Abstract
The behavior of wing crack growth influenced by free boundaries is studied. Compression of a plate with angled crack induces the propagation of wing cracks which grow almost parallel to the axis of compression. The mode- I stress intensity factor at the wing crack tip increases when the crack grows near a free boundary. In this study, the behavior of fracture under single axial compression of transparent material was investigated. A simulation of crack propagation was conducted for various cases in which the distance between free boundary and the location of initial crack and the crack inclination are different. The compression test using PMMA plates with centric and eccentric saw flaw were also demonstrated.
