A Combined Numerical–Analytical Study for Notched Fatigue Crack Initiation Assessment in TRIP Steel: A Local Strain and a Fracture Mechanics Approach

Abstract

In the fatigue design of metallic components using the safe-life approach, fatigue crack initiation as a development of slip systems at the nanoscale, followed by microstructurally short crack growth, is critical for the onset of structural failure. The development of reliable analytical tools for the prediction of crack initiation, although very complex due to the inherent multiscale fatigue damage processes involved, is important for promoting a more sophisticated design but, more importantly, enhancing the safety in regard to fatigue. The assessment of fatigue crack initiation life at the root of a V-shaped notch is performed by implementing a local strain and a fracture mechanics concept. In the low cycle fatigue analysis, the finite element method is used to determine the local stress–strain response at the notch root, which takes into account elastoplastic material behavior. Fatigue crack initiation is treated as the onset of a short corner crack by incremental damage accumulation and failure of a material element volume at the notch root. The finite element results are compared against established methodologies such as the Neuber and strain energy density methods. In the fracture mechanics approach, fatigue crack initiation is treated as the onset and propagation of a corner crack to a finite short crack. Fatigue experiments in two different transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steels were conducted to evaluate the analytical predictions and to determine the physical parameters for the definition of crack initiation. The analytical results show that the finite element method may be successfully implemented with existing fatigue models for a more accurate determination of the local stress–strain behavior at the notch tip in order to improve the assessment of fatigue crack initiation life compared to the established analytical methodologies.