Font Size: 

This work describes a 3-D finite element study of mode I fatiguecrack growth in the small-scale yielding (SSY) regime with zero T-stress. Under remotelyapplied, constant amplitude cyclic loading with a ratio KminKmax0, closurealong the crack front and behind the growing crack occurs when model nodes impingeon a frictionless, rigid plane. The material behavior follows a purely kinematichardening, constitutive model with constant hardening modulus. Dimensionalanalysis suggests, and the computational results confirm, that the normalized remoteopening load value, KopKmax, at each location along the crack front remainsunchanged when the peak load (Kmax), thickness (B) and material flow stress (0)all vary to maintain a fixed value of KKmax0B. Through parametric computationsat various K levels, the results illustrate the effects of normalized peak loadson the through-thickness opening-closing behavior.