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The correct determination of fatigue crack propagation data is of great importance for the damage tolerance design of engineering components, especially with regard to the calculation of residual lifetime and the establishment of inspection intervals. The fatigue crack propagation threshold Δ𝐾th, in this respect, is a crucial input parameter for simulating crack growth, since it corresponds to the stress intensity factor range at which a non-growing crack starts to propagate. However, the experimental determination of Δ𝐾th, as well as its application, is still confronted with few issues related among others to the load ratio (R) dependency of Δ𝐾th, the testing procedure, and environmental effects. These can lead to large scatter and significant errors in the prediction of component failure. In this context, the use of the intrinsic fatigue crack propagation threshold Δ𝐾th,eff in component assessment is a promising alternative, since it does not depend on a number of factors that affect Δ𝐾th, but only on the elastic properties (𝐸-modulus) and the lattice (Burger’s vector ‖𝑏‖) of the material. The aim of the present work is therefore to investigate different experimental procedures for the determination of Δ𝐾th,eff, namely: (a) conventional load reduction (LR) procedures, (b) the 𝐾max procedure and (c) compression pre-cracking load reduction and constant amplitude (respectively CPLR and CPCA) methods. Furthermore, the determination of Δ𝐾th has been carried out varying some testing parameters, such as test frequency, Δ𝐾 at the beginning of the crack propagation test (Δ𝐾0) and stress ratio (R). The results are statistically analyzed and a discussion about the use of Δ𝐾th and Δ𝐾th,eff for the component fatigue assessment is presented.
Fracture mechanics-based methods can be applied to the fatigue assessment of mechanical components containing defects or cracks subjected to cyclic loading. The knowledge of the crack growth behavior for short and long cracks enables the determination of both finite and infinite life regimes. Nevertheless, a first problem arises from the empirical determination of the fatigue data, which vary according to the test conditions, e.g., the test method, frequency and the stress ratio R. This is due to crack closure and further environmental phenomena affecting crack propagation behavior. A second issue regards the lack of standard experimental procedures for the determination of the fatigue crack propagation threshold ΔKth dependency on the crack size. This is problematic, since ΔKth increases with the build-up of the closure effects in the short crack regime and its inaccurate experimental determination leads to large deviations in the assessment and, even more critical, to non-conservative predictions. Aiming at providing more reliable and safer assessment procedures, the present work proposes a method based on effective crack growth data obtained at high stress ratios (R ≈ 0.8). A short-crack model based on the cyclic R-curve and CPLR data is employed for describing the development of the closure effects. The predictions are compared to established methods and validated by experimental tests.