Fracture mechanics based assessment of the fatigue strength: approach for the determination of the initial crack size

In a number of previous papers, the authors have proposed a model for fracture mechanics based prediction of the S‐N characteristics of metallic components with large microstructural defects. Here, an extension to materials that do not show large defects onto the fracture surfaces is provided. In such cases, an approach based on a so‐called cyclic R ‐curve analysis is proposed for the determination of the initial flaw size, which has to be used in the calculation of fatigue crack propagation. The principle is explained and demonstrated by a first application to a welded joint.