Mixed-mode fracture: combination of Arcan fixture and stereo-DIC

In the paper 'Mixed-mode fracture: combination of Arcan fixture and stereo-DIC', published in Theoretical and Applied Fracture Mechanics, the authors* explore the use of stereo digital image correlation (DIC) to directly measure the mixed-mode fracture toughness of PMMA tested using an Arcan fixture.  They calculated the stress intensity factors directly from the full-field displacement data through ABAQUS solver.

Interestingly, they discovered that the Arcan fixture induces additional and unwanted loading modules, even in pure mode I loading, which they were able to detect and quantify using stereo-DIC.

*Led by Dr Abdalrhaman Koko of this department and the National Physical Laboratory, in collaboration with Associate Professor Thorsten H Becker of the University of Cape Town.