High resolution crack growth measurements in vibrating beams

Fatigue crack propagation characteristics are measured by continuously determining the resonant frequency in vibrating systems, which is stabilized through a feedback control loop. The precisely controlled resonant frequency is related to the crack length by a nonlinear model based on fracture mechanics, hence creek growth can be monitored with respect to time with very high accuracy. The nonlinearity due to the opening and closing of the crack needs to be taken into account. In contrast to conventional fatigue tests, which require a long duration of time due to the high numbers of load cycles at low frequencies, the proposed technique operates at much higher frequencies, i.e. in the range of 100 Hz to 100 kHz. Thus the required time for measurements in the high cycle fatigue range is considerably reduced. The experimental setup is simple and inexpensive and does not require high energy inputs.