High energy X-ray diffraction microscopy (HEDM) techniques and micro-computed tomography were combined with in-situ cyclic loading to examine the evolution of sub-grain-level fatigue crack growth within a Ni-base superalloy at room temperature. A focused-ion beam notch was introduced within the specimen to concentrate damage within the characterized microstructure region of interest. The test specimen was subjected to fatigue cycling with pauses for periodic micro-computed tomography and HEDM measurements to characterize the sporadic growth of the crack front and grain-level strains ahead of the crack front. The HEDM data was used to instantiate a crystal plasticity finite element model and compared to experimentally determined grain-level strains, sub-grain reorientation, and crack path.
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