Fracture mechanics of steel plate under Joule heating analyzed by energy density criterion

In the electric-conductive material with fractures, the electric current and Joule heating will induce a local hot spot around the crack tip. By the finite element simulation, this phenomenon has been proved so that it can be applied to the fracture detection for the steel plate. As a result, the temperature variation near the fracture tip must be large enough so that the thermal sensing system can detect the hot spot at the fracture tip. It is necessary to apply large electric current on the steel plate to make obvious temperature variation. However, higher electric current will increase the driving force for the crack growth.