Predicting fatigue crack initiation through image-based micromechanical modeling

The influence of individual grain orientation on early fatigue crack initiation in a four-point bend fatigue test was investigated numerically and experimentally. The 99.99% aluminium test sample was subjected to high cycle fatigue (HCF) and the top surface microstructure within the inner span of the sample was characterized using electron-beam backscattering diffraction (EBSD). Applying a finite-element submodelling approach, the microstructure was digitally reconstructed and refined studies carried out in regions where fatigue damage was observed. The constitutive behaviour of aluminium was described by a crystal plasticity model which considers the evolution of dislocations and accumulation of edge dislocation dipoles. Using an energy-based approach to quantify fatigue damage, the model correctly predicts regions in grains where early fatigue crack initiation was observed. The tendency for fatigue cracks to initiate in these grains appears to be strongly linked to the orientations of the grains relative to the direction of loading – grains less favourably aligned with respect to the loading direction appear more susceptible to fatigue crack initiation. The limitations of this modelling approach are also highlighted and discussed, as some grains predicted to initiate cracks did not show any visible signs of fatigue cracking in the same locations during testing.