A study of stochastic fatigue crack growth modeling through experimental data

To capture the statistical nature of fatigue crack growth, many stochastic models have been proposed in the literature. These models may have been verified by only one data set, and therefore not appreciated by other fellow researchers. Part of the reason is the difficulty and time-consuming in obtaining the statistically meaningful fatigue crack growth data. In the present study, experimental work is carried out to obtain the fatigue crack growth data of a batch of 2024-T351 aluminum alloy specimens. A rather universal stochastic fatigue crack growth model proposed by Yang and Manning is employed to analyze the data. The solution of the stochastic differential equation associated with the stochastic model gives us the crack exceedance probability as well as the probability of random time to reach a specified crack size. Through comparison between the analytical and experimental results, it is found the model with a minor modification can fit the experimental data rather well. Once the appropriate stochastic model is established, it can be used for the fatigue reliability prediction of structures made of the tested material. In the present study, in particular, it can be used for the reliability assessment of aging aircraft made of 2024-T351 aluminum alloy.