Configurational fracture toughness from the perfectly plastic field ahead of the tip of a sharp V-notch under longitudinal shear

•The configurational fracture toughness for a sharp V-notch should be defined.•The physical parameter SW, NTOD and elastic energy release rate are equivalent.•The singularity transition is avoided with small-scale yielding.•The characteristic length depends on the critical plastic parameters.

To be considered is an infinite elastic-perfectly plastic material with a sharp V-notch under longitudinal shear, and the closed-form solution of KIIIN-dominant field is presented for the general case of elastic–plastic boundary in small-scale yielding. The equivalent identity of the physical parameter SW, notch tip opening displacement (NTOD) and elastic energy release rate is established. The equivalent identity includes a characteristic length, which depends on the critical perfectly plastic field sizes, tip opening displacements and stress intensity factors of both sharp V-notch and crack.

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