Size effect on buckling strength of eccentrically compressed column with fixed or propagating transverse crack

The strength and size effect of a slender eccentrically compressed column with a transverse pre-existing traction-free edge crack or notch is analyzed. Rice and Levy’s spring model is applied to simulate the effect of a crack or notch. An approximate, though accurate, formula is proposed for the buckling strength of the column of variable size. Depending on the eccentricity, the crack at maximum load can be fully opened, partially opened or closed. The size effects in these three situations are shown to be different. The exponent of the power-law for the large-size asymptotic behavior can be −1/2 or −1/4, depending on the relative eccentricity of the compression load. Whether the maximum load occurs at initiation of fracture growth, or only after a certain stable crack extension, is found to depend not only on the column geometry but also on its size. This means that the definition of positive or negative structural geometry (as a geometry for which the energy release rate at constant load increases or decreases with the crack length) cannot be extended to stability problems or geometrically nonlinear behavior. Comparison is made with a previous simplified solution by Okamura and coworkers. The analytical results show good agreement with the available experimental data.