Effects of specimen thickness, hardening and crack closure for the plastic strip model

The triaxial stress constraint T_z and the effective yield stress distribution in the plastic zone for strain hardening materials are considered for the strip where the thickness effect is investigated by introducing a plastic constraint factor α. This factor depends on the specimen thickness, crack length, load level and hardening exponent. A simple expression of the plastic zone length and an expression involving a are obtained. Application of the strip model to crack closure shows that the specimen thickness has an influence and the results are compared with those found finite.