Material Configurational Forces applied to mixed-mode fatigue crack propagation and life prediction in elastic-plastic material

Within the framework of material configurational mechanics, an innovative fatigue model based on configurational force is proposed to predict the mixed-mode fatigue crack propagation in elastic-plastic material. This fatigue mode can provide the estimation of crack initiation, crack deflection, and residual fatigue lifetime simultaneously. The configurational-force fatigue model has the following basic stipulations: (a) the onset of crack growth occurs when the resultant of configurational forces reaches a critical value; (b) the crack growth takes place along the direction of resultant configurational force vector; and (c) the growth rate of mixed-mode fatigue crack is correlated to the equivalent range of material configurational forces. In order to validate the accuracy of the newly proposed fatigue model, a series of experiments are constructed by the compact tension shear specimen. The mixed-mode fatigue crack growth path and rate are obtained under different mixed-mode loading conditions. In addition, numerical implementation of configurational-force fatigue model is performed in elastic-plastic material. The results show that the mixed-model fatigue crack deflections predicted by the configurational-force fatigue model are in good agreement with experimental observations. Meanwhile the fatigue crack growth rate in elastic-plastic material has the power law relation with the equivalent range of material configurational forces, which is regardless of mixed-mode loading. It is demonstrated that the configurational-force fatigue model is able to provide a more convenient and accurate procedure to predict the mixed mode elastic-plastic fatigue crack propagation and lifetime.