Simulation of fatigue crack growth in a2024-t351 t-welded joint

Abstract

Fatigue crack growth in friction stir welded T joints under three point bending is simulated numerically using the Extended Finite Element Method (XFEM). Three point bending fatigue load stress is applied at the centre of the plate opposite to the initial crack, with a ratio of stress intensity R = 0 and maximum stress. = 10 MPa. The material properties of all welded regions in the joint, made of aluminium alloy A2024-T351, are adopted from available experiments. All fatigue crack propagation and growth including crack front coordinates (x, y, z) and stress intensity factors (KI, KII, KIII and Kef) are extracted from the analysis results.