Numerical evaluation of Paris-regime crack growth rate based on plastically dissipated energy

• Plastically dissipated energy criterion is implemented in a growing crack model.
• Fatigue crack growth rate is predicted from finite element simulation.
• Results are mesh independent.
• Numerical predictions of Paris constants compare well with experimental data.

The crack growth rate during cyclic loading is investigated via numerical simulations. The crack advancement is governed by a propagation criterion that relates the increment in plastically dissipated energy ahead of the crack tip to a critical value. Once this critical value is satisfied, crack propagation is modeled via a node release scheme. Thus, the crack growth rate is an output from the numerical simulation. The crack growth rate predicted by the proposed scheme is compared with published experimental crack growth data in the Paris-regime for selected metals. A good match is found between the experimentally observed crack growth rates and the numerically obtained results. The Paris coefficients are subsequently evaluated from the numerically obtained crack growth rates.