A Practical Criterion on Fatigue Crack Growth Rates at Notches and Its Application to Part-Through-Thickness Fatigue Cracks in Notched Plates Subjected to Cyclic Bending

Abstract

In the present paper, an equivalent stress ratio concept, which has hitherto been developed by author [1–3], is applied to problems of part-through-thickness fatigue crack growth in notched plates subjected to cyclic bending loads, and a criterion for estimating fatigue crack growth rates is derived on the basis of the concept. In order to take a great variety of practical notches into consideration, a bending stress field of a notched plate containing a part-through-thickness fatigue crack emanating from a notch root is simplified by the elementary beam theory, and the stress field is characterized in accordance with classification of notch morphology: (a) an unnotch type, (b) a transverse type notch such as a groove, a shoulder, a trapezoidal protuberance, etc., which is disposed along a width of a plate, and (c) a through-thickness type notch such as a circular and elliptical hole, a side-groove, etc. Experimental results on part-through-thickness fatigue cracks emanating from artificial flaws at notch roots in plates subjected to cyclic bending loads are analyzed. Growth rates of fatigue cracks in the notches are estimated based on the proposed criterion and the devised convenient method for calculating stress intensity factors, and they are compared with experimental ones.