Instability analysis of a fully plastic center-cracked strip of a power hardening material

An approach for predicting unstable crack growth in a power hardening material is discussed. A fully plastic center-cracked strip of finite width under plane strain conditions, which involves J-controlled crack growth, is analyzed. The conditions for unstable crack growth are identified in terms of a non-dimensional parameter, the Tearing Modulus, T, which incorporates the effect of elastic system compliance on the cracked structure as well as the influence of hardening. Numerical results also illustrate the strong influences on stability of both the strain hardening characteristics of the material and certain geometrical proportions which greatly influence the system compliance. (author)