• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.2543-2553
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• 1994

Caustics method has been applied successfully to determine the fracture parameters such as stress intensity factor and the J-integral for elastic and/or elastic-plastic stress field around the crack tip. For stress fields at the vicinity of crack tip in the creep domain, no experimental report concerning fracture mechanics parameters by using the caustics method has been published up to date. This study investigated creep behavior at the vicinity of crack tips at high temperature($175^{\circ}C$) and attempted to determine of proper fracture parameters for A1 5086 H24 specimens by using the caustics method. The results obtained from the limited experimental investigation are as follows; $J_{th}/J_{caus}$ is found to approach to 1 more rapidly than $K_{th}/K_{caus}$ does during incipient period(within 80 minutes). It is confirmed that experimental $K_{caus}$ approached to theoretical $K_{th}$ after 80 minutes by analyzing the ratio of $K_{th}$ to $K_{caus}$. Unlike the case of room temperature, it is confirmed experimentally that caustics diameter enlarged gradually even the distance between specimen and screen keeps constant. It showed that initial curve of the caustics was initially located in the plastic zone, but it grew out rapidly into the elastic zone for Al 5086 H24 at $175^{\circ}C$. It is confirmed that caustics is a function of time, temperature and distance between specimen and screen at high temperature.