Ductile crack growth under plane stress conditions: Size effects and structural assessment—I. Size and geometry effects on crack growth resistance

Abstract

A brief overview of size and geometry effects on stable crack growth is given, in order to identify some important problem areas. These are: effect of constraint on crack growth, defining suitable parameters for correlating crack growth, and the driving force under elastic-plastic conditions. It is shown that the δ 5 type CTOD is a promising simplifying approach to a parameter for correlating crack growth, and further discussion will concentrate on plane stress configurations.