Analysis of Small Edge Cracks

and Its Implications to Multiaxial

Y. Wang1
e-mail: yw9@daimlerchrysler.com
J. Pan
e-mail: jwo@umich.edu
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
The University of Michigan,
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Fatigue Theories
The near-tip fields of small edge (Case B) cracks in power-law hardening materials are
investigated under generalized plane strain, mixed mode, and general yielding conditions
by finite element analyses. The results of the J integral from the finite element analyses
are used to correlate to a fatigue crack growth criterion for Case B cracks. The trend of
constant J contours on the ⌫-plane is compared reasonably well with those of the experi-
mental results of constant fatigue life and constant fatigue crack growth rate under
multiaxial loading conditions. 关DOI: 10.1115/1.1342012兴

Keywords: Fatigue Crack Growth, General Yielding, Generalized Plane Strain, J Inte-
gral, Low-Cycle Fatigue, Mixed-Mode Fracture, Multiaxial Fatigue, Power-Law Hard-
ening Materials

1 Introduction An investigation of Case A cracks has been carried out by

Wang and Pan 关5,6兴. The results suggest that the growth in the
Experimental observations of low-cycle fatigue tests suggest
maximum shear strain direction for Case A fatigue cracks is pos-
that the fatigue life can be divided into four stages: nucleation of
sibly the consequence of a crack growth criterion controlled by
fatigue cracks 共defined as initiation兲, growth on the maximum
the maximum effective strain of the near-tip strain fields. In addi-
shear planes 共stage I crack growth 关1兴兲, propagation normal to the
tion, the trend of constant J contours on the ⌫-plane is quite simi-
maximum principal stress 共stage II crack growth 关1兴兲, and final
lar to that of the constant fatigue life contours for 1 percent Cr-
fracture of specimens. At low strain amplitudes, most of the fa-
Mo-V steel 关7兴 and that of constant crack growth rate for Type
tigue life may be taken up with the initiation phase. At high strain
304 stainless steel at 550°C 关8兴. In this paper, we examine the
amplitudes, the majority of the fatigue life may be spent on propa-
near-tip fields of Case B cracks under generalized plane strain,
gating cracks, and the fracture mechanics approach is therefore
mixed-mode, and general yielding conditions. We attempt to cor-
applicable to estimate the fatigue life due to crack propagation.
relate the near-tip fields of the mixed-mode cracks to a criterion of
Based on the linear elastic fracture mechanics 共LEFM兲, the
fatigue crack growth under multiaxial loading conditions. Based
stress intensity factor K has been extensively used to characterize
on the concept of the characterization of fatigue crack growth by
fatigue crack growth. However, when small fatigue cracks are
the cyclic J integral, we attempt to correlate the constant J of the
subject to general yielding conditions, the use of LEFM to model
mixed-mode cracks under different strain ratios to the experimen-
the fatigue processes becomes questionable. Therefore, a nonlin-
tal results of constant fatigue life for Case B cracks under multi-
ear or elastic-plastic fracture mechanics concept based on the cy-
axial loading conditions.
clic J integral has been used to correlate fatigue crack growth
under general yielding conditions 关2,3兴. The results of these cor-
relations indicate that the crack growth rate can be characterized
2 Governing Equations
by the cyclic J integral under general yielding conditions. To examine the implications of plastic fracture mechanics to
Brown and Miller 关4兴 proposed a multiaxial fatigue theory multiaxial fatigue theories, we here present an analysis based on a
based on the physical interpretation of the mechanisms of fatigue simple nonlinear material model. We consider a power-law hard-
crack growth. Their theory can be represented graphically by con- ening material with a uniaxial tensile stress-strain relation as

冉 冊
tours of constant fatigue life on the ⌫-plane where the maximum
␧ ␴ n
shear strain 21 ␥ * is the abscissa and the normal strain ␧ *
n on the ⫽␣ (2)
maximum shear strain plane is the ordinate. Each constant fatigue ␧0 ␴0
life contour can be expressed mathematically by where ␧ is the tensile strain, ␴ is the tensile stress, ␧ 0 and ␴ 0 are
the reference strain and stress, respectively, ␣ is a material con-
1 stant, and n is the hardening exponent. When n is equal to 1, Eq.
␥ *⫽ f 共 ␧ *
n兲 (1) 共2兲 represents a linear elastic material. When n approaches infin-
2
ity, Eq. 共2兲 gives a rigid-perfectly plastic behavior. However, the
Ramberg-Osgood law is usually used to describe the nonlinear
This equation underlines the strain parameters for correlating fa-
stress-strain behavior in uniaxial tension
tigue data, and indicates the importance of both the maximum
shear strain and the tensile strain normal to the maximum shear
strain plane. Two types of stage I fatigue cracks are proposed:
Case A for cracks propagating along the surface and Case B for
␧
⫽
␴
␧0 ␴0
⫹␣
␴
␴0 冉 冊 n
(3)

cracks propagating away from the surface.
1
Currently at Optimal CAE, Inc., Novi, MI 48377.
Contributed by the Pressure Vessels and Piping Division and presented at the
Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference, Boston, Massachusetts, August 1–5, 1999,
of THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS. Manuscript received by
the PVP Division, October 18, 2000; revised manuscript received October 20, 2000.
Editor: S. Y. Zamrik.
Here, we usually take ␧ 0 ⫽ ␴ 0 /E where E is Young’s modulus.
The Ramberg-Osgood law can be generalized to multiaxial
stress states. Here, the strains ␧ i j can be written as the sum of an
elastic part ␧ iej and a plastic part ␧ ipj
␧ i j ⫽␧ iej ⫹␧ ipj (4)
with

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 1⫹ ␯ 1⫺2 ␯
␧ iej ⫽ s ⫹ ␴ kk ␦ i j (5)
E ij 3E
and
3
␧ ipj ⫽ ␣
2
␴e
␴0 冉 冊 n⫺1
sij
␴0
(6)

where ␯ is Poisson’s ratio, s i j are the deviatoric stresses, which

are defined as s i j ⫽ ␴ i j ⫺ 31 ␴ kk ␦ i j , and ␴ e (⫽( 23 s i j s i j ) 1/2) is the ef-
fective stress. Here, i and j have a range of 1 to 3 and the sum-
mation convention is adopted for repeated indices. Also, the ef-
fective plastic strain ␧ e is defined here as ␧ e ⫽( 32 ␧ ipj ␧ ipj ) 1/2.
Consider a cracked body where the elastic strain components
are negligible compared to their plastic counterparts. Equation 共6兲
can then be adequately used to describe the stress-strain behavior
for deformation plasticity theory materials with power-law strain
hardening. For power-law strain-hardening materials, when the
tractions prescribed on the boundary of a cracked body are scaled
by a loading parameter P, the stresses, strains, and displacements
can be scaled by P as 关9兴
␴ i j ⫽ P ␴ i⬘j 共 x i ,n 兲 (7)

␧i j⫽␣ 冉 冊
P
␴0
n
␧ i⬘j 共 x i ,n 兲 (8)

where x i is the coordinate of the material element. The quantities

␴ i⬘j and ␧ i⬘j are functions of x i and n. These quantities are inde-
pendent of P because of the homogeneous nature of the equations
of equilibrium, compatibility, and the constitutive relation. Since Fig. 1 An edge-cracked panel subject to biaxial strains
the stresses and strains increase proportionally at every point, the
fully plastic solution based upon deformation plasticity theory co-
incides with the solution for the corresponding incremental or
flow theory. direction of maximum shear strain into the specimen at 45 deg
Since the integrand of the J integral 关10兴 involves the products away from the specimen surface under low-cycle, biaxial stressing
of stresses and displacement gradients, based on Eqs. 共7兲 and 共8兲, conditions. Based on the observations, we consider an edge-
the fully plastic J will be proportional to P n⫹1 . Then, the J inte- cracked panel under generalized plane strain conditions in the
gral for power-law strain-hardening materials can be expressed as out-of-plane direction as shown in Fig. 1. We select a coordinate

J p ⫽ ␣ ␧ 0 ␴ 0 ah 冉 冊冉 冊
a
w
;n
P
P0
n⫹1
(9)
where P 0 is a reference load in terms of ␴ 0 , a is the crack length,
and w is the width of specimen. Here the subscript p is used to
designate the power-law material behavior. The dimensionless
function h depends on a/w, n, and possibly other normalized
geometric parameters, but is independent of P. This equation will
be used later to derive the relationship between J and the bound-
ary loading conditions in our finite element analysis.
Hutchinson 关11,12兴, Rice and Rosengren 关13兴, and Shih 关14兴
have shown that for power-law strain-hardening materials, the
dominant asymptotic crack-tip stress, strain, and displacement
fields for planar crack problems can be expressed as
system such that the x and y-axes are the in-plane coordinates and
the z-axis is the out-of-plane coordinate. As shown in Fig. 1, the
edge-cracked panel is subjected to biaxial strains in the y and z
directions. Also, ␧ I represents the largest principal strain and ␧ II
represents the second largest principal strain. The crack is as-
sumed to be oriented in the maximum shear strain direction,
which is 45 deg away from the specimen surface. In the figure, a
represents the crack length, and w represents the width of the
panel. Also, ␾ represents the crack orientation. Here, we consider
the case of ␾ ⫽45 deg. The crack is therefore subject to in-plane
mixed-mode loading conditions. The strains ␧ I and ␧ II are applied
by displacing the top surface and the lateral surface uniformly in
the y and z directions.
Figure 2 shows the finite element model of the generalized

冉 冊 1/共 n⫹1 兲
plane strain crack problem. Here, 8-node quadrilateral elements
J are used. In the immediate crack-tip region, we have a ring of 32
␴i j⫽␴0 ˜␴ i j 共 ␪ ;n,M p 兲 (10)
␣ ␴ 0 ␧ 0 Ir wedge-shaped elements. Collapsed nodes resulting in the 1/r sin-

冉 冊 n/ 共 n⫹1 兲
J finite element model consists of 766 elements and 3955 nodes. In
␧i j⫽␣␧0 ˜␧ i j 共 ␪ ;n,M p 兲
␣ ␴ 0 ␧ 0 Ir
where r and ␪ are the polar coordinates centered at the crack tip,
and I is a dimensionless constant. The dimensionless angular
functions ˜␴ i j and ˜␧ i j depend on the hardening exponent n, the
state of plane strain or plane stress, and the mode mixity param-
eter M p 关14兴. The HRR singularity will be used later for normal-
izing the stresses and strains of our computational results.
3 Finite Element Model
Metallographic observations of Parsons and Pascoe 关15兴 indi-
cate that small fatigue cracks were initiated and propagated in the
gularity are used for these wedge-shaped elements. The entire
(11)
this study, we are interested in the near-tip fields of small cracks
under general yielding conditions. Therefore, the ratio a/w is
taken as small and practical as possible to ensure that the effect of
the crack tip plasticity on the remote boundary is minimum. Here,
the ratio a/w is taken as 0.02.
All our computations are performed using the finite element
code ABAQUS 共Version 5.5兲. We choose the Ramberg-Osgood
stress-strain relation to describe the material deformation plastic-
ity behavior. We select n⫽3 to represent high-hardening materi-
als, n⫽10 to represent low-hardening materials, and n⫽20 to
approximate perfectly plastic materials. Also, we select the mate-
rial constants such that the elastic strains are small and negligible

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 Fig. 2 „a… The finite element model for an edge-cracked panel;
„b… the finite element model of the near-tip region

when compared with the plastic strains. Therefore, our solutions

can be used to approximate those for pure power-law hardening
materials.

4 Mixed-Mode Crack-Tip Fields

For various combinations of the applied strains along the
boundary, the near-tip stress and strain fields are investigated. To
link our results with the existing multiaxial fatigue theories, we
define a strain ratio ␰ as the ratio of the out-of-plane constraint
strain ␧ II in the z direction to the largest applied strain ␧ I in the y
direction as
␧ II
␰⫽ (12)
␧I
We also defined the slope s on the ⌫-plane as the ratio of the
normal strain ␧ n* on the maximum shear strain plane to the maxi-
mum shear strain 2 ␥ *
1

␧*
n
s⫽ (13)
2␥*
1

Note that the maximum shear strain occurs in the direction of 45

deg from the ␧ I direction toward the ␧ III direction. Here, ␧ III
represents the normal strain in the direction perpendicular to the
stress-free surface. Note that ␧ I ⭓␧ II ⭓␧ III for Case B cracks.
Therefore, ␧ n* ⫽ 2 (␧ I ⫹␧ III ) and 2 ␥ * ⫽ 2 (␧ I ⫺␧ III ). For example,
1 1 1

if incompressibility is assumed, the ratio ␰ is equal to ⫺1/2 and

the slope s is equal to 1/3 under uniaxial tension. Under plane
strain conditions (␧ II ⫽0), ␰ and s are both equal to 0. For equal
biaxial loading conditions (␧ I ⫽␧ II ), the ratio ␰ is equal to 1 and
the slope s is equal to ⫺1/3. Consequently, the range of ␰ is
between ⫺1/2 共uniaxial tension兲 and 1 共equal biaxial tension兲 and
s is between 1/3 共uniaxial tension兲 and ⫺1/3 共equal biaxial ten-
sion兲 for Case B cracks when incompressibility is assumed.
In our finite element computations, we set ␯ ⫽0.4999, ␣ ⫽1,
and E/ ␴ 0 ⫽1.0⫻104 in the Ramberg-Osgood constitutive law to
approximate the behavior of pure power-law hardening materials.
We consider three materials with the hardening exponent n equal
to 3, 10, and 20. We also select five applied strain ratios corre-
sponding to ␰ ⫽⫺1/2, ⫺1/4, 0, 1/3, and 1 共or s⫽1/3, 1/7, 0, ⫺1/7
and ⫺1/3兲.
Figure 3 shows the angular variations of the near-tip stresses
Fig. 3 The angular variations of the near-tip stresses normal-
ized by ␴ 0 „ J Õ ␣ ␴ 0 ␧ 0 r … 1Õn ¿1 at r É2 J Õ ␴ 0 for n Ä3. „a… ␰ ÄÀ1Õ2, „b…
␰ ÄÀ1Õ4, „c… ␰ Ä0, „d… ␰ Ä1Õ3, „e… ␰ Ä1.
normalized by ␴ 0 (J/ ␣ ␴ 0 ␧ 0 r) 1/n⫹1 at the radial distance of r
⬇2J/ ␴ 0 for n⫽3. Figures 3共a兲–共e兲 show the cases of ␰ ⫽⫺1/2,
⫺1/4, 0, 1/3, and 1 共or s⫽1/3, 1/7, 0, ⫺1/7, and ⫺1/3兲, respec-
tively. Here, the polar coordinates r and ␪ are centered at the crack
tip, and ␪ ⫽0 deg represents the crack line direction which is ori-
ented at 135 deg clockwise from the y-axis. Note again that for

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 Fig. 4 The angular variations of the near-tip stresses normal-
ized by ␴ 0 „ J Õ ␣ ␴ 0 ␧ 0 r … 1Õn ¿1 at r É2 J Õ ␴ 0 for n Ä10. „a… ␰ ÄÀ1Õ2,
„b… ␰ ÄÀ1Õ4, „c… ␰ Ä0, „d… ␰ Ä1Õ3, „e… ␰ Ä1.
incompressible materials, ␰ ⫽⫺1/2 represents a uniaxial tension
with uniform deformation in the z direction, ␰ ⫽0 represents a
plane strain loading, ␰ ⫽1 represents an equal biaxial tensile load-
ing, and ␰ ⫽⫺1/4 and 1/3 represent two intermediate cases. The
common characteristic of the near-tip stress fields for different ␰ ’s
is that the maximum value of ¯␴ e is located at ␪ ⬇⫺15 deg. In
addition, there is a second peak of ¯␴ e at ␪ ⬇105 deg.
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Fig. 5 The angular variations of the near-tip strains normal-
ized by ␣ ␧ 0 „ J Õ ␣ ␴ 0 ␧ 0 r … n Õ n ¿1 at r É2 J Õ ␴ 0 for n Ä3. „a… ␰ ÄÀ1Õ2,
„b… ␰ ÄÀ1Õ4, „c… ␰ Ä0, „d… ␰ Ä1Õ3, „e… ␰ Ä1.
It should be noted that the normalized in-plane stress fields 共i.e.,
¯␴ zz excluded兲 in Figs. 3共a兲 (s⫽1/3) and 3共e兲 (s⫽⫺1/3) have
almost the same distributions. So do the normalized stress fields in
Figs. 3共b兲 (s⫽1/7) and 3共d兲 (s⫽⫺1/7). These results indicate
that the loading conditions which are symmetrical to the 21 ␥ * -axis
共x-axis兲 on the ⌫-plane introduce the same normalized in-plane
FEBRUARY 2001, Vol. 123 Õ 5

Fig. 6 The angular variations of the near-tip strains normal-
ized by ␣ ␧ 0 „ J Õ ␣ ␴ 0 ␧ 0 r … n Õ n ¿1 at r É2 J Õ ␴ 0 for n Ä10. „a… ␰
ÄÀ1Õ2, „b… ␰ ÄÀ1Õ4, „c… ␰ Ä0, „d… ␰ Ä1Õ3, „e… ␰ Ä1.
stress distributions. Figure 4 shows similar results for n⫽10. As
shown in both Figs. 3 and 4, the angular distributions of the nor-
malized in-plane stresses are quite similar. However, as ␰ in-
creases, the value of ¯␴ zz increases. This can be explained by a
perfectly plastic analysis of singular plastic sectors of the near-tip
fields 关16兴, as detailed in Appendix A.
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Figure 5 shows the angular variations of the near-tip strains
normalized by ␣ ␧ 0 (J/ ␣ ␴ 0 ␧ 0 r) n/n⫹1 at the radial distance of r
⬇2J/ ␴ 0 for n⫽3. Figures 5共a兲–共e兲 show the cases for ␰
⫽⫺1/2, ⫺1/4, 0, 1/3, and 1 共or s⫽1/3, 1/7, 0, ⫺1/7, and ⫺1/3兲,
respectively. The common characteristic of the near-tip strain
fields for different ␰ ’s is that the maximum value of ¯␧ e is located
at ␪ ⬇⫺15 deg. Also, there is a second peak of ¯␧ e at ␪
⬇105 deg. It should be noted that the normalized strain fields, ¯␧ e
and ¯␧ r ␪ , in Figs. 5共a兲 and 共e兲 have the same distributions. So do
the normalized strain fields in Figs. 5共b兲 and 共d兲. However, the
normalized strain fields, ¯␧ rr , ¯␧ ␪␪ , and ¯␧ zz , in Figs. 5共a兲 and 共e兲
have the same curve shapes, but with a constant difference be-
cause of volume constancy. So do the strain fields in Figs. 5共b兲
and 共d兲. Figure 6 shows similar results for n⫽10. If we select a
radial distance much smaller than the value of r⫽2J/ ␴ 0 , the
normalized ¯␧ zz will become smaller closer to zero. Then the near-
tip strain fields for various s’s should approach those for s⫽0
under plane strain conditions as r decreases.
With the selection of a/w⫽0.02 for the edge-cracked panel, the
effect of the crack-tip plasticity on the stress field of the remote
boundary is shown to be minimum by examining the stresses as
functions of the radial distances to the tip. Therefore, our compu-
tational results can be used to approximate the results for a/w
approaching zero. In this case, the J integral for pure power-law
hardening materials, based on the Il’yushin theory 关9兴, can be
expressed as
J⫽ ␣ ␧ 0 ␴ 0 aH I 共 ␰ ,n 兲 冉 冊
␧I
␧0
共 n⫹1 兲 /n
(14)
or
J⫽ ␣ ␧ 0 ␴ 0 aH II 共 ␰ ,n 兲 冉 冊
␧ II
␧0
共 n⫹1 兲 /n
(15)
where H I and H II are dimensionless functions of the hardening
exponent n and the strain ratio ␰. The foregoing equations show
that J is simply expressed as a function of the hardening exponent
n, one of the remote applied strains, and the strain ratio ␰. Equa-
tions 共14兲 and 共15兲 are used later in this paper to develop the
constant J contours on the ⌫-plane for correlation of Case B crack
growth rate and fatigue life under multiaxial loading conditions.
5 Characterization of Low-Cycle Multiaxial Fatigue
The crack length that we consider in our modeling effort may
be in the range of a few grain sizes. When we consider the mod-
eling of cracks in this length scale, the microstructure of the ma-
terial, such as the grain orientation, inclusions, voids, and precipi-
tates along the grain boundary should be considered. Other factors
such as the elastic and plastic anisotropy of the grains, the residual
stresses and plastic strains due to manufacturing processes and
fatigue crack initiation processes should also be considered. In
addition, crack closure under cyclic loading conditions should be
considered, as indicated in Newman 关17兴.
Here we intend to make some simplified assumption so that the
mixed-mode crack-tip field obtained here can be used to correlate
to the fatigue life for Case B cracks. First, we assume that Case B
cracks observed in experiments such as those in Parsons and Pas-
coe 关15兴 are noninteracting to each other. Then, our small crack
model can be applicable. When the interaction of multiple cracks
needs to be considered, the boundary condition of the edge-
cracked panel and the ratio a/w can be modified to reflect the
interaction of the plasticity from the multiple crack tips.
It is well known that surface fatigue cracks are initiated by
extrusion and intrusion processes under cyclic loading conditions.
The slip processes may occur on the crystallographic planes
where the resolved shear stresses are largest. From the viewpoint
of a two-dimensional crystal model, the orientation of the fatigue
cracks should be 45 deg inclined to the largest principal stress
direction. However, due to the discreteness nature of available slip
Transactions of the ASME
 Fig. 7 The computational results for constant J values, marked by symbols, for n Ä1, 3, 10, and 20 on the ⌫-plane. For n Ä3, 10,
and 20, the fitted solid lines are represented by Eqs. „16… and „17….
planes and directions in each grain, the surface fatigue crack
planes may more or less appear to be 45 deg inclined to the largest
principal stress direction in those grains with favorable slip planes
and directions for extrusion and intrusion processes. Therefore,
fatigue cracks with crack planes 45 deg inclined to the largest
principal stress direction seem to be a good starting point for
studying stage I Case B fatigue cracks.
The crack-tip plastic deformation and the closure phenomenon
due to unloading are rather complex. If a crack propagates in the
same direction under a quite large number of cyclic loads under
low-cycle fatigue conditions, certain self-similar or steady-state
conditions may prevail near the tip. If stabilized stress-strain hys-
teresis loops of the material elements occur near the propagating
crack tip, the near-tip fields that we obtained for the deformation
plasticity materials should shed some light on the mechanics of
fatigue crack propagation. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the maxi-
mum value of the normalized near-tip effective strain ¯␧ e is located
close to ␪⫽⫺15 deg for different ␰ ’s. In other words, the crack
orientation could be about 30 deg inclined to the stress-free sur-
face for this isotropic model. When the crack is reoriented at 30
deg from the stress-free surface, our computational results show
that the maximum effective plastic strain is located directly ahead
the tip under various applied strain ratios. If we argue that the
crack growth direction is controlled by the maximum value of the
effective plastic strain ␧ e as for Case A cracks, then Case B cracks
should be oriented at 30 deg from the stress-free surface, and this
leads to a conflict with the experimental observations of Case B
cracks 关4,15兴. Therefore, more experimental and analytical works
are needed, or a new criterion could be suggested.
Zheng and Liu 关18兴 argued that under low-cycle fatigue condi-
tions, stabilized stress-strain hysteresis loops occur due to the high
cyclic strains experienced by the material elements near the
propagating crack tip. Therefore, it is justified to use the cyclic
stress-strain relation to calculate the crack-tip stress and strain
fields. They further argued that under completely reversed cyclic
loads, the tensile half of the hysteresis loop causes the crack to
open and grow. Then it is justified to make a monotonic loading
calculation for the cyclic crack-tip stress and strain fields.
In order to correlate the J integral and the fatigue life under
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multiaxial loading conditions, we plot the computational results
for constant J values, marked by symbols, for n⫽3, 10, and 20 on
the ⌫-plane in Fig. 7. Note that the constant fatigue life contours
for several metals were plotted on the ⌫-plane in Brown and
Miller 关4兴. Since we are working with pure power-law hardening
materials, the constant J curves on the ⌫ plane are self-similar.
These constant J contours can be fitted by two linear equations
2␥*
1
␧*
n
⫺ ⫽1 for the upper half of the ⌫-plane (16)
A B
2␥*
1
␧*
n
⫹ ⫽1 for the lower half of the ⌫-plane (17)
A B
where A and B are constants. Table 1 lists the values of A, B, and
B/A for n⫽3, 10, and 20. The fitted curves are also shown as the
solid lines in Fig. 7. It should be noted that the constant J contours
are symmetrical to the 21 ␥ * -axis on the ⌫-plane regardless of the
hardening exponent n. As detailed in Appendix B for the linear
elastic case (n⫽1), the constant J contours are perpendicular to,
and therefore symmetrical to, the 21 ␥ * -axis. In Fig. 7, several
computational results for n⫽1 are also plotted for comparison.
Table 1 Values of A , B , and B Õ A for n Ä1, 3, 10, and 20 for the
fitted J contours shown in Fig. 7
FEBRUARY 2001, Vol. 123 Õ 7
 The computational results agree well with the theoretical results ␰ ⬍0, ␧˙ zz ⬍0, ␴ zz ⬍ 共 ␴ rr ⫹ ␴ ␪␪ 兲 /2 (21)
which are straight lines perpendicular to the 2 ␥ * -axis. The trend
1

of B/A for n⫽20, 10, and 3 seems to agree with the limit of ␰ ⫽0, ␧˙ zz ⫽0, ␴ zz ⫽ 共 ␴ rr ⫹ ␴ ␪␪ 兲 /2 (22)
B/A⫽⬁ for n⫽1 as listed in Table 1. The general trends of these ␰ ⬎0, ␧˙ zz ⬎0, ␴ zz ⬎ 共 ␴ rr ⫹ ␴ ␪␪ 兲 /2 (23)
contours in Fig. 7 are similar to those of constant fatigue life
obtained from experiments for QT 35 steel aluminum alloy 关4兴. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, when ␰ ⬍0, ␴ zz ⬍( ␴ rr ⫹ ␴ ␪␪ )/2 and
As listed in Table 1, as n increases, the ratio B/A representing the when ␰ ⬎0, ␴ zz ⬎( ␴ rr ⫹ ␴ ␪␪ )/2. However, when ␰ ⫽0, ␴ zz ⬇( ␴ rr
slope of the fitted curve decreases, and, consequently, the effect of ⫹ ␴ ␪␪ )/2. Theoretically speaking, as we decrease the value of r
␧ n* on fatigue life increases. further from 2J/ ␴ 0 , even for the cases of ␰ ⫽0, ␴ zz should ap-
proach ( ␴ rr ⫹ ␴ ␪␪ )/2 in the singular plastic sectors for perfectly
plastic materials.
6 Conclusions
Based on the experimental observations of Case B fatigue
cracks, a small crack model is proposed to investigate low-cycle Appendix B
fatigue under multiaxial loading conditions. We first present the First we consider an edge-cracked panel as shown in Fig. 1, but
results of the near-tip stress and strain fields for cracks in power- with a crack perpendicular to the free surface ( ␾ ⫽90 deg) for
law hardening materials under generalized plane strain, mixed simplicity. Here we consider the linear elastic case (n⫽1). As the
mode, and general yielding conditions. Based on the crack growth ratio a/w approaches 0, the stress intensity factor K I due to the
criterion controlled by the maximum effective strain as for Case A remote normal stress ␴ y y , which is perpendicular to the crack, is
cracks, the results of the near-tip strain fields suggest that the
crack should propagate into the specimen at about 30 deg inclined K I ⫽F I ␴ y y 冑␲ a (24)
to the specimen surface for Case B cracks. Based on the model
where F I is a dimensionless constant. F I is equal to 1.12 when
with a crack at 45 deg inclined to the stress-free surface, the trend
a/w→0. Note that a constant out-of-plane normal strain will not
of constant J contours from the computational results is quite
affect the singularity nature of the crack-tip field characterized by
similar to that of the constant fatigue life contours on the ⌫-plane
the stress intensity factor K. The energy release rate J is related to
obtained from experiments.
K I under plane strain conditions as
Here we use a simple nonlinear fracture mechanics method to
model Case B mixed-mode cracks under generalized plane strain K I2 共 1⫺ ␯ 2 兲
conditions. The results correlate well with the corresponding mul- J⫽ (25)
E
tiaxial fatigue experimental results. Also, a similar nonlinear frac-
ture mechanics method was used to model Case A mixed-mode Substituting Eq. 共24兲 into Eq. 共25兲 gives
cracks under plane stress conditions 关6兴. The results also correlate
JE
well with the corresponding multiaxial fatigue experimental re- ⫽F I2 ␴ 2y y (26)
sults. If one considers the drastic simplification of Case A and B 共 1⫺ ␯ 2 兲 ␲ a
surface cracks to the corresponding two-dimensional idealized For the case as shown in Fig. 1, the normal stress ␴ y y and the
cracks, and our computations under monotonically increasing transverse stress ␴ zz are expressed in terms of ␧ I and ␧ II accord-
loading conditions, instead of under cyclic loading conditions, the ing to Hooke’s law as
results from the use of fracture mechanics for the investigation of
the first-order effects of multiaxiality are surprisingly good. In E ␯E
addition, for Case A cracks, the use of the concept of constraint ␴ yy⫽ ␧⫹ ␧ (27)
1⫺ ␯ 2 I 1⫺ ␯ 2 II
effects of the nonlinear fracture mechanics can tell us more than
we can normally extract from the multiaxial experimental results ␯E E
关19兴. Therefore, further use of fracture mechanics to gain more ␴ zz ⫽ ␧⫹ ␧ (28)
1⫺ ␯ 2 I 1⫺ ␯ 2 II
understanding of multiaxial fatigue and apply the results to predict
the durability of structures in conjunction with the critical plane Consequently, ␧ III can be expressed as
approach appears to be very promising. ␯
␧ III ⫽⫺ 共 ␴ ⫹ ␴ zz 兲 (29)
E yy
Appendix A
Consider a crack in a perfectly plastic solid. The yield function ⫺␯
⫽ 共 ␧ ⫹␧ II 兲 (30)
of the material can be expressed as 1⫺ ␯ I
f ⫽3s i j s i j /2⫺ ␴ 20 ⫽0 (18) Combining Eqs. 共26兲 and 共27兲 gives
where s i j are the deviatoric stresses and ␴ 0 is the yield stress. The J 共 1⫺ ␯ 2 兲
associated flow rule gives the in-plane plastic strain rates ␧˙ ␣␤p ⫽F I2 共 ␧ I ⫹ ␯ ␧ II 兲 2 (31)
as E␲a
␧˙ ␣␤
p
⫽␭˙ s ␣␤ (19) Note that ␧ n* and 21 ␥ * are defined as
where ␭˙ is a proportionality and the subscripts ␣ and ␤ have a ␧ I ⫹␧ III
range of 1 to 2. The out-of-plane plastic strain rate ␧˙ zz is ex- ␧ n* ⫽ (32)
2
pressed as
1 ␧ I ⫺␧ III
␧˙ zz
p
⫽␭˙ s zz ⫽ 31 ␭˙ 共 2 ␴ zz ⫺ ␴ rr ⫺ ␴ ␪␪ 兲 (20) ␥ *⫽ (33)
2 2
Consider a singular plastic sector near the crack 关16兴 such that
Substituting Eq. 共30兲 into Eqs. 共32兲 and 共33兲 gives
at least one component of ␧˙ ␣␤p
becomes ⬁ as r→0. Since s ␣␤ are
finite, ␭ →⬁ as r→0. Also, ␭˙ ⬎0. Since ␧ zz is finite, ␴ zz →( ␴ rr
˙ 共 1⫺2 ␯ 兲 ␧ I ⫺ ␯ ␧ II
␧*
n⫽ (34)
⫹ ␴ ␪␪ )/2 as r→0. From Eq. 共12兲, ␰ ⫽␧˙ zz /␧˙ y y under proportional 2 共 1⫺ ␯ 兲
straining conditions. For the loading conditions considered here,
␧˙ y y ⬎0. When r is not small enough at a finite value, Eq. 共20兲 is 1 ␧ I ⫹ ␯ ␧ II
␥ *⫽ (35)
still applicable with ␭˙ being finite, then 2 2 共 1⫺ ␯ 兲

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 Combining Eqs. 共31兲 and 共35兲 gives J as References
J 共 1⫺ ␯ 兲
E␲a
2
冉 1
⫽F I2 2 共 1⫺ ␯ 兲 ␥ *
2 冊 2
(36)
关1兴 Forsyth, P. J. E, 1961, ‘‘A Two Stage Process of Fatigue Crack Growth,’’
Proc., Crack Propagation Symposium, Cranfield, CN, pp. 76–94.
关2兴 Dowling, N. E., and Begley, J. A., 1976, ‘‘Fatigue Crack Growth during Gross
Plasticity and the J-Integral,’’ Mechanics of Crack Growth, ASTM Spec.
Equation 共36兲 clearly indicates that J is only a function of 21 ␥ * Tech. Publ., 590, American Society of Testing and Materials, Philadelphia,
and is independent of ␧ *n on the ⌫-plane for the linear elastic case.
PA, pp. 82–103.
This means that constant J contours on the ⌫-plane are vertical 关3兴 Dowling, N. E., 1977, ‘‘Crack Growth during Low-Cycle Fatigue of Smooth
Axial Specimens,’’ Mechanics of Crack Growth, ASTM Spec. Tech. Publ.,
straight lines. However, the value of ␯ affects significantly the 637, American Society of Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, PA, pp. 97–
value of J. For example, J increases by 61.5 percent, when ␯ 121.
changes from 0.5 to 0.3. 关4兴 Brown, M. W., and Miller, K. J., 1973, ‘‘A Theory for Fatigue Failure under
For an edge-cracked panel as shown in Fig. 1 with an inclined Multiaxial Stress-Strain Conditions,’’ Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng., 187, pp. 745–
crack, the stress intensity factors K I and K II can be expressed as 755.
关5兴 Wang, Y., and Pan, J., 1996, ‘‘Characterization of Low-Cycle Multiaxial Fa-
K I ⫽F I ␴ y y sin2 ␾ 冑␲ a (37) tigue by a Plastic Fracture Mechanics Model,’’ Fatigue and Fracture, Vol 1,
ASME PVP-Vol. 323, New York, pp. 317–322.
K II ⫽⫺F II ␴ y y sin ␾ cos ␾ 冑␲ a (38) 关6兴 Wang, Y., and Pan, J., 1998, ‘‘A Plastic Fracture Mechanics Model for Char-
acterization of Mutiaxial Low-Cycle Fatigue,’’ Int. J. Fatigue, 20, pp. 775–
where ␾ represents the crack orientation as shown in Fig. 1, and 784.
F I and F II are the dimensionless constants that depend on the 关7兴 Brown, M. W., and Miller, K. J., 1979, ‘‘High Temperature Low Cycle Biaxial
Fatigue of Two Steels,’’ Fatigue Fract. Eng. Mater. Struct., 1, pp. 217–229.
crack orientation ␾. For example, F I is about 1.41 and F II is about 关8兴 Ogata, T., Nitta, A., and Blass, J. J., 1993, ‘‘Propagation Behavior of Small
0.725 from our linear elastic finite element computational results Cracks in 304 Stainless Steel under Biaxial Low-Cycle Fatigue at Elevated
for ␾ ⫽45 deg. Temperature,’’ Advances in Multiaxial Fatigue, ASTM Spec. Tech. Publ.,
Under plane strain mixed-mode loading conditions, J is related 1191, American Society of Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, PA, pp. 313–
to K I and K II as 325.
关9兴 Il’yushin, A. A., 1946, ‘‘The Theory of Small Elastic-Plastic Deformations,’’
1⫺ ␯ 2 2 Prikl. Mat. Mekh., PMM, 10, pp. 347–356.
J⫽ 共 K I ⫹K II
2
兲 (39) 关10兴 Rice, J. R., 1968, ‘‘A Path Independent Integral and the Approximate Analysis
E of Strain Concentration by Notches and Cracks,’’ ASME J. Appl. Mech., 35,
pp. 379–386.
Combining Eqs. 共37兲 to 共39兲 gives the relationship 关11兴 Hutchinson, J. W., 1968, ‘‘Plastic Stress and Strain Fields at a Crack Tip,’’ J.
Mech. Phys. Solids, 16, pp. 337–347.
JE
⫽ ␴ 2y y 共 F I2 sin2 ␾ ⫹F II
2
cos2 ␾ 兲 sin2 ␾ (40) 关12兴 Hutchinson, J. W., 1968, ‘‘Singular Behaviour at the End of a Tensile Crack in
共 1⫺ ␯ 2 兲 ␲ a a Hardening Material,’’ J. Mech. Phys. Solids, 16, pp. 13–31.
关13兴 Rice, J. R., and Rosengren, G. F., 1968, ‘‘Plane Strain Deformation near a
Note that Eq. 共40兲 reduces to Eq. 共24兲 for ␾ ⫽90 deg. Note also Crack Tip in a Power-Law Hardening Material,’’ J. Mech. Phys. Solids, 16,
that the right side of Eq. 共40兲 depends on the crack orientation. pp. 1–12.
Similar to the case of ␾ ⫽90 deg, we can derive 关14兴 Shih, C. F., 1973, ‘‘Elastic-Plastic Analysis of Combined Mode Crack Prob-

冉 冊
lems,’’ Ph.D. thesis, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
J 共 1⫺ ␯ 2 兲 1 2 关15兴 Parsons, M. W., and Pascoe, K. J., 1976, ‘‘Observations of the Surface Defor-
⫽ 共 F I2 sin2 ␾ ⫹F II
2
cos2 ␾ 兲 sin2 ␾ 2 共 1⫺ ␯ 兲 ␥ * mation, Crack Initiation and Crack Growth in Low-Cycle Fatigue under Biax-
E␲a 2 ial Stress,’’ Mater. Sci. Eng., 22, pp. 31–50.
(41) 关16兴 Rice, J. R., 1982, ‘‘Elastic-Plastic Cracks Growth,’’ Mechanics of Solids: The
R. Hill 60th Anniversary Volume, eds., H. G. Hopkins and M. J. Sewell,
for mixed-mode cracks. Therefore, for a mixed-mode crack with a Pergamon Press, Oxford, UK, pp. 539–562.
given crack orientation, J is still only a function of 21 ␥ * and is 关17兴 Newman, J. C., 1995, ‘‘Fatigue-Life Prediction Methodology Using a Crack–
independent of ␧ *n on the ⌫-plane for the linear elastic case. Thus,
Closure Model,’’ ASME J. Eng. Mater. Technol., 117, pp. 433–439.
关18兴 Zheng, M., and Liu, H. W., 1986, ‘‘Fatigue Crack Growth under General-
constant J contours are vertical straight lines on the ⌫-plane.
Yielding Cyclic-Loading,’’ ASME J. Eng. Mater. Technol., 108, pp. 201–205.
However, the crack orientation ␾ and Poisson’s ratio ␯ can still 关19兴 Wang, Y., and Pan, J., 1999, ‘‘Development of a Multiaxial Fatigue Theory by
affect the value of J. For example, when ␾ changes from 45 to 90 Considering Constraint effects on Small Mixed-Mode Cracks,’’ Int. J. Solids
deg for a given a and ␯ ⫽0.5, J increases by 41 percent. Struct., 36, pp. 4543–4562.

Journal of Pressure Vessel Technology FEBRUARY 2001, Vol. 123 Õ 9

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