An extensive experimental study of indentation and crack arrest statistics is presented for four different brittle materials (alumina, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, glass). Evidence is given that the crack length statistics is described by a universal (i.e., material independent) distribution. The latter directly derives from results obtained when modeling crack propagation as a depinning p...

Fatigue crack growth can be strongly influenced by crack closure, i. e., the contacting of the opposing faces of a fatigue crack above the minimum load in a loading cycle. This crack closure shields the crack tip from the full stress field, but different views are held regarding the extent of this shielding. The type of closure, whether it be plasticity-induced, or roughness-induced may also pl...

Fretting nucleation models and three-dimensional finite element analyses are used to compute the fretting fatigue life for metallic components. The models predict crack nucleation cycles and location(s). Discrete crack growth simulations provide stress intensity factor histories, with multiple, non-planar, three-dimensional cracks possible. The histories are input into crack growth rate model(s...

There is an increasing need to assess the service life of components containing defect which operate at high temperature. This paper describes the current fracture mechanics concepts that are employed to predict cracking of engineering materials at high temperatures under static and cyclic loading. The relationship between these concepts and those of high temperature life assessment methods is ...

The crack growth properties of several sealing glasses were measured by using constant stress rate testing in 2% and 95% RH (relative humidity). Crack growth parameters measured in high humidity are systematically smaller (n and B) than those measured in low humidity, and crack velocities for dry environments are 100 lower than for wet environments. The crack velocity is very sensitivity to sma...

This paper presents a new incremental formulation for predicting the curved growth paths of twodimensional fatigue cracks. The displacement and traction boundary integral equations (BIEs) are employed to calculate responses of a linear elastic cracked body. The Paris law and the principle of local symmetry are adopted for defining the growth rate and direction of a fatigue crack, respectively. ...

Cracks can occur in the articular cartilage surface due to the mechanical loading of the synovial joint, trauma or wear and tear. However, the propagation of such cracks under different frequencies of loading is unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of frequency of loading on the growth of a pre-existing crack in cartilage specimens subjected to cyclic tensile strain....

One of the major issues from a structural integrity point of view of the aircraft structure is an appropriate health monitoring technology delivery for the damage tolerant philosophy. This paper presents a development of a system for fatigue crack growth monitoring and early damage detection in the PZL – 130 ORLIK TC II turbo-prop military trainer aft structure. The maintenance system of the ai...

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...