Partial sliding along a planar crack weakened by the presence of fluid

摘要

Partial sliding along a infinite planar crack that is locally weakened by the presence of fluid is analyzed. Under uniformly applied normal and shear loads the crack surface generates non-uniform frictional resistance that has a local minimum within a penny-shaped fluid-filled domain. After the applied shear load reaches the resistance minimum a circular sliding zone initiates and then spreads around as the applied shear load is gradually increased. The primary focus of this work is to analyze sliding evolution as a function of the applied loads and the induced fluid pressure. The growth of the sliding zone is studied based on the criterion that shear stress intensity factors are zero along the zone boundary. An analytical relation between the radius of the sliding zone and the applied shear load is determined. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.