Mixed-Mode Computational Fracture Analysis of Four Point Bend Specimens

Four point bend specimen is one of the most important specimens of the fracture mechanics because it can produce mixed mode I and II. Therefore, computation of stress intensity factors (SIF) in this specimen is of practical interest. Several relations have been suggested that no one of them completely has considered the effects of the loading point and crack geometry. In this paper mixed mode stress intensity factors of the bend specimen are computed by finite element method (FEM) and after validating by comparing with the available results in the literature, the results will be assessed to determine the effects of different crack location and load distances from the middle of the specimen. Finally, two new coefficients comprising these effects are introduced.