From uni- to multi-axial fretting-fatigue crack nucleation: Development of a stress-gradient-dependent critical distance approach

Fretting fatigue is characterized by combined high stress gradients induced by contact loading and more homogeneous stress gradients induced by bulk fatigue stressing. The stress gradients computed at the “hot-spot” located on the surface at the trailing contact border are very high, usually above 10 GPa/mm. For such uncommon stressing conditions, prediction of cracking risk becomes very complex and non-local fatigue approaches must be adopted. The purpose of the present study was to investigate how non-local strategies, such as “critical distance”, developed for medium stress gradient conditions such as “notch” configurations, were transposed to predict fretting cracking risk. Elastic crack nucleation conditions of a 35 Ni Cr Mo 16 low alloyed steel at 10E6 cycles have been identified for various cylinder pad radius, contact pressure and fatigue stress conditions. The experimental crack nucleation conditions were then compared to predictions from analytical simulations coupling uni-axial and Crossland's multiaxial fatigue descriptions. The local “hot-spot” analysis systematically overestimated cracking risk and induced more than 30% error with respect to the experimental values. The non-local “critical distance method” based on a constant length scale value still displayed more than 10% dispersion suggesting that a non-constant “critical distance” approach must be considered. By expressing the critical distance evolution as a function of the hydrostatic stress gradient operating next to the stress hot-spot, dispersion was reduced below 5%. Established for the Crossland's stress invariant formulation, this tendency is confirmed by comparing McDiarmid and MWCM critical plane fatigue approaches.