A structured lifing approach to fretting fatigue of Ti-6Al-4V with variable initiation length

An attempt has been made to use a structured approach to predict fretting fatigue lives of Ti-6Al-4V specimens used in laboratory experiments. Knowing the contact tractions, different damage parameters have been obtained, from which initiation life has been calculated using uniaxial fatigue curve after applying stressed area correction to account for the length scale effects. Propagation lives have been calculated using both fixed initiation length and variable initiation length. Short crack propagation has been included using the El Haddad approach. Total life has been calculated as a sum of initiation and propagation lives. The distribution of damage parameter and the nature of its variation as a result of pad profile machining have been studied. Copyright © 2009 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.