Fatigue crack closure and its effect on life prediction in compact tension specimens

Emphasis was given to the measurement of opening (closure) load levels in compact tension specimens in this investigation. The result shows an inversely proportional relationship between opening (closure) loads and fatigue crack length, roughly representing a linear fashion due primarily to the effect of loading condition in CT specimens. Taking into account the correction of crack closure in Paris's law, the modelling of life prediction with a numerical method was addressed. It resulted in an expected improvement of life prediction as compared with the conventional prediction method. This was a direct consequence of the consideration of the crack closure effect as well as the improved data processing. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Limited