A mesomechanics model of fatigue crack growth for nanoengineering applications

Analytical methods such as a power law and an exponential law were used to describe high cycle and low cycle fatigue processes, respectively. Numerical values for the ratio of the upper plateau to the threshold level of the cyclic R-curve derived from Wnuk's “final stretch” model of subcritical crack propagation are provided. The relations derived here and based on the principles underlying mechanics of fracture at nanolevels, can be used as a bridge between continuum description of material response to fracture and the more fundamental, microstructural representation of material behavior.