Development of an Incremental Model for Fatigue Crack Growth Predictions

This paper presents an incremental approach for modeling fatigue crack growth with history effects. This approach is being developed at LMT since 2003, in collaboration with several industrial partners, mainly with Snecma, the SAFRAN Group, EDF and AREVA, and the SNCF. The first part of this paper presents the context, objectives and key assumptions on which the model is based. The second part presents some examples of applications of the model, fatigue crack growth under Mode I conditions, with variable amplitude loading; non-isothermal situations; crack growth under coupled environmental and fatigue loading conditions; extension of the model to non-proportional mixed mode loading conditions and to short cracks. The last part presents the ongoing work, the possible developments and the scientific challenges that remain to be overcome.