Parameters controlling fracture resistance in functionally graded materials under mode I loading

In this investigation the fracture behavior of functionally graded materials (FGMs) was studied by means of experiments carried out on model polymer-based FGMs. Model graded materials were manufactured by selective ultraviolet irradiation of ECO [poly(ethylene carbon monoxide)], a photo-sensitive ductile copolymer that becomes more brittle and stiffer under exposure to ultraviolet light. The mechanical response of the graded material was characterized using uniaxial tensile tests. Single edge notched tension graded ECO specimens possessing different spatial variations of Young’s modulus, failure stress and failure strain were tested under remote opening loading. A full-field digital image correlation technique was used to measure in real-time the displacement field around the crack tip while it propagated through the graded material. The measured displacement field was then used to extract fracture parameters such as stress intensity factor and T-stress, and thus construct resistance curves for crack growth in the FGMs. For this loading configuration it was found that the nonsingular T-stress term in the asymptotic expansion for stresses needs to be accounted for in order to accurately measure the fracture resistance in FGMs. In addition, the influence of local failure properties (i.e., failure stress and failure strain) on crack growth resistance was investigated in detail. It was found that depending on the combined effects of the spatial variation of these two failure parameters, regardless of the spatial variation of the Young’s modulus, the FGM fracture resistance can either increase, decrease or remain constant with continued crack growth.