Stochastic modeling of fatigue crack propagation

This paper presents a stochastic model of fatigue-induced crack propagation in metallic materials. The crack growth rate predicted by the model is guaranteed to be non-negative. The model structure is built upon the underlying principle of Karhunen-Loève expansion and does not require solutions of stochastic differential equations in either Wiener integral or Itô integral setting. As such this crack propagation model can be readily adapted to damage monitoring and remaining life prediction of stressed structures. The model results have been verified by comparison with experimental data of time-dependent fatigue crack statistics for 2024-T3 and 7075-T6 aluminum alloys.