A new test for determining fracture toughness in plane stress in mode II

This article presents a new experimental test for determining fracture toughness, in plane stress, in crack opening mode II based on the utilization of double-notched circular test specimens loaded in plane torsion. The proposed methodology for determining fracture toughness involves characterization of the evolution of torque with the degree of rotation for a number of test cases performed with specimens having different lengths of the ligaments between the notches. The work is supported by measurement of the in-plane and gauge length strains in aluminium AA1050-H111, and the overall experimental results show that the new proposed test provides an easy and effective way of evaluating the ability of a sheet metal to resist cracking under in-plane shear loading conditions.