Crack Path Prediction for a Kinked Crack in the Neighborhood of a Circular Inclusion in an Infinite Medium

Abstract

In this paper, we study the effects of the elasticity and proximity of a circular inclusion upon the fracture angle of a bent crack in the surrounding matrix. The medium is assumed to be in plane strain, and loaded in uniaxial tension by stresses acting perpendicular to the main branch of the crack. A comparison is made of fracture-angle predictions based upon current theories governing the initial fracture angle.