The fracture analyses were made using the Failure Assessment
Diagram (FAD) methodology proposed in [1] and maximum
allowable crack sizes (2aall , see Fig. 7) were obtained for the
different hypotheses of crack geometry. Every cracked component
subjected to a certain load can fail due to a fracture mechanism, due
to a plastic collapse mechanism or, finally, due to a combination
of both mechanisms (fracture and plastic collapse). The FAD
methodology [1,8,24–26] allows all these three possible situations
to be assessed with a single comprehensive tool.