A statistical analysis of fatigue crack growth in a 2091 Al-Cu-Li alloy

摘要

The phenomenological approach to fatigue crack growth through the Paris-Erdogan model suggests a linear relationship between the two parameters m and log C. Besides any physical interpretation, this relationship allows a statistical analysis of a set of 37 fatigue tests carried out on a 2091 Al-Cu-Li alloy in the same experimental conditions. Fatigue crack growth rate data show a normal distribution for both m and log C. These statistical results allow a probabilistic prediction of fatigue lifetimes between two stated values of crack length.