The amount of damage induced by brittle fracture of cracked bodies depends considerably on the path of fractures. Therefore, prediction of the trajectory of fracture using suitable theoretical fracture criteria is very important for cracked structures. In this paper, using higher-order terms of Williams’s series expansion and the maximum tangential stress criterion, the mixed mode I/II crack growth path of an angled crack plate subjected to biaxial far field loading is investigated theoretically. To evaluate the accuracy of the theoretical results, they are compared with the experimentally reported trajectories for the angled crack plate specimen. It is shown that by taking into account the higher order terms of the Williams series expansion a very good agreement is observed between the experimental and theoretical mixed mode fracture paths in the angled crack problem. It was also observed that the theoretically determined initial angle of crack growth is consistent with the experimental results.

Plain and nanofiber-interleaved glass/epoxy laminates clamped according to ASTM D7136 tested under impact loading to assess the improvement in impact resistance of composite laminates that have been interleaved by electrospun polyvinylidene ?uoride (PVDF) nanofibers with two different thicknesses. Composite specimens with stacking sequence [0/90/0/90]S were impacted at impact energy of 5J. Variation of the impact characteristics such as maximum contact load, maximum de?ection, maximum contact time, absorbed energy are depicted in the ?gures. The results showed that PVDF nanofibers are not a good choice for toughening epoxy and improving impact damage resistance of GFRP.

Generation of residual stress and structure deformation are the most important problems in the process of structure welding. Residual stresses inside and around the welded joints are harmful for integrity and proper functioning of the welded part. Tensile residual stresses near the weld zone may cause in developing brittle fracture, reduction of fatigue life or crack propagation caused by corrosion stresses. Welding residual stresses may even reach the yield stress of the part and can affect the thermal or mechanical working properties of it. Different thermal and mechanical approaches have been developed in the past in order to reduce these residual effects. Thus, both radiative and convective heat transfer methods have important roles in distribution of residual stresses during the welding process. In this study, convection and radiation effects on distribution of residual stress inside a welded part have been investigated for three different cases. In the first case, convection heat transfer was ignored and only effect of radiation on residual stress distribution was considered. In the second case, just the convection heat transfer applied on the model during the welding process. In another case, effects of radiation and convection heat transfer methods were investigated, simultaneously. Results of the current study showed that both radiative and convective heat transfer mechanisms have a significant share on distribution of residual stresses inside the welded part. It was also shown that the share of convection is greater than that of radiation heat transfer method.

Numerous failure curves are presented in this manuscript to predict the onset of sudden fracture in V-notched brittle materials under combined tension-shear loading conditions. The curves were developed in a computational manner in terms of the notch stress intensity factors and based on the suitable failure concept of the maximum tangential stress (MTS) utilized frequently in the past by the author and his co-researchers for predicting mixed mode brittle fracture in extensive notched specimens. Three extensively used notch angles and various notch tip radii were considered in the computations. A wide range of brittle materials were also taken into account by defining and using the material critical distance. Through predicting load-bearing capacity and notch bifurcation angle utilizing only the two basic material properties namely the ultimate tensile strength and the plane-strain fracture toughness, engineers can design more rapidly and conveniently the V-notched brittle components with the aim to withstand reliably against sudden fracture.