Blunt crack-tip elastoplastic zone of mixed mode fracture

This article discusses the characterization of fracture process zone at the tip of a blunt crack in elastoplastic materials under mixed mode loading. The analysis includes the description of elastoplastic zone geometry around the blunt crack tip for predicting crack growth direction. The deformed zone appearing at the crack front is described by presenting a criterion based on the subloading surface concept falling within the framework of unconventional plasticity. The mixed mode crack propagates along the minimum value of the elastoplastic region. The present solutions are reduced to those previously reported in literature, when the elastic perfectly plastic material is considered.