Variation of fractographic appearance for different microstructures in welded joints having the same fatigue crack propagation properties

Fatigue fracture surfaces were examined with a scanning electron microscope to investigate the influence of the different microstructure between weld metal and heat affected zone. The specimens were centre-cracked type transverse butt welded joints. The relationship between macroscopic fatigue crack propagation rate and the stress intensity factor range is the same in spite of the difference in microstructure for both materials. It is shown that the fractographic appearance changes with microstructure even in the very low growth rate region near fatigue threshold. This suggests that fractographic appearance is not necessarily a guide to the rate of fatigue crack growth.     

Fatigue crack propagation rates and threshold stress intensity factors for welded joints of HT80 steel at several stress ratios

Fatigue crack propagation rates and threshold stress intensity factors were measured for welded joints and base metal by using 200 mm wide centre-cracked specimens. The fatigue crack propagation properties of welded joints were similar in spite of the different zones in which the cracks propagated (ie, in the heat-affected zone and in the weld metal) and the different welding process used (submerged arc welding and gas metal arc welding). They were, however, inferior to those of the base metal. It was revealed by observation of the crack closure that the fatigue cracks were fully open during the whole range of loading, due to the tensile residual stress distribution in the middle part of the welded joints. This observation also explains the lack of a stress ratio effect on the fatigue crack propagation properties of welded joints, and their inferiority to those of the base metal.     

服役条件下螺旋焊接管线钢疲劳裂纹扩展机理分析

对服役条件下螺旋焊接管线钢裂纹扩展机理进行了分析,通过试验测定了两种母材区和两种焊缝区的疲劳裂纹扩展速率,通过扫描电子显微镜分析了螺旋焊接管线钢中裂纹扩展速率不同的原因。结果表明:焊缝疲劳裂纹扩展速率快于母材中的疲劳裂纹扩展速率;焊缝组织中分布着许多孔洞和表面裂纹,导致组织疏松,使焊缝金属的韧性降低,从而使管线钢承载能力降低,在循环波动载荷下易发生螺旋焊缝疲劳断裂失效。     

Correlation of fatigue properties and microstructure in investment cast Ti-6Al-4V welds

The effect of microstructural characteristics on high-cycle fatigue properties and fatigue crack propagation behavior of welded regions of an investment cast Ti-6Al-4V were investigated. High-cycle fatigue and fatigue crack propagation tests were conducted on the welded regions, which were processed by two different welding methods: tungsten inert gas (TIG) and electron beam (EB) welding. Test data were analyzed in relation to microstructure, tensile properties, and fatigue fracture mode. The base metal was composed of an alpha plate colony structure transformed to a basket-weave structure with thin platelets after welding and annealing. High-cycle fatigue results indicated that fatigue strength of the EB weld was lower than that of the base metal or the TIG weld because of the existence of large micropores formed during welding, although it had the highest yield strength. In the case of the fatigue crack propagation, the EB weld composed of thinner platelets had a faster crack propagation rate than the base metal or the TIG weld. The effective microstructural feature determining the fatigue crack propagation rate was found to be the width of platelets because it was well matched with the reversed cyclic plastic zone size calculated in the threshold ΔK regime.     

载荷方向和焊缝余高对氩弧焊缝疲劳性能的影响

采用疲劳寿命测试和观测断口方法,研究焊接方向和焊缝余高对TC2钛合金氩弧焊缝疲劳性能的影响。结果表明:同种焊接方向,保留焊高试件的疲劳寿命低于去焊高试件;同种焊缝余高处理方式,斜焊试件的疲劳寿命高于直焊试件。去焊高试件于气孔缺陷处萌生裂纹,保留焊高试件疲劳裂纹起源于焊趾。裂纹扩展初期,裂纹均在焊缝内扩展,有明显的疲劳条带;扩展后期,斜焊试件裂纹穿过焊缝进入母材,存在典型的韧性疲劳条带。直焊试件疲劳瞬断区韧窝少而浅;斜焊试件在母材瞬断,韧窝多且密。     

THE EFFECTS OF A MARINE ENVIRONMENT ON THE CORROSION FATIGUE CRACK PROPAGATION RATE OF PURE TITANIUM AND ITS WELD METAL

The effects of stress ratio and microstructure on fatigue crack growth rate in air and natural seawater were investigated for pure titanium and its weld metal. The corrosion fatigue characterization of pure titanium was also studied under a cathodic potential in natural seawater. In air, the fatigue crack growth rates of pure titanium and its weld metal increased with increasing stress ratio. In natural seawater, the effect of stress ratio was similar to that in air. However, the crack growth rates were greater for pure titanium than for the weld metal. These results indicate that the corrosion action is sensitive to the microstructure in front of the crack tip. When the crack growth rate for the weld metal was plotted using the effective stress intensity factor range, the crack growth rate in natural seawater was coincident with that in air, regardless of stress ratio. For the base metal, there is a significant difference in the crack growth rate between natural seawater and air.     

Near-threshold fatigue crack propagation of welded joint under varying loading

The influence of varying loading on the fatigue crack propagation properties of HT80 steel welded joint and base metal was investigated by using center cracked specimens under two-step programmed test. The higher stress intensity range was slightly above the threshold level obtained by constant amplitude test and the lower one was 70% of the higher one. The fatigue crack propagated below the threshold level for the base metal at the stress ratio of 0 and 0.4. However, the fatigue crack did not propagate below the threshold level either for the base metal at the stress ratio of 0.9 or for the welded joint at the stress ratio of 0. These results mean that the use of the threshold level obtained under the constant amplitude test would be dangerous for assessing the fatigue performance of the base metal under varying loading. The use of the threshold level obtained for the center cracked welded joint specimens would be conservative even under the varying loading.     

Fatigue crack growth property of laser beam welded 6156 aluminium alloy

Fatigue crack growth behaviours in different welding zones of laser beam welded specimens were investigated using central crack tension specimens for 6156 aluminium alloy under constant amplitude loading at nominal applied stress ratio R = 0.5, 0.06, ?1. The experimental results showed that base metal (BM) exhibited superior fatigue crack resistance compared to weld metal (WM) and heat‐affected zone (HAZ). Crack growth resistance of WM was the lowest. The exponent m values for BM and HAZ at different stress ratios are close and around 2.6, while m for WM at different stress ratio is around 4.7. The discrepancy between crack growth rates for WM and BM is more evident with increasing stress ratio, while it is a little change for HAZ and BM. Change of the microstructure in WM deteriorates the resistance of fatigue crack growth compared to BM. It was mainly due to grain boundary liquation and dissolving of second‐phase particles in the weld region. It was also found that the variety of fatigue crack resistance for different welding zones is in conformity with the change of hardness. BM with the highest hardness exhibited the maximum resistance for fatigue crack, and WM with the lowest hardness exhibited the minimum fatigue crack resistance.     

Characterization of failure modes for different welding processes of AISI/SAE 304 stainless steels

Weld joints manufactured with a welding electrode type 308L and by three different arc welding processes shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), gas metal arc welding (GMAW) and flux cored arc welding (FCAW) in a AISI/SAE 304 were studied in order to compare the failure mechanisms associated with their mechanical and microstructural properties. Chemical compositions were analyzed by optical emission spectroscopy and the ferrite numbers (FN) of the welds were also identified. Relevant microstructural characteristics of the different processes were analyzed by microscopy techniques. Finally, fatigue tests were performed to study the variations in the mechanical properties of each process and to analyze their most probable failure modes by means of a fractographic study, in which the characteristic morphologies of each one (nucleation, propagation, final fracture) were identified by means of optical stereoscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Three different fracture modes were found at the welding joints that showed correlations with microstructural changes produced during the welding process. The first failure mode displayed that the nucleation of the crack was at the weld root. The second failure mode was generated at the heat affected zone (HAZ), where the crack nucleated due to a variation in the grain size produced by the process and then further propagated through the edge of the weld. The third failure mode appeared due to the presence of exogenous inclusions generated by the welding process, which acted as stress concentrators in the weld and produce the initiation and further propagation of the crack. Lastly, some welding processes presented a combination of the previous failure modes and consequently multiple sites of crack nucleation.     

The effect of microstructures on fatigue crack growth in Q345 steel welded joint

It is a traditional that the fatigue crack growth behavior is sensitive to microstructure in threshold regime, while it is sensitive to R‐ratio in Paris regime. Fatigue test is carried out for welded joints of a Q345 steel where the compact tension specimens with 3.8 and 12.5 mm thickness are used, and comparisons of fatigue crack growth behavior between base metal and a few different locations in the welded joint are considered in Paris regime. Welding residual stresses are removed by heat treatment to focus the study on the microstructural effect. It is shown that fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR) in the base metal is not sensitive to R‐ratio, but the FCGR increases in the overheated zone, the fusion zone and the weld metal zone with R‐ratio increasing. To the low R‐ratio, FCGR in the three zones is smaller than that in the base metal, but they approximate the same with base metal under the high R‐ratio. The mechanism of fatigue crack growth is analyzed through crack path in microstructures and SEM fractograph. The coarse‐grained ferrite in the base metal is of benefit to relaxation of the average stress at the crack tip, and the fatigue crack growth predicts branching and deflection within above different locations in the welded joint. These tortuous crack paths with crack branching and deflection will promote crack closure as well as crack‐tip stress shielding and then resulted in higher crack growth resistance.     

0Cr16 Ni5 Mo不锈钢疲劳性能研究

通过疲劳试验对 0Cr16Ni5Mo不锈钢疲劳性能和海水中的腐蚀疲劳性能进行了研究 ,并对断口特征进行了金相及SEM分析。结果表明 :钢的σ-1 、σ-1SCC 和τ-1 分别为 5 5 0MPa、40 8MPa和 2 85MPa ,σ-1 、τ-1与σb 、σ0 .2 之间符合奥金格公式。不同条件下的疲劳断口特征各异 ,纯旋转弯曲疲劳断口属正常形貌 ,而扭转疲劳断口的扩展阶段疲劳条带不明显 ,这与受力条件复杂有关。海水介质中疲劳开裂具有表面多条裂纹源特征 ,裂纹尖端的应力集中加速裂纹扩展造成腐蚀疲劳强度降低 ,裂纹扩展至断裂符合正常疲劳断裂机理。     

Effect of stress ratio and frequency on fatigue crack growth rate of 2618 aluminium alloy silicon carbide metal matrix composite

Effect of stress ratio and frequency on the fatigue crack propagation of 2618 aluminium alloy-silicon carbide composite were investigated at ambient temperature. With the first set of specimens, the fatigue crack growth rates were studied at three frequencies of 1 Hz, 5 Hz and 10 Hz at a stress ratio of 0.1 whereas the effects of stress ratios of 0.1, 0.25 and 0.50 were studied with the second set of specimens. The study showed that the fatigue crack propagation behaviour of this metal matrix composite was influenced to an appreciable extent by the stress ratio, but not by the fatigue frequencies used in this investigation.     

A predictive fatigue life model for anodized 7050 aluminium alloy

The objective of this study is to predict fatigue life of anodized 7050 aluminum alloy specimens. In the case of anodized 7050-T7451 alloy, fractographic observations of fatigue tested specimens showed that pickling pits were the predominant sites for crack nucleation and subsequent failure. It has been shown that fatigue failure was favored by the presence of multiple cracks. From these experimental results, a fatigue life predictive model has been developed including multi-site crack consideration, coalescence between neighboring cracks, a short crack growth stage and a long crack propagation stage. In this model, all pickling pits are considered as potential initial flaws from which short cracks could nucleate if stress conditions allow. This model is built from experimental topography measurements of pickled surfaces which allowed to detect the pits and to characterize their sizes (depth, length, width). From depth crack propagation point of view, the pickling pits are considered as stress concentrator during the only short crack growth stage. From surface crack propagation point of view, machining roughness is equally considered as stress concentrator and its influence is taken into account during the all propagation stage. The predictive model results have been compared to experimental fatigue data obtained for anodized 7050-T7451 specimens. Predictions and experimental results are in good agreement.     

Environment effects and surface roughness on fatigue crack growth at negative R-ratios

Fatigue crack growth has been widely studied, since it plays an important role on the damage tolerance analysis of mechanical components and structures. The environment, material properties and stress ratio significantly influence the fatigue crack growth behaviour of materials. Experimental tests were performed in M(T) specimens of a normalized DIN Ck45 steel at constant load ratios for R = 0.7, 0.5, 0, −1, −2, −3, in ambient air and vacuum conditions, using a new and patented chamber of vacuum. Special emphasis is given to the study of environment effects, stress ratios and related effects of crack roughness. Fracture surface roughness and crack closure effect were systematically measured for all tests in order to compare the influence of different environment and R-ratios. Results have shown that fatigue crack growth rates are higher in air than in vacuum and the fracture surface roughness is also higher in air than in vacuum for comparable stress ratios. The effect of the environment on fatigue crack growth rates seems to be more significant than any mechanical contributions such as plasticity, oxide and roughness which can induce the so-called crack closure.     

Fatigue crack propagation for Q345qD bridge steel and its butt welds at low temperatures

Steel bridges fabricated with Q345qD steels face critical challenges when operating in cold regions with a low ambient temperature. This study aims to investigate, via an experimental program, the low‐temperature fatigue crack propagation behavior of Q345qD bridge steel base material and its butt welds. The testing program comprises a series of Charpy impact tests and fatigue crack propagation tests at the room temperature, ?20°C and ?60°C. The experimental results demonstrate a reduced crack propagation rate in the base material, but an increasing crack propagation rate in the butt welds, with a decreasing ambient temperature. The base material also shows enhanced fatigue crack propagation thresholds with the decreasing temperature. The ductile‐to‐brittle transition temperature for fatigue is lower than that for fracture in the base material while the weld metal exhibits an opposite trend. Generally, the butt welds present higher resistance against fatigue crack propagation and larger Charpy toughness values than do the base material at all tested temperatures. The Paris‐law parameters measured at the room temperature for the base material leads to a conservative assessment of the crack propagation life for a welded joint under a low ambient temperature.     

Effects of microstructure and residual stress on fatigue crack growth of stainless steel narrow gap welds

The effects of weld microstructure and residual stress distribution on the fatigue crack growth rate of stainless steel narrow gap welds were investigated. Stainless steel pipes were joined by the automated narrow gap welding process typical to nuclear piping systems. The weld fusion zone showed cellular–dendritic structures with ferrite islands in an austenitic matrix. Residual stress analysis showed large tensile stress in the inner-weld region and compressive stress in the middle of the weld. Tensile properties and the fatigue crack growth rate were measured along and across the weld thickness direction. Tensile tests showed higher strength in the weld fusion zone and the heat affected zone compared to the base metal. Within the weld fusion zone, strength was greater in the inner weld than outer weld region. Fatigue crack growth rates were several times greater in the inner weld than the outer weld region. The spatial variation of the mechanical properties is discussed in view of weld microstructure, especially dendrite orientation, and in view of the residual stress variation within the weld fusion zone. It is thought that the higher crack growth rate in the inner-weld region could be related to the large tensile residual stress despite the tortuous fatigue crack growth path.     

Fatigue behavior characterization of laser-welded cold rolled sheet metal (SPCEN)

For the present work, the fatigue behavior of laser-welded cold-rolled sheet metal (SPCEN) was studied. Also, the thickness heterogeneity effect of weldment on the fatigue strength and crack growth behavior was studied. The sheet metals of same thickness (0.9 mm) were laser-welded (Case A), and the sheet metal of 0.9 mm thickness was laser-welded to the sheet metal of 2.0 mm thickness (Case B). For both cases, fatigue tests were conducted applying the load perpendicular or parallel to the welding line. Finite element analysis was performed to determine the form of stress intensity factor as a function of crack length for both cases. The results showed that the fatigue strength of Case A was 8.5% higher than that of Case B when the loading direction was parallel to the welding line. However, the fatigue strength of Case A was similar to that of Case B for the perpendicular fatigue loading to the welding line. At the same crack length, the stress intensity factor of Case A was greater than that of Case B. It was also found that for both cases, the crack propagation rate decreased noticeably in the front of weld bead but increased rapidly in the weld bead. The retardation of crack propagation was due to the increased hardness in the front of weld bead, and the increased crack propagation rate was due to the reduced fracture toughness in the weld bead.     

Interpreting the stress ratio effect on delamination growth in composite laminates using the concept of fatigue fracture toughness

This paper provides a study on fatigue delamination growth in composite laminates using energy principles. Experimental data has been obtained from fatigue tests conducted on Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) specimens at various stress ratios. A concept of fatigue fracture toughness is proposed to interpret the stress ratio effect in crack growth. The fatigue fracture toughness is demonstrated to be interface configuration independent but significantly stress ratio dependent. An explanation for this phenomenon is given using SEM fractography. Fracture surface roughness is observed to be similar in different interfaces at the same stress ratio. But it is obviously more rough for high stress ratio in comparison with that for low stress ratio, causing the fatigue resistance increase. Therefore, the stress ratio effect in fatigue crack growth can be physically explained by a difference in resistance to crack growth.     

WNQ570桥梁钢及其对接焊缝疲劳裂纹扩展性能试验研究

对WNQ570桥梁钢及其对接焊缝进行了疲劳裂纹扩展速率和疲劳裂纹扩展门槛值测定试验,采用两种不同数据拟合方法分别得到具有95%保证率的疲劳裂纹扩展参数。结果表明:本批次的WNQ570钢材具有良好的疲劳裂纹扩展性能,其中对接焊缝疲劳裂纹扩展速率高于母材;在应力强度因子幅值处于10 MPa·m1/2～70 MPa·m1/2的常规区间时,基于单试件数据点的处理结果对应的裂纹扩展速率明显高于基于成组数据点的处理结果;WNQ570的疲劳裂纹扩展速率随应力比增加而增加,疲劳裂纹扩展门槛值随应力比增加而降低。     

The importance of compressive stresses on fatigue crack propagation rate

This paper is concerned with the importance of compressive stresses on crack propagation rate. In a previous paper, namely ‘Crack Closure Inadequacy at Negative Stress Ratios’, Int. Journal of Fatigue, 26, 2004, pp. 241–252, was demonstrated the inadequacy of the crack closure concept and ΔK_eff, at a negative stress ratio, R=−1, to predict crack propagation rate. It that paper was verified that, at negative stress ratios, crack closure changes with P_max, for the same R ratio. The main conclusion was about plastic properties and mainly cyclic plastic properties, the Bauschinger effect included, on crack propagation when compressive stresses exist. It was then suggested that in the place of the crack closure concept, another concept based on plasticity should be used to explain fatigue crack propagation.In this paper, instead of working with the same negative R ratio (R=−1), a study on the behavior of crack propagation rate as a function of R ratio, from negative to positive stress ratios, is made. Both the effect of P_max and of R ratio is taken into consideration. Measurements of roughness and of crack opening loads are made, in order to verify their influence on crack propagation rate. Different materials, in order to cover different cyclic plastic properties and different sensitivities to roughness are studied (Ck45-cyclic hardening; Ti6Al4V-cyclic softening, and aluminum, Al 7175-cyclically neutral) are studied. Aluminium alloys and titanium alloys are considered to be sensitive to roughness induced crack closure (RICC) while steels are more dependent on plastic properties (PICC).In this study it is emphasized the importance of the compressive part of the cycle, and of cyclic plastic properties, on crack propagation rate. It is reassessed the inadequacy of crack closure concept and ΔK_eff to describe crack propagation rate, at negative stress ratios. It is also verified that models based solely on extrinsic properties of materials, like da/dN−ΔK or da/dN−ΔK (K_max) should also incorporate intrinsic properties of the materials in order to properly correlate fatigue crack growth.