Stress corrosion cracking fracture mechanics testing

Any test (several such tests are used) in which time to failure of smooth specimens is determined is an overall measure of the incubation period to initiate a crack, the ability to resist the propagation of a stress corrosion crack and the ability to resist final mechanical fracture. Since this test does not indicate the relative merits of an alloy in each individual aspect of the... 

Pomies F, Carlsson LA, Gillespie JW Jr (1995) Marine environmental effects on polymer matrix composites. In Martin RH (ed) Composite materials fatigue and fracture, vol 5, ASTM STP 1230. American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, pp 28-303 Price JN (1989) Stress corrosion cracking in glass reinforced composites. In Roulin-Moloney AC (ed) Fractography and failure mechanisms of polymers and composites. Elsevier Applied Science, New York, pp 495-531... 

The literature contains many references to the use of notched, as opposed to pre-cracked or plain, specimens in laboratory studies of stress corrosion, for reasons of improved reproducibility, inability to crack plain specimens under otherwise identical conditions or ease of measuring some parameter such as crack growth rate when the crack location is predetermined. However, the developments in fracture mechanics (see Section 8.9), have resulted in a whole new field of stress-corrosion testing involving the use of specimens... 

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