Effect of Biaxial Stress on Crack Driving Force

A stress-strain equation of Ramberg-Osgood type is proposed to correlate the longitudinal stress with longitudinal strain of a thin plate when a constant stress is applied transversely. The same approach can be used to correlate the axial stress with axial strain for a thin-walled pipe in axial tension with internal pressure. The proposed stress-strain equation relating the longitudinal stress and strain closely approximates that of deformation theory. The effect of a secondary stress (hoop stress) on the J-integral for a circumferential crack in a pipe under axial load and internal pressure is evaluated by finite element analysis (FEA). The results show that the J-integral decreases with internal pressure at a given axial stress but increases with internal pressure at a given axial strain. It is concluded that while a secondary stress may be safely neglected in a stress-based format because it decreases the driving force at a given applied stress, it should not be neglected in a strain-based format because it significantly increases the driving force at a given applied strain.