The work presented here is a compendium of theoretical results obtained by the authors between 2005
and 2009. Among these results are comprehensive analysis of the three-dimensional elastic stress and
displacement fields near a tip of a through-the-thickness crack, generalization of the classical strip-yield model
for plates having a finite thickness, and development of an analytical approach for calculating the plasticityinduced
crack closure and crack growth rates at constant and variable amplitude loading. As an application of the
developed approach, new predictive models of various non-linear fatigue crack growth phenomena in plates of
finite thickness were developed. These include computational models of crack growth under small-scale yielding
conditions and constant amplitude loading, growth of a fatigue crack emanating from a sharp notch, and crack
growth retardation phenomenon following an overload cycle. All theoretical predictions were extensively
compared with previous numerical and experimental studies demonstrating a great potential of the refined plate
theory in the analysis of fracture and fatigue problems.
