Experimental investigation on ductile stable crack growth emanating from wire-cut notch in AISI 4340 steel

An experimental investigation on the stable crack growth (SCG) behaviour in AISI 4340 using CT type specimen with a sharp slit (0.05 mm) under mode I and mixed modes (I and II) loading is presented. The slit was made in the specimen through wire cutting technique. Different combinations of loading angle φ and ratio of original crack length to specimen width (a₀/W) are examined. Data concerned with direction of initial crack extension, load-load line displacement (L-LLD) diagrams, initiation and maximum loads, range of stable crack growth, crack tip blunting, crack front geometry, fracture surfaces and their scanning electron micrographs are obtained. A noticeable blunting effect is observed prior to crack initiation. Although the crack initiates from a straight front, a considerable front tunnelling effect occurs as the crack extends. Under mixed mode, the crack extension takes place initially almost along a straight path, inclined with the main crack. The loading angle and initial crack length affect the initiation (P_i) and maximum (P _max) loads significantly, but the ratio between P_max and P_i remains almost constant. The direction of initial stable crack extension due to mixed mode loading is determined throughout an elastic finite element analysis. There is a good agreement between the experimental and predicted results.