Mixed Mode (K_I+K_II) Stress Intensity Factor Measurement by Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry and Image Correlation

The surface displacement fields of a fatigue precracked compact tension sample under tensile load were registered by electronic speckle pattern interferometry and image correlation. The in-plane elastic strain fields calculated from the displacement data were used to obtain the first stress invariant, which for the case of plane stress is proportional to the real part of the first complex potential in Muskhelishvili's approach. Solutions for the stress fields around the crack tip, KI and KII were sought in the form of the Fourier series using Muskhelishvili's complex stress functions. The Fourier series coefficients were calculated from the displacement data using multiple point overdeterministic method (MPODM). The nominal and inferred KI values differ by around 10%; this is probably due in part to mixed mode (KII) loading introduced by some degree of misalignment during the experiment.