Resumen

GONZALEZ-HERRERA, A.; GARCIA-VALLEJO, D.; MORENO, B.  y  ZAPATERO, J.. Numerical Problems in the Fatigue Crack Closure Determination using Finite Element Analysis. Inf. tecnol. [online]. 2005, vol.16, n.3, pp. 15-20. ISSN 0718-0764.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-07642005000300003.

Some numerical problems that arise in determining fatigue crack closure are analyzed using finite element analysis. The crack closure phenomenon and its measurement have an important impact on the prediction of the crack growth life. However, the complexity of the problem causes that the accuracy of the results is highly dependent on the methodology employed, fact that implies the appearance of some numerical problems. The results show that the exact determination of crack closure or opening computation require very fine mesh, in a number much higher than recommendations suggested in the literature.

Palabras llave : crack closure; fatigue crack growth; finite elements; minimum element size.