Mechanical aspects of corrosion fatigue and stress corrosion cracking

The theory of fatigue crack growth based on the synthesis of fracture mechanics and continuum damage mechanics is applied to the prediction of crack growth under cyclic and/or sustained loading in the presence of the aggressive environment. Several aspects of corrosion fatigue and stress corrosion cracking are discussed from the viewpoint of mechanics: the interaction between the damage produced by mechanical and nonmechanical actions and its effect on the fatigue crack propagation; the prediction of the behavior of cracks which shape and size are given more than by a single parameter such as the crack depth; the transfer of the agent within a crack affected by the crack growth and crack "breathing" under cyclic loading. The final results are presented in the form of diagrams illustrating the history of crack sizes, damage measures, stress concentration factors near the tips, and the crack growth rates in function of the principal load and environment parameters. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.