Numerical simulation of fatigue crack propagation under superimposed stress histories containing different frequency components with several mean stress conditions

Fatigue crack propagation behavior under superimposed stress histories containing different frequency components with several mean stress conditions was investigated. Numerical simulation of fatigue crack propagation based on an advanced fracture mechanics approach using the RPG (Re-tensile Plastic zone Generating) stress criterion for fatigue crack propagation was improved to extract the effective part from the applied stress history for fatigue crack propagation. The parameter, which is based on the plastic hysteresis energy consumed in the vicinity of a crack tip, was applied and implemented into the numerical simulation code of fatigue crack propagation. Fatigue crack propagation tests under various superimposed stress conditions with several mean stress conditions were performed and compared with the fatigue crack propagation histories obtained from the improved numerical simulations. These comparisons show the validity of the proposed procedure for extracting the effective stress history from the superimposed stress histories with different frequency components and mean stresses. Additionally, practical fatigue strength evaluations based on the linear cumulative fatigue damage parameter were conducted to investigate the tendency of the fatigue damage value under these stress conditions.