Fatigue crack growth analysis of a plate with semi-elliptical surface crack subjected to tension

A thick plate with a semi-elliptical surface crack of different initial crack sizes subjected to tension fatigue loading was considered for the analysis. The material was assumed to have isotropic fracture toughness in the surface and thickness directions and the property values reported by Burande and Sethuraman were used. Mode I Stress Intensity Factor (SIF) under plane strain condition was calculated using Finite Element technique (ANSYS Software) and compared with the predictions using the expression from SIF Handbook. The crack growth rates were further calculated by Foreman's equation. MathCAD software was used to perform the iterations of the crack growth study until failure. The finite element model underestimates the cycles to failure by 4% as compared to that predicted using SIF equation.