Calibration of nasgro equation for mixed-mode loading using experimental and numerical data

A procedure to calibrate the NASGRO equation in a high yield-strength steel under mixed-mode loading (I + II) is presented. The calibration consists in obtaining the material parameters known as C, m, p and q. The procedure is based on experimental and numerical results. The experimental tests were used to characterize the material and obtain fatigue crack growth data. For the fatigue tests, tapered double cantilever beam (TDCB) specimens with different maximum load and load ratio values were used. Through the numerical analysis, the stress intensity factors, the crack growth direction and the crack path coordinates were calculated. The numerical analysis was performed using XFEM and the maximum energy release rate criterion. The calibrated model allows predicting the number of load cycles with an RMS value of less than 5%, compared with the experimental results.