PREDICTION OF THE GROWTH OF NEAR-SURFACE FATIGUE CRACKS

The theory of fatigue failure [1-3] is employed for analyzing the growth of surface fatigue cracks. The theory is based on a synthesis of the multiparameter mechanics of fracture and the mechanics of scattered damage accumulation. The stability of a body-load system is analyzed taking the accumulation of damage on the crack front and its extension and the changes in the growing crack front geometry into account The effect of the initial crack dimensions on the number of cycles prior to the crack initiation, the variation in crack dimensions, their ratios, and the effective radius of curvature on the crack front is analyzed numerically. The results are presented in the form of kinematic diagrams of fatigue fracture.