Effect of lattice orientation on crack tip constraint in ductile single crystals

In this work, the effect of lattice orientation on the fields prevailing near a notch tip is investigated pertaining to various constraint levels in FCC single crystals. A modified boundary layer formulation is employed and numerical solutions under mode I, plane strain conditions are generated by assuming an elastic–perfectly plastic FCC single crystal. The analysis is carried out corresponding to different lattice orientations with respect to the notch line. It is found that the near‐tip deformation field, especially the development of kink or slip shear bands is sensitive to the constraint level. The stress distribution and the size and shape of the plastic zone near the notch tip are also strongly influenced by the level of T‐stress. The present results clearly establish that ductile single crystal fracture geometries would progressively lose crack tip constraint as the T‐stress becomes more negative irrespective of lattice orientation. Also, the near‐tip field for a range of constraint levels can be characterized by two‐parameters such as K–T or J–Q as in isotropic plastic solids.