Acceleration of Fatigue Crack Growth After Overload in Carbon Steel

Abstract

The effects of an overload on fatigue crack growth behavior have been investigated by using carbon steel. Delayed retardation and acceleration of crack growth were both observed. These phenomena depended not only on overload conditions but also on the baseline stress conditions. Moreover, the mechanical properties of the materials affected the crack growth rate after overload. It was found that crack growth accelerated when tensile residual stress was distributed in front of the crack tip. The residual stress distribution is related to the crack opening geometry at the overload stage.