Z angew Math Phys 45 (1994) 0044-2275/94/010166 08 $ 1.50 + 0.

20
(ZAMP) 9 1994 Birkh/iuser Verlag, Basel

A contact problem for a smooth rigid disc inclusion in a

penny-shaped crack

By A. P. S. Selvadurai, D e p t o f Civil E n g i n e e r i n g a n d A p p l i e d M e c h a n i c s ,
M c G i l l U n i v e r s i t y , M o n t r e a l , QC., C a n a d a , H 3 A 2 K 6
( F a x : (514) 398-7361)

Introduction

Analysis of interaction between cracks and inclusions have important applications to

the study of micro-mechanics of multiphase materials and to the examination of
anchoring devices embedded in geological media. In multiphase composite materials
with flat disc shaped inclusions, such interactions can occur during thermally induced
fracture and damage evolution at the boundaries of the reinforcing particle. Examples of
problems which investigate crack-inclusion interaction include the studies by Taya and
Mura (1981), Tsai (1984), Selvadurai and Singh (1984, 1986), Tan and Selvadurai
(1986), Selvadurai et al. (1989a,b; 1990; 1991) and Selvadurai (1985, 1989a,b). These
investigations focus on the category of problems where the cracks either extend beyond
the boundary of a disc shaped inclusion or delaminate at the plane interface. The
modelling is applicable to situations where thermal loadings and the thermo-elastic
mis-match between the matrix and the inclusion can induce either interracial delamina-
tion or matrix cracking. Other situations can include debonding of the disc inclusion
over an entire plane interface. Keer (1975) examined the problem of the axisymmetric
loading of a penny-shaped crack by a rigid disc shaped inclusion which is bonded to one
of its plane faces. The axial stiffness of the rigid inclusion is evaluated in exact closed
form and the stresses at the region of contact are evaluated in integral form. The
solution by Keer (1975) is an elegant exposition of the application of Hilbert transform
techniques to the solution o f this class of problem. Consequently the formulation
accounts for the oscillatory form of the stress singularity at the tip of the crack which is
located at the bonded rigid boundary.
Disc inclusion problems also have useful applications in the field of geomechanics
where the loaded inclusion models the behaviour of the rigid anchoring device embedded
in a geological medium. The solutions to the directly loaded rigid inclusion problem can
be used to evaluate the axial stiffness of circular plate anchors predominantly in the elastic
range (Selvadurai, 1976, 1989a,b; Rowe and Booker, 1979; Selvadurai et al., 1991).
This paper examines the axisymmetric problem of the complete indentation of the
single face of a penny-shaped crack by a rigid disc inclusion. The contact between the
inclusion and the crack is assumed to be smooth. Consequently, the analysis provides an
estimate for the stiffness of the inclusion for the limiting case of frictionless contact (as
opposed to full adhesive contact) between the inclusion and the elastic medium. The
single integral equation governing the crack-inclusion interaction problem is numerically
solved to develop results for the axial stiffness of the inclusion and the mixed mode stress
intensity factors at the tip of the penny-shaped crack.
Vol. 45, 1994 A smooth rigid disc inclusion in a penny-shaped crack 167

Fundamental equations

Owing to the axial symmetry of the crack-inclusion interaction problem it is

convenient to employ the representation based on the strain potential approach of Love
(1927). It can be shown that the solution to the displacement equations of equilibrium
can be expressed in terms of a single function. In the application of the strain potential
function to the crack-inclusion interaction problem (Fig. 1) it is convenient to adopt
strain potential functions q0(O(r, z) applicable to regions z e (0, oo) and z e ( 0 , - o c)
which are designated by i = 1 and i = 2 respectively. In the absence of body forces,
functions qo(~ z) satisfy the biharmonic equation
V2V2qo(O(r, z) = 0 (1)

where
02 1 (~ (~2
V2 = ~ r 2 -}- r ~r -}- ~z 2 (2)

is the axisymmetric form of Laplaee's operator in cylindrical polar coordinates. The

strain potential functions applicable to the regions 1 and 2 can be obtained by a Hankel
transform development of (1). The relevant results can be expressed in the forms
(Sneddon, 1977)

(p(1)(r, z) = r + zB(r e -r162 d~ (3)

qr z) = ~[C(~) + ~D(~)] er d~ (4)

where A(~), B(~), etc. are arbitrary functions. T h e relevant integral expressions for the
displacements and stresses in the two regions (z-> 0 and z-< 0) can be obtained by
making use of the results
{~2(/)(i)
2Gu~~ z) (5)
ar az
2~0(i)
2Gu~~ z) = 2(1 - v)Wcp ( ~ - &2
- (6)

ISOTROPIC ELASTIC MEDIUM (G,v)

DEBONDED-~,, / ~ DISC INCLUSION
REGION ~ ~z / W I T H FRICTIONLESS
REGION I ~ ~P/ INTERFACE

REGION 2 ~9_ Z r

Figure l
The indentation of the penny-shaped crack by a disc inclusion.
168 A . P . S . Selvadurai ZAMP

and

a(i)(r, z) = (2 - v)V2q~ (e) - Oz ~ j (7)

o~9(r,~)=~ (l-v)V~m <') az ~ ] (8)

respectively.

The crack-inclusion interaction problem

W e n o w focus attention on the p r o b l e m o f the c o m p l e t e i n d e n t a t i o n o f a single face

of a penny-shaped crack o f radius ' a ' by a rigid s m o o t h disc inclusion also o f radius ' a '
(Fig. 1). It is assumed that axisymmetric force P acting on the inclusion induces a
displacement A in the z-direction. The mixed b o u n d a r y conditions associated with the
p r o b l e m are as follows:

u(zl)(r, 0) = A; 0 -< r -< a (9)

a~)(r, 0) = 0; 0<r<a (10)

a~2)(r, 0) = 0; 0<r<a (11)

a(=2](r, 0) = 0; 0< r < a (12)

u~l)(r, O) = u~2)(r, 0); a < r < oo (13)

u~U(r, O) = u~2)(r, 0); a -< r < oe (14)

~r2)(r, 0) = ~ ) ( r , 0); a -< r < oo (15)

~7~U(r, 0) = a ~ ( r , 0); a -< r < oo. (16)

Considering the strain potentials (3) and (4) and the relationships (5) to (8), the mixed
b o u n d a r y conditions can be expressed in terms o f the functions A(~), B(~), etc. in the
following forms:

o~ ~[~A(~) + 2(1 - 2v)B(~)]Jo(~r) d~ = - 2 G A ; 0 -< r < a (17)

o~- ~2[~A(~) - 2vB(~)]J~ (~r) d~ = 0; 0< r < a (18)

o~" ~[r - C(r + 2(1 - 2v){B(r + D(~)}]Jo(~r) d~ = 0; a < r < oo (19)

o~ ~ [ - ~ { A ( ~ ) + C(~)} + {B(~) - D(~)}]Jl(~r) d~ = 0; a -< r < oo (20)

o~~ ~2[~{A(~) + C(~)} + (1 - 2v) {B(~) - D(~)}]Jo(~r) d~ = 0; a < r < co (21)

f0 ~'~ r162 - C(~)} - 2v{B(~) + D(r162 d~ = 0; a < r < oo. (22)

Vol. 45, 1994 A smooth rigid disc inclusion in a penny-shaped crack 169

Avoiding details of the procedures, which can be found in the references cited previ-
ously, it can be shown that the set of integral equations (17) to (22) can be reduced to
the forms

fl(S)+2 dssd f[ is 2 _rdrr 211/2 fo~ [u 2f2(u)

- r 2] 1/2
AG d ~' rdr
- (f~-v)clsJo[s2-r21'/2
(1-2v) d fi~ rdr
+-2(1----~ds Q(~)Jo(ir)d~; 0<s<a (23)

2 d ~ ~~ rdr fa fi(s) ds
f2(u)-~duu L [r2_,,211/2
~ J /
JO [r 2 - $211/2

= duu [r 2 - 7 2 ] 1/2 P(i)Jo({r) d{; a < u < o9 (24)

where fl(~,) and f2({) are defined by

i{IA(i) + (1 - 2v)B(i)] = 7 2[fo f~ ({) cos(is) ds + f] f2(i) sin(is) ds ] (25)

and
Q(i) = ~[2vD(i) + iC(~)] (26)
P({) = i[(1 - 2v)D({) - iC({)]. (27)
The integral equations (23) and (24) can be further reduced to a single integral equation
of the form
l f~Ta(s)K,(r,s)ds
V~(r) + ~ T j o (r2 s2)
(1-
~a(~ 2-~2
2v)2f: r~(v) dv
-1
= 2 ( 1 _ v 2 ), 0<r<a (28)

where

Kl(r,s) [rlog~ a-r a-s

and
fl(r)
T~(r)- EA " (30)

The solution of the integral equation (28) formally completes the solution of the mixed
boundary value problem related to the smooth complete indentation of the penny-
shaped crack by a rigid disc inclusion, defined by (9)-(16).

Load-displacement relationship for the inclusion

The axial stress distribution at the inclusion-elastic medium interface can be used
to evaluate the load-displacement relationship for the inclusion. From (3) and (7)
170 A.P.S. Selvadurai ZAMP

we have

a(~)(r, 0) = ~2[~A(r + (1 - 2v)B(~)]So(~r ) d~. (31)

The load-displacement relationship is obtained by considering the equilibrium equation

P = 27r
j'o
for the inclusion. The total force P in the inclusion is given by

a(~2(r, O) dr (32)
o
which can be expressed in the form

E-A
P = 4 f ~ T~(r) dr. (33)
0

The stress intensity factors

The indentation of the penny-shaped crack induces both Mode I and Mode II stress
intensity factors at the crack tip. The stress intensity factors are defined by the
relationships
K] = lim {2(r - a)}l/2az.(r, 0) (34)
r~a+

K]I = lim {2(r - a)}l/Zar~(r, 0). (35)

r~a+

Making use of the results developed in the previous sections it can be shown that
K] 2 7"1(a)
EA ~ x/~ (36)

g~,1 ( 1 - 2v) /'"

EA 2~z(1~y~3/2Jo T~(v) dr. (37)

Numerical results

The integral equation (28) governing the indentation of the penny-shaped crack can
be solved by employing a numerical procedure. The interval (0, a) is divided into N
segments with r/ (i = 1 to N + 1) such that r~ ----(i - 1)h and h = a/N. The equivalent
matrix representation of (28) can be written as
[Au]{Tl(rj) } = {B~} (38)
withi, j = l , 2 , . . . , N ; B i = - 1 / 2 ( 1 - v 2) and the coefficients Aij are given by
f h K(ri, r#) (1 - 2v) 2 h
4) lfi j' ,2,

=
A~j 1 h
[)_5[~riloge a_r i rih 1 (1-2v) n (39)
IV ,.I if i = j .

Upon solution of (38), the load-displacement relationship for the indenting inclusion
and the stress intensity factors at the tip of the penny-shaped crack can be evaluated by
VoL 45, 1994 A smooth rigid disc inclusion in a penny-shaped crack 171

/~RESULTS BY KEER (1975)

',f
#
2.0

"%, I
p* t.6t-
1.4I p*_. ( I - v a)
aE~o

t.2

Figure 2
The stiffness of the indenting inclusion.
,~ o, , i,
o2o, o o o,

making use of the results (33), (36) and (37). The accuracy of the numerical scheme is
verified by comparison with known exact solutions for contact problems.
The results for the axial stiffness of the indenting circular inclusion are presented'in
Fig. 2. The normalized results for P/P* (where P* = 2EAa/(I - v2)) are compared with
equivalent results derived by Keer (1975) for the problem of the loading of a penny-
shaped crack by an inclusion fully bonded to one of the crack surfaces. Keer's result is
given by
4~GAa F14 {log,,(3 - 4v)}27
(40)
P - ( 3 - 4v) L na ]"

0.8

0.6

EA 0.4

0.2

0 r I I I
Figure 3 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5

The mode I stress intensity factor at the crack tip.

172 A . P . S . Selvadurai ZAMP

0,18

016

0,14

0.12

0.10

0.08

EA 0.06

0.04

0.02

0 I I I I
Figure 4 0 0,1 02 0.3 0.4 0,5
The mode II stress intensity factor at the crack tip.

The comparison of results indicates that adhesion at the inclusion-elastic medium has only
a minor effect on the elastic stiffness. Also when v = 1/2, the solution for the adhesive
contact problem converges to the result developed in this paper for the smooth contact.
The accuracy of the numerical scheme is also verified for this particular limit. It is found
that for N = 10, the error in the two sets of numerical results is approximately 1%.
The numerical results derived for the stress intensity factors K] and K ~ are shown in
Figs. 3 and 4. The results indicate that the Mode I stress intensity factor is relatively
insensitive to the Poisson's ratio of the elastic material. In contrast, the Mode II stress
intensity factor is particularly sensitive to the Poisson's ratio. In the instance when
v = 1/2, the shear stresses a~); a ~ ) on z = 0 (r > a) vanish with the result that KTz = 0.

Concluding remarks

The classical elasticity problem related to the complete indentation of a single face
of a penny-shaped crack by a rigid smooth inclusion is examined. It is shown that the
interaction problem can be reduced to the solution o f a single Fredholm type integral
equation of the second kind. This equation can be solved in a numerical fashion to
generate results of engineering interest. These results are compared with equivalent results
available in the literature for the adhesive indentation of a penny-shaped crack. It is
shown that when v = 1/2, solutions for both the smooth contact and adhesive contact
problems reduce to the same result. The dominant influences of interface conditions occur
only in the estimate for the Mode II stress intensity factor evaluated for v = 0.

References
Keer, L. M., Mixed boundary value problems for a penny-shaped cut. J. Elasticity 5, 89-98 (1975).
Love, A. E. H., A Treatise on the Mathematical Theory of Elasticity (4th ed.). Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge 1927.
Vol. 45, 1994 A smooth rigid disc inclusion in a penny-shaped crack I73

Rowe, R. K. and Booker, J. R., The analysis of inclined anchor plates. Proc. 3rd Int. Conf. Num. Meth.
Geomech., Aachen 3, 1227 1236 (1979).
Tan, C.-L. and Selvadurai, A. P. S., Internally indented penny-shaped cracks: A comparison of analytical
and boundary integral equation estimates. Theor, & Appl. Fracture Mech. 5, 18I 188 (1986).
Taya, M. and Mura, T., On the stiffness and strength of an aligned short-fibre reinforced composite
containing fibre end cracks under uniaxial applied stress. J. Appl. Mech. 48, 361-367 (1981).
Tsai, Y. M., Indentation of a penny-shaped crack by an oblate spheroidal rigid inclusion in a transversely
isotropic elastic medium. J. Appl. Mech. 51, 811-815 (1984).
Selvadurai, A. P. S., The load-deflexion characteristics of a deep rigid anchor in an elastic medium.
Geotechnique 26, 603 612 (1976).
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Res. Comm. 12, 347 351 (1985).
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Mech. Proc. ASCE I15, 18-32 (1989b).
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Effects of a penny-shaped inclusion. Int. J. Engng. Sci. 25, 1477-1490 (1986).
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region. Int. J. Solids Structures 25, 783-795 (1989a).
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Abstract

The present paper examines the problem of the complete indentation of the surface of a penny-
shaped crack by a smooth rigid disc inclusion. The integral equation governing the problem is solved
numerically to evaluate the axial stiffness of the rigid inclusion and the stress intensity factors at the tip
of the penny-shaped crack.

(Received: October 13, 1992; revised: April 15, 1993)