Local crack tip strain behavior during fatigue crack initiation and propagation in polycarbonate

To investigate whether the two fatigue processes of crack initiation and propagation can be combined, the change of local notch root strain and its history, as well as the change of local crack tip strain and the local strain history, of a fatigued element ahead of the propagating crack tip up to failure in a polycarbonate subjected to low-cycle fatigue tests are measured by the fine grid method. As a result, the existence of a unified local strain field in which the two fatigue processes can be substantially combined is experimentally confirmed. Therefore, the local crack tip strain may be examined by a simpler, one-parameter approach for fatigue life estimation.