Life enhancement of cracked structure by piezoelectric patching underneath thermo-mechanical loading environment

Abstract

This article presents crack repair in the structure by piezoelectric material and predict the fatigue life of the structure. The extended finite element method is applied to model the crack discontinuity. Heaviside function is used for modeling the crack surface while branch functions are used for modeling the crack front. Effects of active and passive repair on structural integrity are investigated under a thermo-mechanical loading environment at zero R-ratio. Paris law is applied to predict life in terms of fatigue cycles. The efficacy of the repair is measured in terms of fatigue life and stress intensity factor.

Keywords:

• Life cycle
• thermo-mechanical loading
• piezoelectric
• XFEM
• Paris law

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Indian Institute of Technology, Patna, for providing the required software and financial support.