Limits of crack growth stability in the double cleavage drilled compression specimen

A theoretical investigation of the double cleavage drilled compression specimen was undertaken to define the limits of stable crack growth for a range of geometries and fracture toughnesses typically used in fracture testing of brittle materials. Two-dimensional large displacement solutions for the mode I stress intensity factor were derived using energy methods. Comparisons with finite element results indicate that these models maintain a high level of accuracy well past the onset of unstable crack growth. Crack growth stability was assessed by differentiating the semi-analytical solutions and assembling the results in the form of design curves.