ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Fracture mechanics is a very important tool used for improving the life cycle of mechanical components. During manufacturing, flaws or cracks will be formed in all metal structures. Studying and monitoring the propagation of the crack in a component forms the core of fracture study. In the present work, a parametric study on the propagation of semi elliptical crack in a turbine blade is carried out. A turbine blade with its hub is modeled using CATIA software. The model is then imported into ANSYS Workbench and a Finite Element analysis is performed. Rotational velocity is applied on cracks at different orientations ranging from 0° to 90° at different crack depth to half crack length ratios and stress intensity factor (K) is determined for two cases with thermal load and without thermal load i.e. static load case. The Finite Element results are validated by an empirical solution of Raju-Newman solution using the MATLAB software. The results will be useful in the assessment of structural integrity of the component.
