Fatigue crack initiation and propagation phases near notches in metals with low notch sensitivity

The paper summarizes the results of experimental work carried out in order to analyse the initiation and propagation of fatigue cracks on plates in a deep drawing steel and in a cast aluminium alloy. The plates were characterized by lateral V and U-shape symmetric notches, with a notch root radius ranging from 0.1 to 10 mm, the notch depth being 10 mm and the plate thickness 2 mm for the steel and 5 mm for the light alloy. In order to estimate the crack initiation life two new parameters are proposed; they are no longer based on the peak values of strain and stress, but on the averaged values of such quantities in the neighbourhood of the notch tip. The dimension of the process-zone is correlated to the intrinsic crack length of the material. The estimates need an elastoplastic approach and a numerical solution. Experimental data and expected values are compared. © 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.