Validity of small-scale yielding regime in notched-cracked geometries

This paper proposes a procedure based on crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) to define the boundary of the small-scale yielding (SSY) regime. Numerical modelling was applied to notched samples with different notch radii, under both plane stress and plane strain conditions, with and without crack flank contact. Results indicate that an increase in notch radius promotes the validity of SSY. The increase in crack length promotes a progressive decrease of SSY's validaty, particularly in notched specimens. Most of the situations studied fall outside the SSY regime, which reinforces the importance of verifying the applicability of LEFM to fatigue crack growth rate calculations.

Automated summary

This paper proposes a method based on crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) to define the boundary of the small-scale yielding (SSY) regime. Numerical modeling was conducted on samples with different notch radii and under different stress conditions. The results show that the validity of SSY is promoted with increasing notch radius, but decreases with increasing crack length, particularly in notched specimens. Most of the cases studied do not fall within the SSY regime, emphasizing the importance of verifying the applicability of Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM) for fatigue crack growth rate calculations.