TY  - JOUR
Y1  - 2009///
N2  - The enhanced ability to detect and measure very short cracks, along with a great interest in applying fracture mechanics formulae to smaller and smaller crack sizes, has pointed out the so-called anomalous behavior of short cracks with respect to their longer counterparts. The crack-size dependencies of both the fatigue threshold and the Paris? constant C are only two notable examples of these anomalous scaling laws. In this framework, a unified theoretical model seems to be missing and the behavior of short cracks can still be considered as an open problem. In this paper, we propose a critical reexamination of the fractal models for the analysis of crack-size effects in fatigue. The limitations of each model are put into evidence and removed. At the end, a new generalized theory based on fractal geometry is proposed, which permits to consistently interpret the short crack-related anomalous scaling laws within a unified theoretical formulation. Finally, this approach is herein used to interpret relevant experimental data related to the crack-size dependence of the fatigue threshold in metals. 
VL  - 40
IS  - 3
TI  - Fractal and multifractal approaches for the analysis of crack-size dependent scaling laws in fatigue 
A1  - Paggi, Marco
A1  - Carpinteri, Alberto
ID  - eprints1971
JF  - Chaos, Solitons and Fractals
AV  - none
SN  - 0960-0779
SP  - 1136 
UR  - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960077907007035
EP  -  1145
PB  - Elsevier
ER  -