Fatigue crack growth in real structures

Components and structures are usually constructed according to strength principles. Fatigue crack growth in components and fracture of structures consistently occur due to, e.g. high local stresses, material and manufacturing defects. The following article deals with different examples of crack growth in real structures. These examples shall exemplify learning from damages and consequently preventing failure of components and structures in the future. Furthermore a simulation method is presented to simulate fatigue crack growth in any three-dimensional structures.

► Fatigue crack growth may lead to damages in structures, even to breakdowns of components and catastrophic damage events.
► We present different examples of crack growth in real structures.
► A method to simulate fatigue crack growth in any three-dimensional structures will be shown in this publication.