On the mechanics of fatigue crack growth due to contact loading

This paper analyses the propagation behaviour of fatigue cracks arising from contact loading. Stress intensity factors are computed for a surface breaking crack in the presence of a near-surface inclusion, and under the influence of interacting asperities at the surface. With the use of the growth law of McEvily and Foreman (McEvily, A. J. The microstructure and design of alloys, vol. 2, Proc. 3rd Int. Conf. on the Strength of Metal and Alloys, Cambridge (1973)), crack propagation is studied as a function of the calculated mode II stress intensity range, ∆KII. Crack arrest is examined, the role of inclusions demonstrated, and a single-crack load-life calculation is performed, yielding results consistent with experimental observation. Finally, stress intensity factors are computed for a subsurface crack growing from an inclusion toward the surface, and the limitations of these results are discussed.