The Crack Opening Profile
David Taylor, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Cracks are known to open and close in complex ways during loading. The Crack Opening Profile (COP) can be defined as the relative movements (separation and shear displacements) of all points on the crack faces. The COP contains a wealth of information: for example it can be used to predict K and J without the need for stress analysis or loading information. In this talk I will review the literature on the subject, which goes back to the early days of fracture mechanics, and describe some recent developments, showing how the COP can be used in toughness determination and structural health monitoring in a wide range of materials and structures.