Early crack orientation prediction methods under fretting fatigue loading

This paper investigates two different methods to predict crack initiation direction in fretting problems subjected to partial slip conditions. One of them is based on the Critical Direction Method (CDM) combined with the Smith Watson and Topper (SWT) fatigue parameter. The other consists in simulating early crack propagation through a Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM) approach associated with the SWT parameter. For validation of the methods, experimental data from fretting tests conducted on an AA7050-T7451 alloy were used. Results have shown that the CDM-based model provides very accurate estimates, whereas the LEFM-based approach failed to properly reproduce experimental observations.