A Criterion for Crack Kinking Out of an Interface

Cotterell and Rice theory (1980) on the kinking of a crack submitted to a biaxial loading in a homogeneous material has been recently revisited (Leguillon and Murer 2008). The mixed criterion for fracture which involves both an energetic and a stress condition (Leguillon 2002) allows defining a positive threshold of the T-stress below which no branching can occur (Selvarathinam and Goree 1998). This analysis enters within a more general mixed-mode analysis (I+II+T-stress). Despite the complex terms and the oscillations, results extend to interfacial cracks. The assumption of a crack jump as a consequence of the energy balance allows getting rid of the problem brought by the oscillations due to these complex terms. This approach brings a new insight on the prediction of crack kinking out of a bimaterial interface.