Investigation of Plasticity Effects on Growing Fatigue Cracks Using the CJP Model of Crack Tip Fields.

A growing fatigue crack gives rise to a plastic enclave that envelops the crack and can exert a shielding effect on the crack from the global elastic stress field driving fatigue propagation. This work presents the potential of the CJP model of crack tip fields to investigate the plasticity-induced shielding effects on growing fatigue cracks as well as its ability to characterise the size and shape of the plastic zone generated at the tip of a growing fatigue crack. The model was specifically developed to consider the influence of the plastic enclave generated around a fatigue crack on the surrounding elastic material.

Study of Effective Stress Intensity Factor through the CJP Model Using Full-Field Experimental Data.

In this work, the Christopher-James-Patterson crack tip field model is used to infer and assess the effective stress intensity factor ranges measured from thermoelastic and digital image correlation data. The effective stress intensity factor range obtained via the Christopher-James-Patterson model, which provides an effective rationalization of fatigue crack growth rates, is separated into two components representing the elastic and retardation components to assess shielding phenomena on growing fatigue cracks. For this analysis, fatigue crack growth tests were performed on Compact-Tension specimens manufactured in pure grade 2 titanium for different stress ratio levels, and digital image correlation and thermoelastic measurements were made for different crack lengths.