Fracture evolution during indentation of a brittle elastic solid

Abstract

This paper examines the problem of crack extension during the indentation of a brittle elastic half-space by a cylindrical punch with a smooth flat contact surface. The paper develops a procedure for locating the point of nucleation of the crack within the brittle elastic solid and employs a boundary element technique to locate the progress of crack evolution as the force on the punch is increased. The numerical results illustrate the influence of the extent of crack development on the load–displacement relationship for the indentor. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.