A plasticity-induced crack-closure model was used to study fatigue crack growth and closure in thin 2024-T3 aluminum alloy under constant-R and constant-Kmax threshold testing procedures. Two methods of calculating crack-opening stresses were compared. One method was based on contact-K analyses and the other on contact crack-openingdisplacement (COD) analyses. These methods gave nearly identica...

ÐBy incorporating the e€ects of interfacial adhesion in the mechanics of rounded contact between two bodies, a new approach is proposed for the quantitative analysis of a wide variety of contact fatigue situations involving cyclic normal, tangential or torsional loading. In this method, conditions of ``strong'' and ``weak'' adhesion are identi®ed by relating contact mechanics and fracture mecha...

This paper reviews some of the advances that have been made in stress analyses of cracked aircraft components, in the understanding of the fatigue and fatigue-crack growth process, and in the prediction of residual strength of complex aircraft structures with widespread fatigue damage. Finite-element analyses of cracked structures are now used to determine accurate stress-intensity factors for ...

Ultrasonic methods have been implemented for in situ sizing of fatigue cracks near fastener holes. These techniques, however, only provide an estimate at the time of the measurement and cannot predict the remaining life of the structure. In contrast, statistical crack propagation approaches model the expected fatigue life based on worst-case fatigue process assumptions. The authors have recentl...

A major part of fracture mechanics is concerned with studying the initiation and propagation of fatigue cracks. This typically requires constant monitoring of crack growth during fatigue cycles which necessitates automation of the whole process. If the rate of crack growth can be determined the experimenter can vary externally controlled parameters such as load level, load cycle frequency and s...

In this manuscript, we expand the conforming to interface structured adaptive mesh refinement (CISAMR) algorithm for modeling complex two-dimensional (2D) crack growth problems involving contact/friction along surface and interaction between multiple cracks. The CISAMR transforms a into high-quality non-iteratively, which is an attractive feature evolution of geometry with minimal changes under...

Turbine-generator shafts are often subjected to a complex transient torsional loading. Such transient torques may initiate and propagate a circumferential crack in the shafts. Mode III crack growth in turbo-generator shafts often results in a fracture surface morphology resembling a factory roof. The interaction of the mutual fracture surfaces results in a pressure and a frictional stress field...

In this study, the pitting type of corrosion growth characteristics, fatigue crack initiation and propagation behavior; axial fatigue tests were carried out on precipitation hardened martensitic Custom 450 steel in the air and 3.5wt% NaCl solution. Using the ratio of the depth to the half-width of the pits; (a/c)= 1.5±0.2 the corrosion pit depth growth law was obtained as a function of stress a...

In this study, single-edge cracked uniaxial specimens with an initial crack length of 0.1 in or 0.3 in and wedge-shaped sheet specimens with an initial crack length of 0.3 in were tested at a constant displacement rate of 50 in/min under 1000 psi confining pressure. The specimens were made of a highly filled polymeric material, containing 86% by weight of hard particles embedded in a rubbery ma...

The role of crack-tip shielding in in ̄uencing mixed-mode (mode I‡ II) fatigue-crack growth thresholds for large, through-thickness cracks in a Ti±6Al±4V turbine blade alloy is examined under high-cycle fatigue loading conditions, i.e., at a loading frequency of 1000 Hz in ambient temperature air for load ratios (Kmin=Kmax) of R ˆ 0:1±0.8. Techniques are developed to quantify crack-tip shielding...