Fatigue crack growth in anisotropic aluminium sheets — phase-field modelling and experimental validation

Fatigue crack growth is decisive for the design of thin-walled structures such as fuselage shells air planes. The cold rolling process, used to produce aluminium sheets this structure made of, leads anisotropic mechanical properties. In contribution, we simulate fatigue with a phase-field model due its superior ability arbitrary paths. A variable based on Local Strain Approach describes progressive weakening resistance. Anisotropy regarding fracture toughness included through structural tensor in surface density. parameterised an AA2024-T351 sheet material. Validation set experiments shows that fitted can reproduce key characteristics growing crack, including path direction and rate, considering direction.