Modification of Griffith-McClintock-Walsh model for crack growth under compression to incorporate stick-slip along the crack faces

Griffith developed a now-classical model for crack growth under compressive loading, based on finding the location of the maximum tensile stress at some point on the crack perimeter. McClintock and Walsh extended Griffith׳s analysis by considering the effect of friction along the closed crack faces, using the assumption that the shear traction is equal to the normal traction multiplied by the friction coefficient, at all points on the crack face. Although this relation holds in regions of slip, it does not hold in regions where the crack faces are stuck and not sliding. In this paper, the problem is revisited, using a more accurate treatment of friction that accounts for both stick and slip regions. It is found that the more accurate treatment of friction does not alter the crack growth criterion obtained by McClintock and Walsh.