Fracture cross flow measurements

Fig. 2 shows a horizontal cross-section through NGFs coupled shear flow test (CSFT) cell. This biaxial cell allows fractured samples (14 x 12 x 5 cm) to be displaced by a maximum 8 mm under controlled fracture normal stresses and temperatures up to 80°C. Variation in fracture aperture (dilation) is measured by a total of four displacement gages, whereas shear displacement is measured by a total of two gages. The flow measurements, as illustrated in Fig. 2, measure the total flow in the direction of the fracture plane and do not differentiate between fracture and matrix flow. To quantify the matrix flow component, tests on non-fractured samples with the same principal geometry as the fractured tests and under the same stress conditions, were conducted in the CSFT cell. 

In the numerical calculations, an elastic-perfectly-plastic ductile rod stretching at a uniform strain rate of e = lO s was treated. A flow stress of 100 MPa and a density of 2700 kg/m were assumed. A one-millimeter square cross section and a fracture energy of = 0.02 J were used. These properties are consistent with the measured behavior of soft aluminim in experimental expanding ring studies of Grady and Benson (1983). Incipient fractures were introduced into the rod randomly in both position and time. Fractures grow... 

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