Chronology of Crack Initiation

For many years I ran a Fracture Mechanics testing and analysis laboratory.  Circulating among the cognoscente was a tongue-in-cheek chronology of events associated with crack initiation*.  This sequence of observations contains an unintended grain of truth, however, that illustrates the random behavior of even well-behaved physical phenomena.

Stages in Fatigue Crack Detection

1. Possibly see where a crack might possibly start.
2. Possibly see where a crack will definitely start.
3. Definitely see where a crack might possibly start.
4. Definitely see where a crack will definitely start.
5. Possibly see a possible crack.
6. Possibly see a definite crack.
7. Definitely see a possible crack.
8. Definitely see a definite crack.
9. Possibly see the crack growing.
10. Definitely see the crack growing.
11. Specimen fails along a crack other than the one being observed.

J

_____________

* The mathematics of Fracture Mechanics (F/M) requires the existence of a macrocrack (a crack that is large with respect to the surrounding microstructure), so it is convenient to divide the essentially continuous process of fatigue crack formation into "propagation" (described by F/M) from what precedes it, "initiation."  Unfortunately this has led to considerable semantic hair-splitting and the insistence by some that "initiation" doesn't exist since there is no measurable signal of it.  We will avoid such nonproductive debates here.

[ HOME ] [ Feedback ] Mail to Charles.Annis@StatisticalEngineering.com Copyright © 1998-2008 Charles Annis, P.E. Last modified: January 01, 2008