3D analysis of fatigue crack fields and crack growth by in situ synchrotron X-ray tomography

The propagation rate of a fatigue crack in a nodular cast iron, loaded in cyclic tension, has been studied in situ by synchrotron X-ray computed tomography and digital volume correlation, in a joint study between Oxford and French CNRS researchers .  The research was facilitated by an award from the John Fell Fund.

The three-dimensional stress intensity factors were calculated via a linear elastic finite element model that used the displacement fields around the crack front as the boundary conditions, and it has been shown that the cyclic change in the local mode I opening of the crack tip determined the local fatigue crack propagation rate.

Read the full paper '3-Dimensional analysis of fatigue crack fields and crack growth by in situ synchrotron X-ray tomography' in International Journal of Fatigue.