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On the configuration of a propagating surface fatigue crack

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Abstract

The configuration assumed by a semi-elliptical surface crack as it propagates into a thick plate under fatigue loading is relevant both to fracture testing practice and to fundamental understanding of the fatigue process. It has not been possible to delineate this configuration completely by nondestructive experimental techniques, and therefore an analytical model of the process is essential to its understanding. The present paper proposes such a model and uses previously published experimental data in calculating the changing surface crack configuration in fatigue cycled 4340 steel. The results predict that a surface crack will tend to grow more shallow in relation to its length with increased fatigue cycling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA

    P. H. Francis

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  1. P. H. Francis
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Francis, P.H. On the configuration of a propagating surface fatigue crack. Appl. Sci. Res. 25, 26–34 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00382282

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00382282

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