A phase-field model for fatigue crack growth

Abstract A phase-field model is presented for the study of fatigue crack growth. A crack growth viscosity parameter is introduced into the standard phase-field model for brittle fracture to account for rate- or cycle-dependent crack growth phenomena. A modified J-integral is developed to demonstrate how the phase-field approach can be used to generate Paris-law type crack growth rates. In order to model more general crack growth versus applied loading behaviors that are not a single simple Paris-law, steady-state finite element calculations are performed to calibrate fits of the phase-field model to measured crack growth rates found in da/dN versus ΔK curves. Transient time- or cycle-dependent calculations are performed and compared to experimental measurements on samples where crack turning is induced by the presence of a hole in the vicinity of the crack. A three-dimensional example with turning of the crack front is also computed illustrating the capabilities of the phase-field approach for complex crack paths.

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