Crack growth retardation following the application of an overload cycle using a strip-yield model

Experiments have shown that the application of an overload cycle can act to retard crack growth and even potentially lead to crack arrest. This paper describes a new method for investigating fatigue crack growth after the application of an overload cycle under plane stress conditions. The developed method is based on the concept of plasticity-induced crack closure and utilises the distributed dislocation technique and a modified strip-yield model. The present results are compared to previous experimental data for several materials. A good agreement is found, with the predictions showing the same trends in the various stages of post-overload crack growth.