ABSTRACT
Probabilistic approach to predicting fatigue life of components in the range of short cracks growth is the subject of the paper. A finite difference equation with coefficients originated from the two-parameter Weibull distribution of crack lengths has been derived to formulate a model of short cracks growth dynamics. The solution of the Fokker-Planck parabolic differential equation has been found in form of a crack length density function to calculate fatigue life in the range of short cracks growth. The power of the probabilistic method has been verified using experimental data for medium carbon steel specimens fatigued under reversed torsion. Good agreement between theoretical and real fatigue lives of specimens has been achieved.
