Evolution of residual-strain distribution through an overload-induced retardation period during fatigue-crack growth

Neutron diffraction was employed to investigate the crack-growth retardation phenomenon after a single tensile overload by mapping both one-dimensional and two-dimensional residual-strain distributions around the crack tip in a series of compact-tension specimens representing various crack-growth stages through an overload-induced retardation period. The results clearly show a large compressive residual-strain field near the crack tip immediately after the overload. As the fatigue crack propagates through the overload-induced plastic zone, the compressive residual strains are gradually relaxed, and a new compressive residual-strain field is developed around the propagating crack tip, illustrating that the subsequent fatigue-induced plastic zone grows out of the large plastic zone caused by the overloading. The relationship between the overload-induced plastic zone and subsequent fatigue-induced plastic zone, and its influence on the residual-strain distributions in the perturbed plastic zone are discussed.