The significance of plastic zone growth under cyclic loading and crack opening/closing model in fatigue crack propagation

Fatigue cracks remain closed at lower loading level during a part of load cycle even though a tension-to-tension loading is applied. The crack closure plays a role to obstruct the generation and growth of compressive plastic zone during unloading. Cyclic plastic work, which corresponds to an irreversible energy consumed in a cracked body is generated ahead of a crack, is required as a fatigue crack driving force. The amount of cyclic plasticity is reduced by a crack closure. The crack opening/closing model based on the Dugdale model under arbitrary stress distributions for a through thickness straight crack is proposed and the fatigue crack growth under various loadings is investigated.