Structural steel crack propagation experimental and numerical analysis

This paper presents an investigation on the crack propagation testing for three grades of structural steel material. The methodology uses experimental analysis with a test setup based on the ASTM E647 standard and a compact tension (CT) test piece, and, finite element analyses (FEA) for crack propagation based on the ANSYS separating, morphing and adaptive remeshing (SMART) tool. The FEA CT modelling is first used to develop front face compliance functions to relate the crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) to the crack length. A set of CT test pieces were manufactured and then cyclically loaded on an Instron 8801 load frame and CMOD was measured against number of cycles. The steel material fracture mechanics based fatigue property was then estimated giving the crack growth rates for the Paris Law. The FEA models were then updated with the measured Paris Law coefficients and a SMART fatigue analysis was performed numerically and compared with the experimental results. The study showed that a hybrid numerical experimental methodology can be used to estimate fatigue crack growth material properties successfully with reasonable accuracy in a controlled laboratory environment. (c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.