Creep crack growth modeling and near tip stress fields

The problem of near tip stress fields in a cracked body subjected to Mode I loading at elevated temperatures is studied. Specifically, the superalloy, IN 718, is examined in the standard compact tension specimen geometry. The simulation is at 650°C. The specimen is assumed to be under dead load conditions. For a stationary crack, the near tip stress fields are calculated and compared with the asymptotic solutions available in the literature. While the results assuming small strains agree very well with the asymptotic solutions, the large strain analysis does not. The results indicate that both the amplitude and the asymptotic exponent are dependent on the applied load level which is in disagreement with the asymptotic predictions. In addition, the zone effected by creep deformation is larger when large strains are considered. An algorithm is developed and tested for the modeling of stable crack growth. Both convergence and stability are investigated. Explicit time integration is used for crack growth studies as it is demonstrated to be computationally more efficient. The algorithm is employed to study the near tip stress fields for a growing crack. The near tip stress fields for a growing crack (with constant velocity) are generated using the developed algorithm. The results demonstrate that the asymptotic behavior of the stress field is load dependent. Comparison is made with the limited analyses available. Recommendations for future research are discussed.