Load separation is the theoretical basis for the single-specimen J-integral experiment and the incremental calculation of J-integral crack growth resistance (J-R) curves. This criterion has been experimentally studied in nongrowing crack records in several materials, and more recently a new method to extend the applicability to growing crack experiments has been proposed in testing steel. This article examines the applicability of the load separation criterion for evaluating ductile fracture mechanics parameters in rubber-modified polystyrenes and thermally treated polypropylene in the bending configuration. This criterion allows the load to be represented as the multiplication of two independent functions: a material deformation function and a crack geometry function. Its validity is evaluated with both stationary and growing crack experiments. η-factor calculation for smooth and side-grooved specimens was also tried using the simple method of Sharobeam and Landes, in order to identify material dependency. This article also investigates the applicability of the normalization method, based on the load separation criterion for evaluating J-R curves on PP and PS. A simple approach which combines a blunt notched and a precracked specimen experiment is proposed to determine the J-R curve of the materials studied. The resulting J-R curves are compared with multiple specimen results available in the literature for these materials. A good agreement between the J-R curves obtained from this simple method and from the multiple specimen technique was found.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Bernal et al. (1996) studied this question.