Effect of reverse cyclic loading on the fracture resistance curve in C(T) specimen

Fracture resistance (J-R) curves, which are used for elastic-plastic fracture mechanics analyses, are known to be dependent on the cyclic loading history. The objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of reverse cyclic loading on the J-R curves in C(T) specimens. Two parameters were observed to be effective on the J-R curves during the reverse cyclic loading. One was the minimum-to-maximum load ratio (R) and the other was the incremental plastic displacement (δcycle/δi), which is related to the amount of crack growth that occurs in a cycle. Fracture resistance test on C(T) specimens with varying the load ratio and the incremental plastic displacement were performed, and the test results showed that the J-R curves were decreased with decreasing the load ratio and decreasing the incremental plastic displacement. Direct Current Potential Drop (DCPD) method was used for the detection of crack initiation and crack growth in typical laboratory J-R tests. The values of Ji and δi were also obtained by using the DCPD method. (author)