International Journal of Structural Integrity

Purpose – The paper aims to shed some light on the effect of the notch/crack-tip stresses and their role on the cyclic plasticity and crack growth behavior in compression-compression fatigue.

Design/methodology/approach – Compression precracking was studied using 2D finite element analysis for CT specimen. The final crack length and the shape of the crack front were compared with those obtained experimentally.

Findings – It has been found that cyclic plasticity and stress redistribution govern the observed fatigue crack growth behavior in compression-compression precracking. Only the internal stress corresponding to Pmax shows a significant redistribution with the crack extension whereas the stress corresponding Pmin is not affected by the increase of crack length.

Research limitations/implications – This results are limited to Mode I cracking.

Practical implications – It supports that two thresholds, ?K^th and Kmax^th, govern the fatigue crack behavior. When the contribution from the internal tensile stress is not big enough to make Kmax exceed Kmax^th the crack will self arrest.

Originality/value – It has been found that cyclic plasticity and stress redistribution govern the observed fatigue crack growth behavior in compression-compression precracking. The comparison of the numerical results with experimental data in terms of final crack length and crack front shape indicated a fair agreement.