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The Fracture Mechanics of Steel Gusset Plates

The finite element program, ABAQUS, was used to simulate tensile loading on a gusset plate. The computational model used to simulate crack growth relied on the Dugdale Strip Model which is based on non-linear fracture mechanics. This model was used to account for the plastic deformation and also because it predicts the transition between plasticity (yield-dominated failure) and linear elastic fracture mechanics. It assumes the plasticity that develops ahead of a crack tip can be approximated by a distribution of stresses that resist crack opening. Iterations of tensile loading were performed until the critical stress was reached. At this point, the crack is unstable and the plate will tear apart. This iterative process was used to verify the analytical solution for the Dugdale Strip Model. To model an infinite plate with a rivet hole and rivet holes at a given spacing, a linear softening material model was used. This was done because ABAQUS is more robust at modeling this type of material. For plates with rivet holes, crack initiation was modeled using cohesive elements to simulate the damage evolution. This reduces the amount of iteration required for the user to arrive at the critical stress. To characterize the transition between a ductile and brittle failure, the material parameter ρ 1 was used. The radius of the rivet hole (R) or the crack length (a) can be divided by ρ 1 to express the ductility or brittleness as nondimensional. A smaller ratio indicates a more ductile section that is yielding and less affected by the presence of a crack. As the ratio increases, the presence of the crack causes the strength to decreases as an inverse square law. G c : Energy release rate which is a measure of