Plane strain state in a compact specimen with nonpropagating crack with regard for the process of unloading

By using difference methods, we study the plane strain state of a thick compact specimen to determine its fracture toughness (crack resistance) in the nonstationary elastoplastic statement with regard for the process of unloading of the material when the load applied to a local domain changes with time according to a linear law. As the main independent parameter for the description of the development of the fields of stresses and strains, Odqvist's parameter, and other quantities, we choose the computed value of the stress intensity factor near a crack in the static problem for an elastically deformed compact specimen. We also reveal the specific features of the behavior of stresses observed when these stress intensity factors attain certain critical values. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.