Issue34

F. Berto, Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale, 34 (2015) 11-26; DOI: 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.34.02 15 applied primary loading mode, locally changed and occasionally superimposed by an induced secondary loading mode. These local coupled effects were analysed by the FE method, using extremely fine meshes near the intersection point. Paolo Lazzarin has also presented an analytical solution for the V-notch in plates of finite thickness under plane-strain conditions. The linear-elastic NSIF concept has been extended by Paolo Lazzarin to elastic-plastic material behaviour. The stress singularity at pointed notches continues to exist, provided strain hardening occurs. It is described by plastic NSIFs with inclusion of plastic strain intensity factors which exist also for non-hardening material behaviour. The theoretical basis is the nonlinear power-law applied to crack tips by Hutchinson, Rice and Rosengreen. The HRR theory was reformulated by Paolo Lazzarin for application to V-notches. Neuber’s nonlinear material law, Glinka’s alternative procedure as well as the Ramberg ‒ Osgood material law were also considered. A highlight of Lazzarin’s derivations is a definite relationship between elastic and plastic NSIFs. A uniform analysis of nonlinear notch stress fields was presented based on the total- strain power-law in comparison to Neuber’s different analytical approach. The well-known Neuber rule, establishing a simple relationship between the stress and strain concentration factors at elastic-plastically deformed notches, deviates by a factor of 1.0 ‒ 2.0 (largest for perfectly-plastic materials) from Lazzarin’s solution. The second area of notch mechanics elaborated by Paolo Lazzarin from 2001 onward is the local strain energy density (SED) concept. Since the NSIFs represent odd singularities which depend on the notch opening angle, a comparison between the fatigue limits of different weld geometries can only be carried out by using the SED averaged over a small control volume surrounding the point of stress singularity. The averaged SED is always bounded, independent of the notch acuity. The radius of the control volume is understood as a material property which can be determined on a statistical basis evaluating a large body of fatigue test data related to fillet-welded joints of various geometries and dimensions. Fatigue strength values in terms of averaged SED amplitudes dependent on number of loading cycles were presented in the form of a scatterband with a width and gradient well in agreement with comparable nominal stress relationships in the codes. The agreement of the parameters just mentioned is resulting from the fact that, in many cases of practical interest, not only the fatigue crack initiation life is correlated with the local SED value but also the total life, provided the major part of the fatigue life can be assigned to microcrack initiation and propagation inside the zone governed by the notch stress singularity. The SED approach for the fatigue assessment of non-codified welded joints, in comparison to alternative local approaches such as NSIF, FNR or J -integral, has the advantage that the local SED can easily determined from linear- elastic FE models with coarse meshing without major loss in accuracy. The reason is that the nodal point displacements determine directly the SED and not the displacement derivatives. Any FE analyst in industry will highly appreciate this feature. A SED-based version of the Atzori ‒ Lazzarin diagram correlating notch sensitivity with defect sensitivity related to fatigue loading has been derived. Paolo Lazzarin has also successfully applied the local SED concept to brittle fractures under monotonic loading, considering especially acrylic glass specimens. The concept was also extended into the elastic-plastic range, to multiaxial fatigue and to blunt notches. The link between the locally averaged SED and Rice’s J -integral has been established both for pointed and blunt notches. Lazzarin’s last finding in this area was that the J -integrals at the pointed V-notch tip are not identical when modelling the material behaviour by the total-strain power-law and the Ramberg ‒ Osgood relationship in comparison. His early death did not allow him to pursue this discrepancy further. The third area of notch mechanics, to which Paolo Lazzarin contributed substantially, is Neuber’s concept of fictitious notch rounding (FNR) combined with Radaj’s application to welded joints within a worst case scenario. Lazzarin’s idea to use the average linear-elastic SED in a control volume as relevant for fatigue or brittle fracture was stimulated by Neuber’s earlier concept to average the linear-elastic stresses over a microstructural support length in the direction of crack initiation. A first comparison between the fatigue limits of typical welded joints estimated according to the two concepts in 2007 was encouraging. In the years thereafter, substantial improvements and extensions of the FNR approach have been achieved. The support factor correlating the fictitious notch radius to the microstructural support length with consideration of the multiaxiality conditions was determined for the in-plane tension and out-of-plane shear loading modes depending on notch opening angle and multiaxial failure criterion. This denotes substantial progress in respect of application to welded joints, because the notch opening angle is a decisive parameter here whereas Neuber has neglected this influence. In a further effort, in-plane shear loading was included which necessitates consideration of out-of-bisector crack initiation. Paolo Lazzarin’s last article in the field of notch mechanics was related to the FNR concept applied to V-notches under