Stress intensity solutions of thermal fatigue induced cracks in a thin plate hot spot using LEFM and finite element analysis

The chief aim of this research is to marry elegant LEFM methods, published material data, and a commercially available FEA code together to represent complex crack growth and arrest phenomena in a thin plate with residual viscoplastic stresses. Additionally, representing the variation in these stress intensities across a thermal gradient to include ultimate fatigue crack arrest is of specific interest. To the authors’ knowledge, modeling fracture mechanics due to these hot spots with viscoplastic residual stresses using LEFM methods on this type structure has not been achieved. With these stress intensities, predictions are to be made regarding not only the FCG rate but the probable radial arrest distance of a nominal crack from the hot spot center.