A review of T-stress and its effects in fracture mechanics

An overview of past research on T-stress is presented in this paper. Beginning with the origin of T-stress, the authors discuss different phenomena associated with T-stress: crack path stability, isochromatic fringes pattern, plastic zone influence and constraint parameter. Different methodologies-experimental, analytical and finite element methods-used to evaluate T-stress are discussed and studies are categorized under these methods also. Thereafter, the authors provide a critical review for the role of T-stress in predicting crack paths stability because it conflicts with the origin of T-stress. Finally, it concludes with a concise summary of the research on T-stress. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.