Prediction models of fatigue crack closure and growth under random loading

The effects of plastic zones both in front of and behind crack tip on crack closure have been analysed. The total residual deformations of crack surfaces involve two parts, that is, the amount of plastic blunting of crack tip and the residual deformation in the wake of the tip. This paper presents a fatigue crack closure model in which the influences of compressive load on closure stress are discussed. The model is applied to random loading conditions by the assumption of limited memory properties. The fatigue lives are predicted using the proposed crack growth model for CCT plane stress specimen cut from 2219-T851 aluminum alloy under flight spectrum loadings, and the prediction values agree with the test results.The project was supported by the natural science foundation of China.