Modelling fatigue crack propagation of a cracked metallic member reinforced by composite patches

The concept of fracture for material elements at front of a crack for fatigue crack propagation was extended to the fatigue crack propagation of a cracked metallic member reinforced with a composite patch in this paper. From static mechanics and linear elastic fracture mechanics, force transfer on a cracked member through a composite patch was analyzed and a formula connecting the stress intensity factor with crack length was obtained. Thereafter, a fracture model for fatigue crack propagation of a repaired cracked metallic member was proposed. A new expression for the fatigue crack propagation rate has thus been derived. The expression was verified objectively by the test data. It is in good agreement with the test results.