the damaged material from which:

which may be used to write any three-dimensional

damage constitutive equation (isotropic) in the same
D=I-~
way as for the one-dimensional case.

Young's modulus E being known, careful measurement

2.2.2. Dissipation
of the elasticity modulus E on specimens damaged by
The second principle of thermodynamics imposes
ductile plasticity, creep or fatigue leads to a quantitative
that damage dissipation must be non-negative:
evaluation of the damage variable D as shown in fig. 2.
- - y D >/O. Some examples of damage models are now listed below.
236 J. Lemaitre / H o w to use damage mechanics

0 MPo) In the case of radial loading, when the principal direc-

tions of stresses do not vary, the triaxiality ratio oH/%q
500.
is constant and this expression may be integrated using
400- the conditions:

300 P < PD (damage threshold) ~ D = 0,

200 P = PR (strain to rupture) ~ D = D~.

100' Neglecting elastic strain in the calculation of p [ p

~ ~ ~' C 10 2 (2~: ~)] and using PD/PR =~O/CR, the equation for
0
I00 liO - damage evolution D may be written in terms of the
one-dimensional threshold Cr~ and one-dimensional
strain to rupture OR:
D
_~ =.G5

io /[ t ;l /
//
'R--'~ p ~(1 + ~ ) + 3 ( 1 -- 2~) --~

Identification of such a model consists in the quantita-

tive evolution of the coefficients co, c R and D (Poisson's
coefficient being known from elasticity) which can be
. . . . . . . -'e done from experimental results such as those shown on
2b * [,~b ' ~ ' 8'0 ' 16oI ' ~- fig. 2.
~-'p n =' 35 "CpR = 1,07
2.3.2. Creep damage
Fig. 2. Ductile plastic damage of copper 99.9%. Metals loaded at high temperature (above J of the
absolute melting temperature) are subjected to another
kind of damage mainly due to intercrystalline micro-
2.3.1. Ductile plastic damage cracking. The early Kachanov's model [1] extended to
Ductile damage in metals is essentially the initiation the three-dimensional case may be derived from a
and growth of cavities due to large deformations ( p = 0.2 potential written as:
to 2). Experiments of ductile rupture show that a start-
ing expression for the potential ~0" can be:
_r+l
S 2 2

from which:
from which:
b Ocp*
Oy -YTJ
2 E ] r/2 A ) or
D= ~sYp.
S is a coefficient, material and temperature depen-
o. )r
dent. If in the expression for ( - y ) , O c q / ( 1 - D ) is
1)=((1-D)A '

replaced by its value as a function of p taken from the

hardening law of plasticity coupled with damage: O~q/(1
- D) = Kp 1/M. ( K and M being coefficients which are
material dependent) one obtains the following differen-
tial constitutive equation for ductile plastic damage
[151:
b = -ff~ ~(1 + ~) + 3(1 - 2~)
where o* is the damage equivalent stress, A and r being
coefficients which depend upon the material and the
temperature.
F r o m this expression it is easy to calculate the time
t c to the initiation of a creep damage macro-crack at a
point in a component where the state of stress is con-
stant in time with the conditions:
%
t=0---~D=0, t = t c ~ - - D = D c.
 J. Lemaitre / How to use damage mechanics 237

0 (MPo) So and s o being material and temperature dependent

coefficients. It is more convenient to write this constitu-
tive equation in terms of stress, which can be done by
600 ~~~x-,_._..._, T replacing p by its value taken from the hardening law of
^;""~" X mX ""-- X
~.~..x~ ~ x ~ x ~ 760 micro-plasticity, in a similar way as for ductile plastic
400- "x~x-.. ~x_"""~X~x
~ x---~'Omx..~o ~ a ( - . . . . - ' ' ~ 81 5 damage. The result [with ( M / K M ) ( 2 E S o ) ~o = B0, 2s 0 +
"~x~, ~x--..tx "--x.~ x~ 850
M - 1 = fl0] is:
200" ~-~ ~"X X~.,, ~ "~x
o-o~ ~. x-.~ ~ 900
/ a ,,2]so
oO-o. dD=Bo 2(l+p)+3(1-2v)(~) J 6~ldO~q,,
x ~ ~ ~ 1000
60"
40"

20-
x

x ~
~ 1040

1100 *C
[
i f 0 ~ ~(1 + 7,) + 3(1 - -
(;]
21,) H-

%q
- > oj;

, , ~ tc(h) dD=0 if #~q[2(1 + , ) + 3 ( 1 - 2 ~ , ) ( OH

10 102 lO 3

Fig. 3. Creep rupture curves for IN 100 refractory alloy [6]. ( o mbeing the fatigue l i m i t ) .

To obtain a classical constitutive equation for fatigue,

Neglecting (1 - O c ) r+' with regard to 1 gives: which gives the variation of damage per cycle 8 D / / S N
the model has to be integrated over one cycle. Assuming
a "positive" and proportional loading ( o H / % q = cte)
tc= ~
defined by maximum OcqM and m i n i m u m %qm values of
%q and if (1 - D ) #o 1 is considered as a constant over
This equation allows the coefficients A and r to be one cycle:
identified from one-dimensionai creep rupture tests
curves such as shown in fig. 3 for several temperatures. [ OH \2]So
8D
2. 3. 3. Fatigue damage - - =

aN
(fl0 + 1)(1 - D ) ~+l
Fatigue damage occurs when metals are subjected to
periodic or variable loadings. The repetition of maximal
values of stress induces transcrystalline micro-cracks
which may yield failure within 10 to 10 4 cycles (low The number of cycles to failure for a periodic loading
cycle fatigue in the plastic range) or 105 to 107 cycles
(high cycle fatigue in the elastic range).
The mathematical treatment to model fatigue damage
is more complicated than for the two other kinds of T
damage because several effects such as nonlinear cumu- 800 9~,C~-.~00 * C
lation, effect of mean stress etc., are important. Assum-
600.
ing that damage fatigue is always associated with a 500. x
1000"C "o% ~
micro-plasticity phenomenon represented by a variable
of micro-plastic strain p, some (but not all) principal
4oo. ~x ~ ~
features of the fatigue phenomenon may be represented 300] 11ooc a~o ~ _
by the potential:

so / _y~O+,.
*(y,/,;r)=;-o-~t~o ) p
from which: 10 102 103 104 105 106
N F

Fig. 4. Woehler rupture fatigue curves for IN100 refractory

ay alloy f -- 5 Hz [5].
 238 J. L e m a i t r e / H o w to use damage mechanics

defined by (%qM, Oeqm) is obtained from integration of where

this cyclic model for N = 0 --* D = 0 and N = N R *-- D =
1: (x) =xifx>O
(x) 0 if x..< 0.
(/3o + 1)~0~l
- x / Bo+l
M #0+iX)
-- O'~]m -l
N R o H is the mean value of the hydrostatic stress o H,
/ 0 \2]s "
2(/30 + 2 ) B o :~(1 + u) + 3(1 - 2 v ) [ ~H ) I M ( O H ) = O , ( 1 --bb-HH).
~%qJ J
Identification of the 5 coefficients of the model for each
Applied to the one-dimensional case (%q = o, oH/ocq = material: /3, a, oj( fatigue limit) b, % (ultimate stress)
1 / 3 ) this is the equation of the classical Woehler curve needs the Woehler curve and some two stress levels
(fig. 4) from which it is possible to identify the two fatigue tests.
coefficients B 0 and fl0 for each material at each temper-
ature considered. A more realistic model, which is more
complicated and which does not correspond to an ex- 3. Principle of structural calculations for macro-crack
plicit form of the potential of dissipation, is [5]: initiation
The damage models give the possibility to calculate

8D = [1 _ (1 _ D),e+ 1] ,,(A,,. ~.,J2M,

6-N ( All
M~.)(-I -- D )
the damage evolution with time in each point of a
structure up to macro-crack initiation as function of the
stress or strain fields. The first thing to do is to calculate
these fields.
where All = sup, sup, J2[o(t ) - o(t0) ] over one cycle,
3.1. Uncoupled calculations
corresponds to the Sines fatigue limit criterion:
The scheme of the calculation is given in fig. 5.
J2(") = ~1 [(.,-02)2+(02-0,)2+(03-0,)211/~ The geometry of the structure is known and the
loads are given as functions of time.
o~ being the principal stresses. The constitutive equations identified for the material
of the structure are also known. Let us consider, as
an example, Prandtl-Reuss elasto-plastic constitu-
tive equations using the isotropic hardening hypothe-
sis:

't
st-rgin . damage crock ]
consLtLuLive evoluLion propogoLion
equation laws ows

sLress and
sLroin fields
hisLories

methode of]
calculaLion J
damage
mechanics ] imechanics
fracture[
Fig. 5. Scheme of non-coupled calculation of strains and macro-crack initiation and propagation.
 J. Lemaitre/ How to use damagemechanics 239

(=(e+(p, lence gives a simple way to introduce the damage in the

l+v v strain constitutive equations. The previous equations of
C= ~ a - ~ tr(o)l, elasto-plasticity become:
do~q aD (=~e+(p,
d(P =
Ky t Oeq-k I I-My Oeq' (e l+v o 1' _--+tr()1
My E 1-D :I-D '
3 daeq o I3
where k is the yield stress, Ky and My are hardening
d(P = --
coefficients, o is the stress deviator. /c, - kz '(p)
The stress and strain fields corresponding to the
loading are obtained by finite dement techniques,
for example: to which the damage model corresponding to the damage
involved has to be added, in fatigue for example (see
o(M,t),,P(M,t). section 2.3)
It is these quantities that have to be introduced in
damage models. Special techniques may be used in 8NS-D-D[ 1 - ( 1 - D ) a + l ] "( M(1 AII-D) )~8.
order to save time in the integrations of differential
constitutive equations for damage, when the loading
varies with time [16]. The scheme of the calculation given in fig. 6 is simpler
but the method of calculation is more complicated due
3.2. Coupled calculations to the fact that the step by step calculation of the
stresses, the strains and the damage must cover the
In fact, the damage field has an influence on the whole lifetime of the structure [17]. It is interesting to
state of stress or strain mainly due to its effect on note that, with this formulation, there is no need for
Young's modulus of the material. This third cause of fracture mechanics to calculate the crack behavior. D ~-
redistribution of stress has to be taken into account in De at a point M 0 defines a macro-crack in M 0 and
the strain structure calculation. The concept of effective corresponds to a zero stiffness at that point. Then,
stress associated with the hypothesis of strain equiva- further calculation gives the conditions at which the

strain _ damageI
constitutive ]
equations I

l llst' es';t,ooII
It and damage I1
I crack initiation 1
end propogationI' k_~condition ;
..... I

methode of coupledJ
calculations
Fig. 6. Scheme of structural calculation for coupled strain and damage.
240 J. Lemaitre / How to use damage mechanics

n e i g h b o u r point M 1 also loses its rigidity to give a
bigger crack together with M 0. As a consequence, the
crack growth is the succession of points for which
D = D~. A n example is given in section 4.3.
4. Specific applicaEons
the considered metal, the Poisson's ratio u and the strain
to rupture in one-dimensional tension ~R. Of course
some plastic analysis of the process is necessary to
determine o . / o ~ . K n o w i n g PR, one has to check if the
m a x i m u m accumulated strain calculated, from the
kinematic strain field of the process c~M~: p = (~c: c)~/2
is less than pR or not.

After the general schemes of calculation some specific 11/2~ ?

applications are given in order to prove that the d a m a g e (M)

business may be simple!
4.1. Fracture limits o f metal f o r m i n g
R e t u r n i n g to the ductile plastic damage model, it
allows the possibility to calculate the accumulated strain
(elastic strain n e g l e c t e d ) p = P R corresponding to the
local rupture D = Dc;
2 + v) + 3(1 -- 2~') _ _
PR = c R ~-~
This expression contains the large influence of the tri-
axiality ratio on fracture; numerical values are in agree-
m e n t with those given by the models for the growth of
voids of Mac-Clintock [18] and Rice and Tracey [19],
a n d with experiments on the fracture of n o t c h e d speci-
mens [20].
R e m e m b e r that the analytical integration of the
model is only possible for radial loading. T h e n for any
metal-forming process corresponding to quasi-radial
If the process is far from a radial loading, OH/Oeq is a
function of time a n d one must use the differential
model D( p, ovi/ooa ) which has to be integrated for each
particular case together with p = ( ~ : ~)1/2 the fracture
limit for p (or c) being defined by D = D c.
A n interesting particular case is the one of plane
stress which corresponds to the deep drawing of sheets.
In that case the triaxiality ratio may be calculated as a
function of the principal strains ~l a n d c2, ( ( 3 = - - ( ( 1 +
~2)) from the incompressibility condition of plasticity
using the integrated Hencky law of plasticity:
c2
--+1
OH Cl
Oeq ~F3 ~1 -}-(
~I-{-I
The accumulated plastic strain may also be calculated
as a function of ~1 a n d c2:
2 2 xl/2
= -

loading, the curves g i v i n g p R / c R as a function of OH/Oeq

are the master curves to determine the limiting value p R
in order to avoid local fracture. They are d r a w n o n fig. I n t r o d u c i n g these formulas in the expression of p R leads
7. To use it for practical purposes one must known, for to the condition of local rupture expressed in terms of ~l

P~
C1
C CR

]5

o,5
~\ ./~ = 0,3
/y C2
I I I
Ueq _.;5 _.'1 _.& 0 .o'5 .~ .~5 CR
0 1 2 3

Fig. 7. Accumulated strain to local rupture in metals. Fig. 8. Fracture limits of deep drawing.
 J. Lemaitre / How to use damage mechanics
a n d c 2 [21]:
+','2+
e~ \OR/
4
\ Oeq ]
1-:
J =o.
The corresponding curves are the well-known fracture
limits curves of deep drawing (fig. 8). They are quasi-
straight lines in the useful-range as shown by m a n y
experiments [22] a n d by more sophisticated analysis
taking into account necking instability [23]. It is inter-
esting to observe that, here again, c l / c R expressed as a
function of ~2/~R, are the master carves for any metal
loaded in radial a n d plane stress conditions, the material
d e p e n d e n t p a r a m e t e r (added to ER) being Poisson's
ratio 1,.
4.2. Initial value o f damage
The p r o b l e m of initial conditions in structural calcu-
lations is a difficult one because o n e knows neither the
exact mechanical conditions of the m a c h i n i n g a n d form-
ing process n o r the states of internal stress, h a r d e n i n g or
damage. T h e initial value of d a m a g e is especially im-
p o r t a n t in the fatigue p h e n o m e n o n where cracks more
often initiate o n free surfaces of structures even when
the stress field is uniform. Let us show how it is possible
to o b t a i n an a p p r o x i m a t e estimation of a n equivalent
initial value of " s u r f a c i c " d a m a g e D O for fatigue from
classical tests. Consider a structure c o m p o n e n t in which
a d o m a i n ~ is subjected to a u n i f o r m stress field,
periodic in time (fig. 9). A t the initial value of time t o ,
the damage D is assumed to be zero everywhere except
in a s u b d o m a i n ~ c o n t a i n i n g the free surface O ~ of
a n d its n e i g h b o u r h o o d of small d e p t h where D = Do, is
a n u n k n o w n value. One way to estimate D O is to calcu-
late the ratio of the n u m b e r of cycles N~ to initiation of
a macro-crack in the s u b d o m a i n .@s to the n u m b e r of
cycles to failure in the d o m a i n ( ~ - ~ ) . A s s u m i n g that
"~--- D ( ~ . ) -_ 0
D(t.): D.
Fig. 9. Initial surfacic damage on a domain ~.
241
d a m a g e does not affect the stress field, we use the
simple pure fatigue model m e n t i o n e d in section 2.3.
0D
[
2 B 0 2(1 + p) + 3(1 - 2 p )
3N
(fl0 + 1)(1 - D ) #+l
[ 0o+1 _#0+ 1"~
x~o,~M -Oeq,~ 1.
T h e loading being periodic O~qM, o ~ m, OH/O,,q are con-
stant
- within the d o m a i n ~ s N = 0 --* D = Do, a simple in-
tegration of the model gives the n u m b e r of cycles to
initiation N i for which N = N i ~ D = D~ = ,
(1 - + +
/~o+ I'~ - I
m )
N~=
: O \2Is
(/30 +2)2Bo ~(1+")+3(I-2~)(~-mH) J
- within the domain (~ - ~s): N = 0 --*D = 0, the same
integration gives:
1~{,,#o+1 -x
NR=
/ O \2Is
from which N i / N R = (1 - D o ) ao+2 a n d
N i / 1/(B + 2)
Fig. 10 gives a m e a n for the d e t e r m i n a t i o n of this
initial surfacic d a m a g e D O as a function of N i / N R a n d
flo, material dependent, acting parameter:
T h e model being identified for the material considered,
fl0 is known. T o o b t a i n the ratio N i / N R some fatigue
tests are performed on specimens m a d e from the same
material a n d with the same m a c h i n i n g as those of the
structure from which the n u m b e r of cycles to crack
initiation (a crack of = 0.1 m m depth) N i is observed
together with the n u m b e r of cycles to complete failure
N R. In fact, N i / N R depends u p o n the level of the stress
[24,25] which m e a n s that these tests must be performed
within the range of the stress assumed for the structure
u n d e r consideration. D O being d e t e r m i n e d from the
abacus, this is the value that has to b e introduced in the
surfacic d o m a i n ~ s , of the structure for structural a n d
d a m a g e calculations as explained in section 3.
N o t e that the measures of fig. 10 d e p e n d u p o n the
fatigue model chosen, which m e a n s that the same model
 242 J. Lemaitre / How to use damage mechanics

1_ Do d a m a g e is related to the strain amplitude, and the

Do

iS1
strain-range partitioning m e t h o d [28] give better accu-
racy but they are difficult to apply for a three-dimen-
sional state of stress a n d when the stress or strain are
not periodic.
The models described in section 2.3 may be used
O05 ~9s assuming that creep d a m a g e i n c r e m e n t d D c and fatigue
d a m a g e increment d D v are functions of the two damages
added:

dDc=fc(a, Dc + DF),
d O v = f v ( O , D v + De),
0,15 - - 0,85 a n d by addition:

dO =dD c + dO v = fc(o, D) + f v ( o , D).

,2 -~/ : 0/8 W i t h the n o t a t i o n of section 2.3 the damage per cycle of
period At: 3D/3N is [6]:

8D .~,( o* ):
o2s I/ I , ~ = fo ( 1 - D ) A d t
01 02 05 NR
fl+l a All ,8
Fig. 10. Initial surfacic damage.

a n d by integration for N = 0 --* D = 0 a n d N = N R ~ D

---1:
m u s t be used for crack initiation a n d growth in the ~ dD
structure. F o r example if the second fatigue model of
section 3 is used, the rule also depends o n the a coeffi-
NR=fo 1 (l-D)-: 1 [1-(1-D)'+1] "
cient. N r+] NF ( f l + l ) ( 1 - a ) ( 1 - D ) ~

4.3. Creep fatigue interaction where N F a n d N are functions of the local loading by:

W h e n metallic c o m p o n e n t s are subjected to periodic

or varying loading at high t e m p e r a t u r e ( T > J T ~ = K
melting point) b o t h the p h e n o m e n a of creep d a m a g e
a n d fatigue d a m a g e occur simultaneously. The difficult
p r o b l e m is that these two p h e n o m e n a interact together
in a n o n l i n e a r manner. Most often the linear interaction
rule of Taira [26]: T h e creep a n d fatigue models being identified for the
material considered ( A, r; B, a, o t, b a n d % coefficients)
A tN R NR if the loading is not periodic, N R is o b t a i n e d by a
- - + =1
numerical integration [16] in which the input is the
stress history represented by o~) a n d A n ( N ). If the
leads to errors by a factor of 2 to 10 or more: loading is periodic, it is possible, here again, to work
- A t is the period of a square wave periodic loading, with master curves: N F a n d N~ are constant, it is possible
- t e is the time to crack initiation as if the creep to write with the variable change:
damage would act alone,
- N F is the n u m b e r of cycles to crack initiation as if the (1 - D ) +1 = u
fatigue d a m a g e would exist alone,
a n d with:
- N a is the n u m b e r of cycles to crack initiation in the
real case. r+l
The M a n s o n - C o f f i n law [27] in which the c r e e p - f a t i g u e B+l
 J. Lemaitre / How to use damage mechanics 243

NR
1 NF

X= q 5 0,8 ,
~.=1
0,.
\ ".

\ \', ' "\.."'\. \<,I;%

\\ \~
0,,,-'. '.,, '~('("'.\
_",. \-.. \
\, \
-,.... '-. .'- ....
xaj~" ~ . ...
"-- - ',: N~
....--~. ..... -....-~... ,
0 -I . . . . . - - -":"~- ~--~-.---'-Z'~ '''~
0
0 0,2 0,4 0,6 q8 1 0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 I

Ng Ng
I,~., X _-1j5
qs. "~'"5.\ X= 2

06- _/o~

",.. aP-'"~--,~ ~ ~ "-.'~

"---4z~ _ - ~ . ? . . ~ x . N..
0
0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 I o q2 6,4 6,6 q'8 I
Fig. ll. Creep fatigue interaction diagrams.

we obtain: (see section 2.3). This allows the a p p r o p r i a t e curve to be

NR f [ N~ u1-x
-+
a n expression in which two p a r a m e t e r s A a n d a appear.
By numerical calculation it is possible to draw the
well-known interaction diagram (Nrt/NF, NR/N) for
any material represented b y one value of A a n d the
value of a which corresponds to the local stress (fig. 11).
T o use these curves one m u s t first k n o w the values of r
a n d fl of the material, to select the a p p r o p r i a t e value of
x = (r + 1)/(fl + 1).
K n o w i n g the local stress, a is calculated by:
t=l--a(AII-OI(I-~-~H)
selected. N c a n d N F are calculated from the previous
formulas from which the ratio N c / N r is determined.
Idu T h e n N R / N F is the o r d i n a t e of the intersection p o i n t of
the curve determined a n d of the straight line: N R / N F =
( Nc/NFX NR/Nc).
K n o w i n g N R / N F a n d N F any child knows h o w to
calculate N R.
4. 4. Bifurcations of cracks
T h e last application deals with the b e h a v i o r of
macro-cracks. Classical fracture mechanics, with the
concepts of stress-intensity factors, strain energy release
rate or c o n t o u r integrals allows the solution of classical
p r o b l e m s of elasticity in two dimensions a n d elastoplas-
ticity if the plastic energy involved at the crack tip is
small in c o m p a r i s o n to the elastic energy. F o r high
244 J. Lemaitre / How to use damage mechanics

1.

Fig. 12. Bifurcation of cracks.

nonlinear and three-dimensional problems involving the tions are:

effects of history of loading it is the conviction of the
author that a local approach by means of damage 1 + v o I, t r ( a )
= - - I
mechanics is more appropriate. E 1-D E1-D
D = De is the condition for a macro-crack initiation / o \21s
at the point considered. Remember from section 3.2
that a crack in the sense of fracture mechanics may be
considered as the set of points for which the damage has 3N (rio + 1)
reached its critical value De. Then, a structural calcula- [( UeqM//3+1__( Oeqm~fl+l].
tion performed with strain constitutive equations cou-
[\-(7~1 \l-D}
pled with damage as explained in section 3.2 gives the
points (or the element if the F E M technique is used) for
They are implemented in a plane stress finite element
which D = De, as a function of the history of loading.
code using three-nodes triangles which allows a decrease
This represents the behavior of the crack(s).
of the stiffness due to the damaged elasticity modulus
As an example let us describe the problem of the E=(1-D). The numerical strategy adopted is the
bifurcation of a crack in a sheet loaded in its plane in a standard Euler algorithm and the integration over time
non-proportional condition, that is the calculation of is made for a sufficiently small damage increment A D
the angle of an increment of crack with its previous for which the stiffness matrix is re-evaluated. For one
shape due to a variation of the direction of the loading
value of the ratio F 1 / F 2 this procedure is applied up to
[29]. Consider a thin sheet (fig. 12) submitted to biaxial
D = De in some elements above the crack tip which
loading, F 1 and F 2, low enough to have high cycle
defines the /} angle. The results are in good agreement
fatigue for which plasticity can be ignored even at the
with those of ref. [30]. An example is given in fig. 12.
crack tip. The material is 2024 aluminum alloy. The
initial crack is inclined at an angle ~t to the direction of
the loading which corresponds to the direction of crack
growth for F 1 / F E = r (with Fimin=0 and Fimax= 5. C o n c l u s i o n s
constant). When the ratio r is modified the phenomenon
of bifurcation occurs and it is characterized by the angle - The formalism of continuous damage mechanics is
/~ (fig. 12). The damaged elasticity constitutive equa- simple.
 J. Lemaitre / How to use damage mechanics
- Hypothesis of isotropic damage makes equations sim-
ple.
- Anisotropic damage is complicated.
- Modelling damage constitutive equations needs good
experience and good experiments.
- Identification of models is complicated.
- Damage evaluation needs good stress and strain
structural calculations.
- Crack initiation and crack growth are obtained from
structural calculation by a simple procedure.
- Ductile fracture, initial value of damage, c r e e p - f a -
tigue interaction, in three-dimensional conditions may
be obtained from simple master curves.
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