No description available.

The fatigue of materials and structures is a subject that has been under investigation for almost 160 years; yet reliable fatigue life predictions are still more of an empirical art than a science. The traditional safe-life approach to fatigue design is based upon the total time to failure of a virtually defect free component. This approach is heavily reliant on the use of safety factors and empirical equations, and therefore much scatter in the fatigue life predictions is normally observed. Furthermore, the safe-life approach is unsuitable for many important applications such as aircraft, pressure vessels, welded structures, and microelectronic devices. In these applications the existence of initial defects is practically unavoidable and the time of propagation from an initial defect to final failure is comparable with the total life of the component. In the early 1970’s, the aircraft industry pioneered a new approach for the analysis of fatigue crack growth, known as damage tolerant design. This approach utilises fracture mechanics principles to consider the propagation of fatigue cracks from an initial crack length until final fracture, or a critical crack length, is reached. Since the first implementation of damage tolerant design, much research and development has been undertaken. In particular, theoretical and experimental fracture mechanics techniques have been utilised for the investigation of a wide variety of fatigue crack growth phenomena. One such example is the retardation and acceleration in crack growth rate caused by spike overloads or underloads. It is generally accepted, however, that the current level of understanding of fatigue crack growth phenomena and the adequacy of fatigue life prediction techniques are still far from satisfactory. This thesis theoretically investigates various non-linear individual and interaction phenomena associated with fatigue crack growth. Specifically, the effect of plate thickness on crack growth under constant amplitude loading, crack growth retardation due to an overload cycle, and small crack growth from sharp notches are considered. A new semianalytical method is developed for the investigations, which utilises the distributed dislocation technique and the well-known concept of plasticity-induced crack closure. The effects of plate thickness are included through the use of first-order plate theory and a fundamental solution for an edge dislocation in plate of arbitrary thickness. Numerical results are obtained via the application of Gauss-Chebyshev quadrature and an iterative procedure. The developed methods are verified against previously published theoretical and experimental data. The elastic out-of-plane stress and displacement fields are first investigated using the developed method and are found to be in very good agreement with past experimental results and finite element simulations. Crack tip plasticity is then introduced by way of a strip-yield model. The effects of thickness on the crack tip plasticity zone and plasticity-induced crack closure are studied for both small and large-scale yielding conditions. It is shown that, in general, an increase in plate thickness will lead to a reduction in the extent of the plasticity and associated crack closure, and therefore an increase in the crack growth rates. This observation is in agreement with many findings of past experimental and theoretical studies. An incremental crack growth scheme is implemented into the developed method to allow for the investigation of variable amplitude loading and small fatigue crack growth. The case of a single tensile overload is first investigated for a range of overload ratios and plate thicknesses. This situation is of practical importance as an overload cycle can significantly increase the service life of a cracked component by temporarily retarding the crack growth. Next to be studied is growth of physically small cracks from sharp notches. Fatigue cracks typically initiate from stress concentrations, such as notches, and can grow at rates higher than as predicted for a long established crack. This can lead to non-conservative estimates for the total fatigue life of a structural component. For both the overload and small crack cases, the present theoretical predictions correlate well with past experimental results for a range of materials. Furthermore, trends observed in the experiments match those of the predictions and can be readily explained through use of crack closure arguments. This thesis is presented in the form of a collection of published or submitted journal articles that are the result of research by the author. These nine articles have been chosen to best demonstrate the development and application of the new theoretical techniques. Additional background information and an introduction into the chosen field of research are provided in order to establish the context and significance of this work. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1349588 / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Adelaide, School of Mechanical Engineering, 2008

Crack propagation in structures when subjected to fatigue loading, follows three different phases namely - short crack growth, stable crack growth and unstable crack growth. Accurate fatigue life prediction demands the consideration of every crack propagation phase rather than only the stable crack growth stage. Further, the use of existing crack growth laws in structures with small cracks under-predicts the growth rate compared to experimentally observed ones, thereby leading to an unsafe design and keeping the structure in a potentially dangerous state. In the present work, an attempt is made to establish fatigue crack propagation laws for plain concrete, reinforced concrete and concrete-concrete jointed interfaces from first principles using the concepts of dimensional analysis and self-similarity. Different crack growth laws are proposed to understand the behavior in each of the three regimes of the fatigue crack growth curve. Important crack growth characterizing material and geometrical parameters for each zone are included in the proposed analytical models. In real life applications to structures, the amplitude of cyclic loading rarely remains constant and is subjected to a wide spectrum of load amplitudes. Furthermore, the crack growth behavior changes in the presence of high amplitude load spikes within a constant amplitude history and this is incorporated in the model formulation. Using scaling laws, an improved understanding of the scaling behavior on different parameters is achieved. The models describing different regimes of crack propagation are finally unified to obtain the entire crack growth curve and compute the total fatigue life. In addition, crack growth analysis is performed for a reinforced concrete member by modifying the model derived for plain concrete in the Paris regime. Energy dissipation occurring due to shake-down phenomenon in steel reinforcement is addressed. The bond-slip mechanism which is of serious concern in reinforced concrete members is included in the study and a method is proposed for the prediction of residual moment carrying capacity as a function of relative crack depth. The application of the proposed analytical model in the computation of fatigue crack growth is demonstrated on three practical problems – beam in flexure, concrete arch bridge and a patch repaired beam. Through a sensitivity study, the influence of different parameters on the crack growth behavior is highlighted.

A análise da vida em fadiga em amplitude variável associada à corrosão é bastante complexa, devido a combinações entre as interações eletroquímicas ocorridas, tendo em vista a exposição da frente da trinca à névoa salina somada aos efeitos deletérios do carregamento de amplitude variável. Esta combinação de efeitos ainda não é modelada matematicamente, e os dados experimentais observados em outros trabalhos ainda geram hipóteses inconclusivas. Neste contexto, este estudo tem como objetivo avaliar a vida em fadiga da liga 7475 T7351, utilizando carregamento de voos simulados TWIST e FALSTAFF e submetida a névoa salina a 3,5 e 5%. Foram executados ensaios eletroquímicos, para verificar o potencial de corrosão dessa liga e análise microestrutural para verificar a formação de pites. O crescimento de trinca por fadiga com carregamento de voo foi simulado, sem considerar os efeitos do meio, nos programas NASGRO 4.0, AFGROW e CRACK 2000, com parâmetros calibrados no NASGRO 4.0, no intuito de verificar quais modelos matemáticos e programas descrevem a curva experimental em ar com menor erro. Os resultados mostraram que os programas NASGRO 4.0 e AFGROW se aproximaram com menor erro à curva experimental em ar. Os ensaios de crescimento de trinca por fadiga foram executados com carregamento de voos simulados e os parâmetros para o sistema de geração de névoa salina foram determinados experimentalmente. As curvas de crescimento de trinca e taxa de propagação em névoa salina foram comparadas às curvas em ar, as quais também foram obtidas sob as mesmas condições de carregamento. Observou-se que para os ensaios em névoa salina, a trinca rompeu com maior número de voos em relação às curvas em ar. / The corrosion fatigue life analysis under variable amplitude loading is very complex due electrochemistry effects in crack tip exposed to salt spray matched to harmful effects of amplitude variable loading. This effects combination is not modeling mathematically actually, and the experimentally data observed in other research generates inconclusive theories. In this context, the main aim of this research to evaluate the corrosion fatigue life of 7475 T7351 under spectrum loading TWIST and FALSTAFF and exposed to 3.5% and 5% NaCl. Electrochemistry test were performed to verify the corrosion potential followed of microstructural analysis by SEM, to verify the pitting on 7475 T7351 alloy. The fatigue crack growth was simulated, without environmental effects, using the codes NASGRO, AFGROW and CRACK 2000, the simulation parameters was fit on NASGRO 4.0, to analyze whether the crack growth models and codes are able to represent properly the air experimental crack growth data. The results showed that NASGRO 4.0 and AFGROW codes described the fatigue crack growth in air with less error. The fatigue crack growth tests were performed under spectrum loadings and the parameters to obtain salt spray were determined experimentally. The corrosion fatigue crack growth and rate data were compared to air data, under the same loading conditions. The corrosion fatigue tests showed that the specimens cracked under a larger number of flights than specimens in air.

Fatigue damage of aluminium alloys is one of the key concerns in transport industries, particularly in the aerospace industry. The purpose of the project is to develop new knowledge and techniques against fatigue failure for these industries through a systematic investigation of fatigue resistance and crack growth behaviours of aluminium alloys. Fatigue and fracture mechanics have been investigated analytically, numerically and experimentally in this project. Overload transient effect on fatigue crack growth has been examined by considering various parameters including crack closure, overload ratio (OLR), load ratio (R ratio), baseline stress intensity factor range, (∆K)_BL and geometry. It was found that crack closure can be correlated qualitatively and quantitatively to all other parameters associated with overload transient behaviour. It is proposed that the effect of crack tip plasticity on the non-linearity of the compliance curve can be separated to obtain reliable crack closure measurement. In this project, different methods are used to better understand the transient retardation process so that the damage tolerance design (DTD) of the components made of aluminium alloys can be enhanced. Another important parameter for fatigue and damage tolerance design (DTD) of engineering components is the threshold stress intensity factor range for fatigue crack growth, ∆K_th. A small variation in identification of ∆K_th can lead to a big change in overall estimation of fatigue life. In this project, an analytical model has been developed for aluminium alloys by fitting an analytical curve with raw crack growth data in order to identify the ∆K_th. This model has the capacity to identify ∆K_th for different aluminium alloys at various R ratios. There is a great demand for enhanced fatigue life of aluminium alloys in the transport industry. This project has carried out a detailed investigation of electromagnetic treatment (ET) in the form of electropulsing treatment to develop an efficient technique for fatigue resistance enhancement. ET parameters including the treatment intensity, treatment time and the number of applications have been optimised. It is suggested that the duration of ET treatment can be used as the main parameter among all these to control the fatigue resistance of the aluminium alloy. The improvement in fatigue resistance has been explained by the change in microhardness and conductivity of aluminium alloy due to ET. Additionally, the fracture morphology was analysed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The precipitates and dislocation characteristics were also studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The outcomes of this investigation will help improve structural integrity by enhancing fatigue resistance of aluminium alloys.

The relationship between crack path and test method was examined by comparing the performance of adhesive-adherend combinations (six) in quasi-static fracture, mixed-mode fatigue, and creep crack growth. Crack paths in creep and quasi-static fracture were similar due to similar crack-tip plastic zone sizes in the epoxy adhesive even though the crack growth rates in creep were much smaller. Under condensed moisture and mixed-mode, creep and threshold fatigue tests produced interfacial failure. Under room-temperature dry environment, near threshold mixed-mode fatigue was interfacial, but was not in creep or quasi-static fracture. Smaller plastic zone size and crack path proximity to the interface that followed increased the sensitivity of near threshold, mixed-mode fatigue to surface properties. Therefore, the interfacial or cohesive failure of an adhesive system, which may judge the quality of the bond, can be a function of the test being conducted and may not be an absolute indicator of joint quality.

The relationship between crack path and test method was examined by comparing the performance of adhesive-adherend combinations (six) in quasi-static fracture, mixed-mode fatigue, and creep crack growth. Crack paths in creep and quasi-static fracture were similar due to similar crack-tip plastic zone sizes in the epoxy adhesive even though the crack growth rates in creep were much smaller. Under condensed moisture and mixed-mode, creep and threshold fatigue tests produced interfacial failure. Under room-temperature dry environment, near threshold mixed-mode fatigue was interfacial, but was not in creep or quasi-static fracture. Smaller plastic zone size and crack path proximity to the interface that followed increased the sensitivity of near threshold, mixed-mode fatigue to surface properties. Therefore, the interfacial or cohesive failure of an adhesive system, which may judge the quality of the bond, can be a function of the test being conducted and may not be an absolute indicator of joint quality.

A análise da vida em fadiga em amplitude variável associada à corrosão é bastante complexa, devido a combinações entre as interações eletroquímicas ocorridas, tendo em vista a exposição da frente da trinca à névoa salina somada aos efeitos deletérios do carregamento de amplitude variável. Esta combinação de efeitos ainda não é modelada matematicamente, e os dados experimentais observados em outros trabalhos ainda geram hipóteses inconclusivas. Neste contexto, este estudo tem como objetivo avaliar a vida em fadiga da liga 7475 T7351, utilizando carregamento de voos simulados TWIST e FALSTAFF e submetida a névoa salina a 3,5 e 5%. Foram executados ensaios eletroquímicos, para verificar o potencial de corrosão dessa liga e análise microestrutural para verificar a formação de pites. O crescimento de trinca por fadiga com carregamento de voo foi simulado, sem considerar os efeitos do meio, nos programas NASGRO 4.0, AFGROW e CRACK 2000, com parâmetros calibrados no NASGRO 4.0, no intuito de verificar quais modelos matemáticos e programas descrevem a curva experimental em ar com menor erro. Os resultados mostraram que os programas NASGRO 4.0 e AFGROW se aproximaram com menor erro à curva experimental em ar. Os ensaios de crescimento de trinca por fadiga foram executados com carregamento de voos simulados e os parâmetros para o sistema de geração de névoa salina foram determinados experimentalmente. As curvas de crescimento de trinca e taxa de propagação em névoa salina foram comparadas às curvas em ar, as quais também foram obtidas sob as mesmas condições de carregamento. Observou-se que para os ensaios em névoa salina, a trinca rompeu com maior número de voos em relação às curvas em ar. / The corrosion fatigue life analysis under variable amplitude loading is very complex due electrochemistry effects in crack tip exposed to salt spray matched to harmful effects of amplitude variable loading. This effects combination is not modeling mathematically actually, and the experimentally data observed in other research generates inconclusive theories. In this context, the main aim of this research to evaluate the corrosion fatigue life of 7475 T7351 under spectrum loading TWIST and FALSTAFF and exposed to 3.5% and 5% NaCl. Electrochemistry test were performed to verify the corrosion potential followed of microstructural analysis by SEM, to verify the pitting on 7475 T7351 alloy. The fatigue crack growth was simulated, without environmental effects, using the codes NASGRO, AFGROW and CRACK 2000, the simulation parameters was fit on NASGRO 4.0, to analyze whether the crack growth models and codes are able to represent properly the air experimental crack growth data. The results showed that NASGRO 4.0 and AFGROW codes described the fatigue crack growth in air with less error. The fatigue crack growth tests were performed under spectrum loadings and the parameters to obtain salt spray were determined experimentally. The corrosion fatigue crack growth and rate data were compared to air data, under the same loading conditions. The corrosion fatigue tests showed that the specimens cracked under a larger number of flights than specimens in air.

Structural concrete is the most widely used material in the construction of bridges, pave-ments, runways, dams and other infrastructures which are subjected to uctuating loads during its service period. Concrete contains internal aws in the form of micro-cracks as an inherent property. When subjected to fatigue loading, distributed micro-cracks are formed at the sites of pre-existing aws, which subsequently, localize to form a major crack and propagates. The crack growth curve of a structural component when subjected to fatigue loading depicts a sigmoidal pattern. This curve is divided into three distinct regions namely sub-threshold crack propagation (short crack), stable crack propagation (long crack) and unstable crack propagation depending on the crack propagation rate. Most of the fatigue life is spent in the sub-critical stage (small crack) before the for-mation of long cracks. Hence, from the view of estimating the fatigue life, the crack initiation and early crack propagation (short crack stage) phase are the most important and correct concepts need to be developed. Hence, in this work, the behavior of propa-gation and non-propagationof short cracks in concrete when subjected to fatigue loading is addressed. Small non-propagating cracks are usually found at notch roots when the nominal stress range is below certain limits that depend on the notch sensitivity. Analysis is performed on geometrically similar three-point bend beams of three di erent sizes and subjected to fatigue loading in order to determine the important factors that a ect the notch sensitivity and to determine the minimum stress range required for the initiation and propagation of short cracks. A criterion for crack initiation and propagation is proposed based on linear elastic fracture mechanics. Using this criterion, the maximum length of non-propagating crack that can be formed from fatigue loading alone and the minimum stress range required to propagate a crack without arrest are computed. It is observed that the notch sensitivity increases with increase in beam size, decrease in notch-tip aspect ratio and increase in the fatigue limit of the material. Since the probability of formation of a non-propagating crack at a notch tip decreases with increase in notch sensitivity, and since it is desirable not to have a non-propagating crack in experimental investigations, it is essential to design a specimen with higher notch sensitivity. A crack spends a considerable amount of time in the short crack regime. The short cracks are found to propagate at higher rates than the long cracks at the same nominal stress intensity factor which is known as the short crack anomaly. It is important to consider this anomaly in the prediction of the residual life of damaged concrete structures. Hence, in the present work, an analytical model is developed using the principles of dimensional analysis and self-similarity in order to estimate the rate of short crack growth in concrete. The important parameters such as load range, threshold value of stress intensity factor range, modulus of elasticity, tensile strength, fracture energy, stress ratio, crack size and the maximum aggregate size are considered in the development of the short crack growth model. The model is calibrated and validated using the experimental results that are available in the literature. A probabilistic analysis is carried out to determine the sensitivity of each of the di erent parameters that has been considered on the crack growth rate using the coe cient of variation method. It is found that the crack length is the most sensitive parameter to short crack growth rate followed by the load range. A term called `characteristic fatigue life of short crack' is de ned as the number of fatigue cycles that can be applied such that not more than ve percent of the short cracks is expected to proceed to the long crack regime. Furthermore, the fatigue life of a crack spent in the short crack regime is determined through a reliability based study using the Monte Carlo technique. It is found that the smaller sized specimens have larger fatigue life in the short crack regime than the larger specimens.

<div>As the use of fiber-reinforced polymer composites grows in aerospace structures, there is an emerging need to implement damage tolerant approaches. The use of <i>in-situ</i> synchrotron X-ray tomography enables direct observations of progressive damage relative to the microstructural features, which is studied in a T650/5320 laminate composite with varying layup orientations (using 45^o and -45^o plies) in a compact tension specimen geometry. Specifically, the interactions of micromechanical damage mechanisms at the notch tip were analyzed through 3D image processing as the crack grew. First, monotonic tests were conducted where X-ray tomography was acquired incrementally between the unloaded state and maximum load. The analysis of the monotonic tension specimens showed intralaminar cracking was dominant during crack initiation, delamination became prevalent during the later stages of crack progression, and fiber breakage was, in general, largely related to intralaminar cracking. After the monotonic tension analysis, modifications were made to the specimen geometry and the loading assembly, and fatigue tests were conducted, also using <i>in-situ</i> synchrotron X-ray tomography. Specifically, tomography images were acquired after select intervals of cyclic loading to examine the crack growth behavior up to 5802 cycles. The analysis of the fatigue tests showed that intralaminar cracking was also dominant, while localized delamination allowed ply cross-over. A finite element analysis was conducted by comparing the crack profile at varying intervals of loading, and the change in stored energy per cycle, dU/dN, was calculated. The combined experimental and simulation analysis showed that when the per ply values of dU/dN were examined, the intralaminar cracking rate collapsed to one curve regardless of the ply orientation, where direct observations of fiber bridging were characterized and associated with a reduction in crack growth rate for the influenced ply. Overall, this work provides a physical understanding of the micromechanics facilitating intralaminar crack growth in composites, providing engineers the necessary assessments for slow crack growth approaches in structural composite materials.<br></div>