Applications of crack analogy to fretting fatigue

In literature the most common approach to investigate fretting fatigue is based on contact mechanics. Crack initiation parameters of fretting fatigue are developed using elastic solution of two contacting bodies. Even though contact based parameters has been used extensively, they could not fully capture crack initiation mechanism due to the complexities of the fretting fatigue damage process, which depends on pad geometries, surface properties, material properties, and mechanical loading conditions. This has instigated fretting fatigue researcher to investigate other approaches. Recently, taking advantage of the similarities between contact mechanics and fracture mechanics lead to the development of crack analogy methodology (CAM), which defines the stress intensity factor as a fretting fatigue crack initiation parameter. CAM has shown a great potential investigating fretting fatigue. However, it has not been applied to wide range of fretting fatigue scenarios. The scope of this paper is not to focus on analytical development of CAM as much as validating its ability to analyze various fretting fatigue scenarios. Based on CAM, the present study introduces the crack analogy fretting parameter (CAF-parameter) to investigate crack initiation of fretting fatigue, which is equivalent to the change of mode II stress intensity factor at the contact surface, since the change in the stress intensity factor reflects the cyclic mechanism of fatigue. Further, a modification to the CAM is adopted to include various indenter-substrate geometries. Also, CAF-parameter-life curve, similar to the stress-life S-N curve, will be developed as a prediction tool to crack initiation for various geometric configurations using experimental data. This is consistent with presenting fatigue data. The results show similar pattern to plain fatigue with lower damage tolerance. It also shows scatter and dependency on the pad configuration as expected. Finally, the CAF-parameter shows potentials in effectively analyzing/predicting the complex mechanism of fretting fatigue.     

Effects of shot-peening intensity on fretting fatigue crack-initiation behaviour of Ti–6Al–4V

The effects of shot‐peening intensity on fretting fatigue crack‐initiation behaviour of titanium alloy, Ti–6Al–4V, were investigated. Three intensities, 4A, 7A and 10A with 100% surface coverage, were employed. The contact geometry involved a cylinder‐on‐flat configuration. Residual stress and improvement in fretting fatigue life were directly related to shot‐peening intensity. The magnitude of compensatory tensile stress and its location away from the contact surface increased with increasing intensity. The relaxation of residual stress occurred during fretting fatigue which increased with increasing the number of cycles. An analysis using a critical plane‐based fatigue crack‐initiation model showed that stress relaxation during the fretting fatigue affects life and location of crack initiation. Greater relaxation of the residual stress caused greater reduction of fatigue life and shifted the location of crack initiation from inside towards the contact surface. Modified shear stress range (MSSR) parameter was able to predict fretting fatigue crack‐initiation location, which agreed with the experimental counterparts. Also, the computed parameter showed an appropriate trend with the experimental observations of the measured fretting fatigue life based on the shot‐peening intensity.     

A shear stress-based parameter for fretting fatigue crack initiation

The purpose of this study was to investigate the fretting fatigue crack initiation behaviour of titanium alloy, Ti–6Al–4V. Fretting contact conditions were varied by using different geometries of the fretting pad. Applied forces were also varied to obtain fretting fatigue crack initiation lives in both the low- and high-cycle fatigue regimes. Fretting fatigue specimens were examined to determine the crack location and the crack angle orientation along the contact surface. Salient features of fretting fatigue experiments were modelled and analysed with finite element analysis. Computed results of the finite element analyses were used to formulate a shear stress-based parameter to predict the fretting fatigue crack initiation life, location and orientation. Comparison of the analytical and experimental results showed that fretting fatigue crack initiation was governed by the maximum shear stress, and therefore a parameter involving the maximum shear stress range on the critical plane with the correction factor for the local mean stress or stress ratio effect was found to be effective in characterizing the fretting fatigue crack initiation behaviour in titanium alloy, Ti–6Al–4V.     

Fretting fatigue failure mechanism of automotive shock absorber valve

Fretting fatigue is a complex mechanical failure phenomenon, in which two contact surfaces undergo a small relative oscillatory motion due to cyclic loading. This study proposes a methodology to analyze the fretting fatigue failure mechanism of automotive shock absorber valve by means of experimental and numerical approaches. A servo hydraulic test set-up is used to simulate fretting fatigue under real working conditions. Moreover, a 3-D finite element model is developed to analyze the contact status and stress distribution at contact interface between connected components, i.e. washer-disc contact. The experimental test results depict that fretting damage appears at contact interface between washer and disc, which causes the initial crack nucleation and advancing the crack up to the final fracture of valve disc. Stress field, obtained by numerical simulation, is used to monitor some fretting fatigue features such as the distribution of relative slip amplitude, contact pressure and different stress fields at contact interfaces. Eventually, the crack initiation site is estimated by monitoring variation of equivalent multiaxial damage stress at contact interface.     

Effect of contact stress on fretting fatigue behaviour of 35CrMoA steel under multiaxial nonproportional paths

Fretting fatigue often occurs in contact couples subjected to both bulk oscillatory loads and normal loads, which accelerates the initiation and propagation of fatigue cracks. This study explores the multiaxial fretting fatigue behaviour of 35CrMoA steel with different contact stresses under diamond and square loading paths by experimental methods. From experimental results, the fracture mechanisms with the increase of contact stress have been summarized by combining the analysis of macrorupture and microrupture surface. The strain response behaviour, characteristics of fretting region and crack propagation direction are also analysed and concluded considering the influence of loading path and contact stress in this paper, which have been rarely mentioned in the previous literature. In addition, debris composition of stick and slip regions is investigated as well.     

Fretting fatigue behaviour of shot-peened Ti-6Al-4V at room and elevated temperatures

Fretting fatigue behaviour of shot‐peened titanium alloy, Ti‐6Al‐4V was investigated at room and elevated temperatures. Constant amplitude fretting fatigue tests were conducted over a wide range of maximum stresses, σ_max= 333 to 666 MPa with a stress ratio of R= 0.1 . Two infrared heaters, placed at the front and back of specimen, were used to heat and maintain temperature of the gage section of specimen at 260 °C. Residual stress measurements by X‐ray diffraction method before and after fretting test showed that residual compressive stress was relaxed during fretting fatigue. Elevated temperature induced more residual stress relaxation, which, in turn, decreased fretting fatigue life significantly at 260 °C. Finite element analysis (FEA) showed that the longitudinal tensile stress, σ_xx varied with the depth inside the specimen from contact surface during fretting fatigue and the largest σ_xx could exist away from the contact surface in a certain situation. A critical plane based fatigue crack initiation model, modified shear stress range parameter (MSSR), was computed from FEA results to characterize fretting fatigue crack initiation behaviour. It showed that stress relaxation during test affected fretting fatigue life and location of crack initiation significantly. MSSR parameter also predicted crack initiation location, which matched with experimental observations and the number of cycles for crack initiation, which showed the appropriate trend with the experimental observations at both temperatures.     

Fretting fatigue in AISI 1015 steel

A small oscillatory movement between two contacting surfaces is termed as fretting and on many occasions it acts as the crack initiation site leading to catastrophic failure of the overall structure. The occurrence of fretting is observed in many engineering structures such as shaft flanges, gas turbines, steel ropes etc. An experimental facility, which can simulate the fretting fatigue in many engineering applications, is the primary requirement of the research program. A laboratory fretting fatigue test facility capable of varying many influencing parameters of fretting fatigue such as slip amplitude, frequency, contact pressure, etc is designed and developed. Preliminary investigations on plain and fretting fatigue behaviour of AISI 1015 structural steel are reported in this paper. A strength reduction factor of about 1.30 was obtained due to fretting for the test material under the present experimental conditions. Influence of contact load on fretting was also studied. Increasing fretting contact load decreased the fatigue life in the range investigated. Failure analysis showed typical stage I oblique crack growth followed by stage II straight crack perpendicular to the fretting zone.     

A procedure for estimating the total life in fretting fatigue

ABSTRACT This paper proposes a procedure for estimating the total fatigue life in fretting fatigue. It separately analyses the fatigue crack initiation and propagation lives. The correlation between crack initiation and propagation is made considering a non‐arbitrary crack initiation length provided by the model. The number of cycles to initiate a crack is obtained from the stress distribution beneath the contact zone and a multiaxial fatigue crack initiation criterion. The propagation of the crack is considered using different fatigue crack propagation laws, including some modifications in order to take the short crack growth into account. The results obtained by this method are compared with the fatigue lives obtained in various fretting fatigue tests under spherical contact with 7075‐T6 aluminium alloy.     

HXD1机车牵引电机转轴组件断裂失效分析

HXD1型电力机车的牵引电机转轴和小齿轮轴采用圆锥过盈配合传动结构(下称转轴组件),使用中该组件出现了早期断裂失效.本文通过理化检测、断口和配合面宏/微观形貌观察等失效分析技术对失效组件进行了分析.结果表明,材料成分、组织和显微硬度正常,小齿轮轴和电机转轴的失效形式分别为高周疲劳断裂和微动疲劳断裂.造成组件失效的原因和过程是,小齿轮轴近齿端油槽-油孔交界线处有较大的结构应力集中,油槽底部周向加工刀痕造成附加应力集中,在应力集中和旋转弯曲疲劳载荷作用下油孔边两个应力集中点萌生了疲劳裂纹并扩展;随小齿轮轴裂纹的不断扩展转轴组件结构刚度减小,继而诱发了与小齿轮轴匹配的电机轴配合面的微动疲劳,电机轴疲劳裂纹萌生于微动区的边缘处;电机转轴先于小齿轮轴完全断裂.基于本文的分析结果提出了提高组件抗疲劳断裂的技术措施.     

Fretting fatigue crack initiation mechanism in Ti–6Al–4V

Fretting fatigue crack initiation in titanium alloy, Ti?6Al?4V, was investigated experimentally and analytically by using finite element analysis (FEA). Various types of fretting pads were used in order to determine the effects of contact geometries. Crack initiation location and crack angle orientation along the contact surface were determined by using microscopy. Finite element analysis was used in order to obtain stress state for the experimental conditions used during fretting fatigue tests. These were then used in order to investigate several critical plane based multiaxial fatigue parameters. These parameters were evaluated based on their ability to predict crack initiation location, crack orientation angle along the contact surface and the number of cycles to fretting fatigue crack initiation independent of geometry of fretting pad. These predictions were compared with their experimental counterparts in order to characterize the role of normal and shear stresses on fretting fatigue crack initiation. From these comparisons, fretting fatigue crack initiation mechanism in the tested titanium alloy appears to be governed by shear stress on the critical plane. However, normal stress on the critical plane also seems to play a role in fretting fatigue life. At present, the individual contributions/importance of shear and normal stresses in the crack initiation appears to be unclear; however, it is clear that any critical plane describing fretting fatigue crack initiation behaviour independent of geometry needs to include components of both shear and normal stresses.     

Characterization of fretting fatigue in self-piercing riveted aluminium alloy sheets

A study was conducted to characterize fretting fatigue in self‐piercing riveted single‐lap joints of aluminium alloy 5754 sheets. The experimental results showed that fretting occurred at three different positions in the joint. It was established that fretting led to surface work‐hardening and crack initiation as well as early stage crack propagation. Crack initiated at the surface of the riveted sheets as a result of high stress concentration and propagated oblique to the mating surface under the effect of fretting fatigue. The depth of damage due to fretting depended on the applied load and the cycle time. Microhardness measurements allowed the estimation of the depth of damage due to fretting. These results were observed to correlate well with the length of crack propagation.     

Prediction of fretting fatigue crack initiation in double lap bolted joint using Continuum Damage Mechanics

In fretting fatigue, the combination of small oscillatory motion, normal pressure and cyclic axial loading develops a noticeable stress concentration at the contact zone leading to accumulation of damage in fretted region, which produces micro cracks, and consequently forms a leading crack that can lead to failure. In fretting fatigue experiments, it is very difficult to detect the crack initiation phase. Damages and cracks are always hidden between the counterpart surfaces. Therefore, numerical modeling techniques for analyzing fretting fatigue crack initiation provide a precious tool to study this phenomenon. This article gives an insight in fretting fatigue crack initiation. This is done by means of an experimental set up and numerical models developed with the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software package ABAQUS. Using Continuum Damage Mechanics (CDM) approach in conjunction with FEA, an uncoupled damage evolution law is used to model fretting fatigue crack initiation lifetime of Double Bolted Lap Joint (DBLJ). The predicted fatigue lifetimes are in good agreement with the experimentally measured ones. This comparison provides insight to the contribution of damage initiation and crack propagation in the total fatigue lifetime of DBLJ test specimens.     

On the estimation of fatigue failure under fretting conditions using notch methodologies

ABSTRACT According to experimental evidence, the early stages of fatigue crack propagation under fretting conditions are strongly influenced by the stress gradient generated in the material near the contact zone. This suggests that the crack growth process can be analysed using methodologies similar to those employed to predict the fatigue behaviour of notched elements. This paper assesses the applicability of a number of models originally developed for notched components to fretting fatigue problems. The ability of such models to predict fatigue failure is discussed and compared with experimental results for Al 7075‐T6 specimens that were subjected to fretting fatigue under spherical contact.     

Finite element analysis of fretting fatigue behavior of steel wires and crack initiation characteristics

The effects of fretting parameters on stress distributions of contacting wires during the initial stage of fretting–fatigue of steel wires were investigated using the finite element method. The roles of fretting parameters on crack initiation characteristics were discussed employing the multiaxial fatigue criteria of Fatemi–Socie and Smith–Watson–Topper, and three-dimensional coordinate transformation. Non-uniform stress distributions on contact surfaces and ring-shaped stress distributions near the contact zone on the symmetric plane are observed. Different fretting parameters induce distinct fretting regimes, stress distributions and abrupt changes of stress near the trailing edge. Crack initiation becomes more difficult with increasing contact load as compared to the increased possibility of crack initiation with increasing relative displacement.     

Multiaxial fretting fatigue testing and prediction for splined couplings

This paper presents a combined experimental and computational methodology for fretting fatigue life prediction of aeroengine splined couplings under combined loading cycles involving cyclic torque and axial load, as well as rotating bending and fluctuating torque. The experimental method is based on the concept of a simplified representative test, which mimics the multiaxial fretting conditions between spline teeth via biaxial loading of specially-designed bridge pads and a fatigue specimen. The numerical method is based on a three-dimensional finite element model of the test rig assembly, including frictional contact effects, along with a multiaxial, critical-plane fatigue parameter for crack nucleation followed by crack growth prediction in the Paris regime using El Haddad small crack correction. The prediction methodology is shown to successfully capture the effect of the key fretting fatigue stress, which mimics the spline rotating bending moment, on total fatigue life.     

Influence of residual stresses from shot peening on fretting fatigue crack growth

One method to improve fretting fatigue life is to shot peen the contact surfaces. Experimental fretting life results from specimens in a Titanium alloy with and without shot peened surfaces were evaluated numerically. The residual stresses were measured at different depths below the fretting scar and compared to the corresponding residual stress profile of an unfretted surface. Thus, the amount of stress relaxation during fretting tests was estimated. Elastic–plastic finite element computations showed that stress relaxation was locally more significant than that captured in the measurements. Three different numerical fatigue crack growth models were compared. The best agreement between experimental and numerical fatigue lives for both peened and unpeened specimens was achieved with a parametric fatigue growth procedure that took into consideration the growth behaviour along the whole front of a semi‐elliptical surface crack. Furthermore, the improved fretting fatigue life from shot peening was explained by slower crack growth rates in the shallow surface layer with compressive residual stresses from shot peening. The successful life analyses hinged on three important issues: an accurate residual stress profile, a sufficiently small start crack and a valid crack growth model.     

The Effect of Surface Pit Treatment on Fretting Fatigue Crack Initiation

This paper analyses the effect of surface treatment on fretting fatigue specimen by numerical simulations using Finite Element Analysis. The processed specimen refers to artificially adding a cylindrical pit to its contact surface. Then, the contact radius between the pad and the specimen is controlled by adjusting the radius of the pit. The stress distribution and slip amplitude of the contact surface under different contact geometries are compared. The critical plane approach is used to predict the crack initiation life and to evaluate the effect of processed specimen on its fretting fatigue performance. Both crack initiation life and angle can be predicted by the critical plane approach. Ruiz parameter is used to consider the effect of contact slip. It is shown that the crack initial position is dependent on the tensile stress. For same type of model, three kinds of critical plane parameters and Ruiz method provide very similar position of crack initiation. Moreover, the improved sample is much safer than the flat-specimen.     

A general model to estimate life in notches and fretting fatigue

Fatigue in notched specimens and fretting fatigue are two different phenomena but they have in common the existence of a stress gradient. In these cases fatigue life estimation is usually considered as a superposition of an initiation and propagation phase. One of the main problems to estimate the fatigue life is to define the crack length where one phase finishes and the other begins. The model employed in this paper combines both phases without defining a priori the separation between them. The proposed model is applied to uniaxial and multiaxial fatigue in specimens with stress gradient: a group of fretting fatigue tests with spherical and cylindrical contact and another group of tests with notched specimens. The comparison between life estimations and experimental results allows checking the validity of the model in different conditions.     

Prediction of non-propagating fretting fatigue cracks in Ti6Al4V sheet tested under pin-in-dovetail configuration: Experimentation and numerical simulation

This paper presents the results of fretting fatigue tests carried out on Ti6Al4V sheet specimens in contact with carbide rod in a cylinder-on-flat contact configuration. A new methodology of carrying out fretting fatigue experiments is proposed and successfully implemented using a pin-in-dovetail and pin-in-hole configuration. The advantage of this configuration is the simplicity and ease of application. The tests are carried out on MTS 810 at different loads, constant frequency (30 Hz) and ambient conditions. These tests reveal that the crack initiation and propagation are dependent on the applied load and the configuration of the contact. At low loads, non-propagating cracks are observed in the pin-in-dovetail configuration using metallurgical microscope. At high loads these cracks become longer but are still non-propagating. Numerical simulation using elastic–plastic material model is carried out to determine stress intensity factor and the mode of crack propagation. Maximum principal stress damage criteria approach is used to predict the crack initiation sites under different loads and a strong correlation with experimental results is observed. The crack propagation is simulated using XFEM, which successfully simulates the non-propagating crack length.