Fatigue and fracture emanating from notch; the use of the notch stress intensity factor Original Research Article

The analysis of the stress distribution at notch tip shows a pseudo-stress singularity characterised by the notch stress intensity factor (NSIF) Kρ. The critical value of this parameter Kρccan be used to determine the fracture toughness of very brittle materials from notched specimens. The range of the notch stress intensity factor ΔKρ plays an important role in initiation of fatigue emanating from notches and in the notch fatigue sensitivity index.