Title :
Life prediction of fatigue crack propagation of cracked structure based on VCCT
Author :
Qian, Qin ; Li, Chang-an ; De Xie ; Li, Guo-qing
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Mech., Huazhong Univ. of Sci. & Technol., Wuhan, China
Abstract :
A new method to estimate fatigue life of cracked structure is introduced in this paper. Based on the virtual crack closure technique (VCCT), the special fatigue element is developed to estimate fatigue life in conjunction with finite element analysis. The stress intensity factors are calculated within the fatigue element and the fatigue life of the element at the crack tip is determined by Paris´ law. Therefore, with this element, the fatigue life can be estimated simultaneously as FEA is performed. The effect of mesh size on the accuracy of life estimation is also investigated. Then the method is improved by interpolating the stress intensity factors and the effect of mesh size is significantly reduced. This fatigue element has been implemented into commercial FEA software ABAQUS with its user-defined element (UEL) feature. This approach is validated by comparing to existing test data of center crack panels.
Keywords :
crack detection; fatigue cracks; finite element analysis; ABAQUS software; Paris´ law; fatigue crack propagation; fatigue life prediction; finite element analysis; stress intensity factor; user defined element feature; virtual crack closure technique; Capacitive sensors; Fatigue; Finite element methods; Life estimation; Marine technology; Oceans; Stress; Sun; Testing; FEA; Virtual crack closure technique; fatigue crack propagation; life prediction;
Conference_Titel :
Piezoelectricity, Acoustic Waves, and Device Applications (SPAWDA) and 2009 China Symposium on Frequency Control Technology, Joint Conference of the 2009 Symposium on
Conference_Location :
Wuhan
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-4950-7
DOI :
10.1109/SPAWDA.2009.5428949
