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Elastoplastic trouser tear testing of sheet materials

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Abstract

An elastoplastic analysis of trouser tear testing is presented and differences from the Mai-Cotterell rigid-plastic analysis [1] are highlighted. In particular, the simple linear plot of the latter for tearing force per unit thickness against leg width proves to be a curve with a lower intercept for fracture toughness, since the radius of tearing increases with leg width. Furthermore, the curve passes through a maximum and the tearing force decreases at very large leg widths owing to the effects of elasticity. Experiments on NS4 aluminium alloy and on 64/36 brass sheet (including the effects of anisotropy) confirm these results.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Engineering, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Box 225, RG6 2AY, Reading, UK

    C. M. Muscat-Fenech & A. G. Atkins

Authors
  1. C. M. Muscat-Fenech
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  2. A. G. Atkins
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Muscat-Fenech, C.M., Atkins, A.G. Elastoplastic trouser tear testing of sheet materials. Int J Fract 67, 69–80 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00032365

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00032365

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