Abstract
The differences between the description of cyclic plasticity with a discrete dislocation model and the classical elasto-plastic continuum theory are studied. It is shown that both the dislocation model and the continuum mechanics lead to the same results at high stress intensity ranges (Paris regime) but they differ significantly for small stress intensity ranges. The conclusion of these results is that the characteristics of the near-threshold fatigue-crack-growth behavior is only explainable with a discrete dislocation model.

Key words
discrete dislocation model, Paris regime, fatigue-crack-growth behavior

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