Mechanism of fatigue-crack growth under compressive external stresses

A specimen with a crack shaped like a thin long defect with parallel edges and a rounded tip of finite radius is considered. When the specimen is subjected to compressive cyclic loads, the stresses in zones adjacent to the crack tip vary according to a sign-variable cycle because of plastic strains occurring at the crack tip. This can cause fatigue-crack growth. Results of numerical simulations and experimental data support the possibility of fatigue-crack growth in the field of compressive external stresses.