The proposal of this paper is to review some crack closure models. Christensen discovered the crack closure in 1963, which was later defined by Elber in 1968. The first analytical crack closure model was developed by Newman in 1974, based on the Dugdale crack model. Since Newman, finite element and difference analysis have been conducted to obtain a basic understanding of crack growth and crack closure processes. Simple and complex models were developed based on the plasticity induced crack closure behavior. Since 1970 until today, the most finite elements analysis were conducted using two dimensional models under both, plane stress and plane strain conditions. In the literature, few works covering three-dimensional models can be found. Chermahini did the first work discussing it, in 1986. This paper also discusses the yielding zone, empirical crack closure model, modified Dugdale crack model and design concepts using short crack theory.
