Crack propagation behavior based on the characteristic of the interaction between two fatigue cracks

Stress interaction fields, which are caused by propagating cracks and other defects, can weaken structures. In this study, crack behavior in the interaction field caused by two different cracks is experimentally studied. In the experiment, the vertical distance between two cracks and the applied stresses are varied to craate different stress interaction fields. In addition, the effect of the plastic zone is used to examine the crack propagation path and rate. Three types of crack propagation in the interaction field were found, and the crack propagating path and rate of two cracks were significantly affected according to different applied stresses as each crack propagates. These results are attributed to the effect of the size and shape of the plastic zone.