Fatigue Finite Element Analysis of a Notched 8630 Alloy Steel Sample under Cyclic Axial Loading

Fatigue of materials has been one of the most important challenges confronting engineers and it can be very sensitive for structural systems. It has been accepted that finite element method (FEM) is a robust and reliable simulation tool for damage of materials due to fatigue loading. However, this method is still complicated and more details require to be obviously clarified. In this study first, fatigue fracture of a notched 8630 alloy sample under cyclic axial stress is investigated. Then, the extended finite element method (XFEM) and the direct cyclic low cycle fatigue (LCF) approaches are employed. Fracture simulations are carried out by applying the famous Paris law via the commercial ABAQUS software and the numerical results are achieved. At last, the numerical results are compared with the experimental results. Comparison of the results reveals that the numerical and experimental crack propagation diagrams are nearly coinciding. The numerical simulation results can direct the fracture engineers to better control behavior of the material.

Keywords:

Low-cycle fatigue (LCF) , Extended finite element method (XFEM) , Crack propagation , Paris law