Description of fatigue crack growth in aluminum alloys by means of flow curve parameters

A model describing the influence of the material on the fatigue crack growth by means of parameters, which can be determined by monotonic loading, is presented. The model is based on the assumption that the plastic flow is determined by the balance between an athermal strengthening process (stored energy process) and a thermally activated relaxation process and is therefore directly interrelated to crack formation and crack growth. The experimental results from different aluminum alloys confirm this procedure. Incorporating the corrosion fatigue into the model should be possible.