Characterization of isochromatic fringe patterns for a dynamically propagating interface crack

Abstract

The isochromatic fringes surrounding a crack propagating along a bimaterial interface have been developed and characterized. A parametric investigation has also been conducted to study the influence of various fracture parameters on this isochromatic fringe pattern. The relevant fracture parameters of interest were the crack-tip velocity, the mode mixity of loading and the non-singular stress field component. In all the cases the fringe pattern was compared with the more familiar patterns that are generated for the case of crack propagation in homogeneous media. It was found that both the crack tip velocity and the mode mixity of loading have a significant effect on the size and shape of the isochromatic fringe pattern surrounding a crack tip propagating along a bimaterial interface. However, the non-singular stress field component was found not to have a substantial effect on the fringe pattern. This is in contrast with the case of crack propagation in homogeneous media, where the non-singular stress field component determines the tilt of the fringe contours. The paper also presents an appropriate scheme to analyze experimental fringe contours to extract the various fracture parameters of interest. Finally, this scheme is employed to analyze actual experimental data from a typical bimaterial interface fracture experiment.