Modelling fatigue crack propagation in CT specimens

Although there are a great number of numerical studies focused on the numerical simulation of crack shape evolution, a deeper understanding is required concerning the numerical parameters and the mathematical modelling. Therefore, the objectives of the paper are the study of the influence of numerical parameters, particularly the radial size of crack front elements and the magnitude of individual crack extensions, the mathematical modelling of crack propagation regimes, and the linking of crack shape changes with K distribution. A relatively simple through-crack geometry, the CT specimen, was studied and the numerical model was validated with experimental results with a good agreement. The K distribution along crack front was found to be the driving force for shape variations. Shape variations were found to be one order of magnitude lower than K variations.