Abstract
Typically, the Crack Tip Opening Displacement (CTOD) is used only to
quantify the crack closure phenomenon. However, more information about
crack tip phenomena can be extracted from the CTOD curves, which can be
used for a better understanding of fatigue crack growth. The main
objective here is the development of a numerical tool for the automatic
analysis of CTOD plots, which can be obtained either numerically using
the Finite Element Method (FEM) or experimentally using Digital Image
Correlation (DIC). The parameters extracted are the elastic and plastic
CTOD in loading and unloading regimes, the corresponding load ranges,
the crack opening and closure levels and the dissipated energy. This
tool is expected to promote a fast and efficient analysis of DIC and FEM
results, facilitating the implementation of CTOD analysis in the fatigue
community.