An investigation into the influence of variable amplitude creep-fatigue loading on plasticity-induced crack closure

Finite element simulations of fatigue crack growth (FCG) and creep-fatigue crack growth (CFCG) under constant amplitude (CA) and variable amplitude (VA) loading waveforms are performed to investigate the mechanics of crack opening and closing, which has implications on crack growth rate. The material of study is the ferritic-martensitic steel 9Cr-1Mo (modified 9Cr-1Mo) at 625 degrees C. Two-dimensional finite element analyses of compact tension (CT) specimens are performed to simulate crack growth under several VA loading scenarios, considering elastic-plastic and creep deformations of the material at the crack tip. In this study, the relevant variable influencing crack growth rate is the crack opening load, caused by the phenomenon of plasticity-induced crack closure. A series of loading conditions were simulated using the finite element method, i.e., fatigue overload (OL) in either CA FCG or CFCG waveforms, creep-fatigue OL in CFCG waveforms, and underload (UL) in CFCG waveforms. The crack opening loads obtained from this study for CA loading in both FCG and CFCG, agree with data from published studies. This study also found that a significant reduction in crack opening loads is experienced by the growing crack when an OL or UL cycle was introduced. Immediately after the OL or UL cycle is applied, the crack opening load increases during both fatigue OL and creep-fatigue OL to values larger than those recorded during CA FCG and CFCG loading, whereas UL waveforms result in consistently lower crack opening loads. The increase in crack opening loads is proportional to both the extent of OL and the duration of hold time in the OL cycle. However, following the application of a UL, the crack opening loads in the subsequent cycles were not influenced by the magnitude of the UL or the duration of hold time in the UL cycle.