Fatigue crack growth prediction accounting for the damage zone

The present paper is concerned with modelling of fatigue crack initiation and propagation by applying the non-local critical plane model, proposed by Seweryn and Mroz. Using the linear elastic stress field at the front of a crack or sharp notch the damage growth on a physical plane is specified in terms of mean values of stress and strength functions. When the damage zone reaches a critical length, crack growth accompanies damage evolution. The model is applied to study crack propagation under cyclically varying tension compression and the predictions are compared with experimental data. The evolution of the damage zone and crack propagation in the biaxial case is considered next.