Vol. 21, No. 6, pp. 488-499 (2025)
EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH RATE OF
HIGH-STRENGTH STRUCTURAL STEELS
Zhao Fang 1, Fan Yang 2, Ai-Qun Li 2, 3, *, Wen-Jie Jia 4, Hai-Yi Yang 5 and Jing-Wen Yu 1
1 School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Nanjing Institute of Technology, Nanjing 211167, China
2 School of Civil Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
3 Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Future Urban Design, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China
4 Jiangsu Hydraulic Research Institute, Yangzhou 225002, China
5 School of Mechanics and Engineering Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
*(Corresponding author: E-mail:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Received: 30 November 2024; Revised: 22 February 2025; Accepted: 2 March 2025
DOI:10.18057/IJASC.2025.21.6.2
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ABSTRACT
The static tension test on smooth specimens and the fatigue crack growth rate test on CT specimens were conducted for two mild steels, Q235B and Q355B, and three high-strength steels, Q460C, Q550D and Q690D. The digital image correlation (DIC) technique was introduced and strain results around the crack tip were verified by finite element analysis. Material constants based on stress intensity factor (SIF) range and strain energy density factor (SEDF) range were obtained by fitting. A thorough survey of fatigue crack growth test results of high-strength steels in relevant literature was conducted and test results were compared. The scatter band upper bound of fatigue crack growth curves for each steel was obtained and compared with suggested curves in various design codes. The results show that the strains at the crack tip of specimens obtained by finite element analysis and DIC analysis are in good agreement with each other; The mean+2s curve in BS7910 and DNVGL-RP-210, along with the curves in WES2805 and IIW-2259-15, are all applicable to the design of the three high-strength steels, while the mean curve in BS7910 and DNVGL-RP-210 are not applicable and the curves suggested by ASME BPVC or JSME S NA1-2008 and FKM are too conservative; The crack growth rate slows down with the increase of the yield strength, demonstrating the trend of decrease in material constants m, n and |logC| while increase in |logA|, although the trend is not strictly followed; The scatter band upper bounds established based on either SIF or SEDF are applicable to fatigue crack growth analysis and design of the three high-strength steels.
KEYWORDS
Fatigue crack growth rate, High-strength steel, Digital image correlation, Finite element analysis, Strain energy density factor
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