Numerical Investigation of Fatigue Crack Propagation in High-Performance Aluminum Alloys

Abstract:

This work presents ANSYS Workbench simulations analyzing fatigue crack propagation in high-performance aluminum alloys 2524-T3, 2024-T42, and 2024-T351 under stress ratios R = 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 using pre-meshed crack tools and SMART Fracture automation. Key simulation outputs include crack length evolution, cycle count, equivalent stress intensity factor ranges (ΔK), and crack resistance curves (Kr). At R = 0.1, 2524-T3 exhibited the highest crack growth rate (da/dN = 3.20×10⁻⁸ mm/cycle, ΔK = 7.28 MPa√m, Nf ≈ 459×10⁶ cycles), while 2024-T351 showed the lowest rate (da/dN = 2.76×10⁻⁹ mm/cycle, ΔK = 1.65 MPa√m, Nf ≈ 5.27×10⁹ cycles) — a 10.4-fold reduction in da/dN and 11.5-fold increase in fatigue life. At R = 0.5, 2024-T351 achieved da/dN < 1.0×10⁻⁸ mm/cycle with Nf > 6×10⁹ cycles, outperforming 2024-T42 (da/dN = 3.82×10⁻⁹ mm/cycle, Nf ≈ 2.92×10⁹) and 2524-T3 (da/dN = 2.76×10⁻⁹ mm/cycle, Nf ≈ 5.27×10⁹). Kr curve analysis revealed steep resistance decay for 2524-T3 (R = 0.1), stable plateau behavior for 2024-T42 (R = 0.3–0.5), and rising Kr trends for 2024-T351 across all R-ratios, indicating active crack-tip shielding mechanisms. SEM fractography validated simulation trends: 2524-T3 showed brittle trans granular features with secondary crack density of 12.3 ± 2.1 cracks/mm²; 2024-T42 exhibited mixed-mode fracture with moderate dimple density (8.7 ± 1.4 μm⁻²); 2024-T351 displayed ductile dimple morphology with the highest dimple density (18.4 ± 2.6 μm⁻²) and minimal secondary cracking (2.1 ± 0.8 cracks/mm²). These microstructural metrics confirm 2024-T351 as the optimal candidate for fatigue-critical aerospace and automotive applications.

• Periodical: Key Engineering Materials (Volume 1061)
• Pages: 141-160
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-55T0Ve
• Online since: August 2026
• Authors: Mohammad Ashraf Hossain*, Muhammad Usman Siddiq, Jahanzeb Javed, Moneef Mohamed Elobaid Musa
• Keywords: Aluminum Alloy, Crack Propagation, Cyclic Load, Fatigue, Fracture Mechanism

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