Stress intensity factors for part-elliptical cracks emanating from dimpled rivet holes

Abstract

Detailed investigations on the stress intensity factors (SIFs) for corner cracks emanated from interference fitted dimpled rivet holes are conducted using three-dimensional finite element method. The influences of the crack length a, elliptical shape factor t, far-end stress S and interference magnitude δ on the stress intensity factors are systematically studied. The SIFs for corner cracks emanated from open holes are also investigated for comparisons. An empirical formula of the normalized SIF is proposed by use of the least square method for convenience of the engineering application, which is a function of the crack length a, elliptical shape factor t, far-end stress S, interference magnitude δ and the normalized elliptical centrifugal angle φn. Based on the empirical formula, a crack growth simulation for a rivet filled hole is conducted, which shows a good agreement with the test data.