Effect of Proximity and Dimension of Two Artificial Pitting Holes on the Fatigue Endurance of Aluminum Alloy AISI 6061-T6 Under Rotating Bending Fatigue Tests

This work deals with the study of the two artificial pitting holes effects, caused by their dimensions and proximity, on the fatigue endurance of aluminum alloy AISI 6061-T6 under rotating bending fatigue tests. Stress concentration induced by artificial pitting holes is analyzed and correlated with the experimental fatigue life. It is found that the stress concentration increases exponentially when the two pitting holes approach, and this induces an important reduction in the fatigue life. Concerning the diameter variation of one pitting in regard to the second, no important influence was observed on fatigue life for a given separation between them; this implies that the separation between the two artificial pitting holes and the associated stress concentration is the principal parameter on the fatigue life under these conditions. Finally, results are discussed and conclusions are presented involving the fatigue life, proximity, and dimension of pitting holes, stress concentration factor, and fracture surfaces where the failure origin is identified.     

Influence of microstructure on fatigue behavior and surface fatigue crack growth of fully pearlitic steels

This work examined the influence of microstructure on the surface fatigue crack propagation behavior of pearlitic steels. In addition to endurance limit or S(stress amplitude)-N(life) tests, measurements of crack initiation and growth rates of surface cracks were conducted on hourglass specimens at 10 Hz and with aR ratio of 0.1. The microstructures of the two steels used in this work were characterized as to prior austenite grain size and pearlite spacing. The endurance tests showed that the fatigue strength was inversely proportional to yield strength. In crack growth, cracks favorably oriented to the load axis were nucleated (stage I) with a crack length of about one grain diameter. Those cracks grew at low ΔK values, with a relatively high propagation rate which decreased as the crack became longer. After passing a minimum, the crack growth rate increased again as cracks entered stage II. Many of the cracks stopped growing in the transition stage between stages I and II. Microstructure influenced crack propagation rate; the rate was faster for microstructures with coarse lamellar spacing than for microstructures with fine lamellar spacing, although changing the prior austenite grain size from 30 to 130 jμm had no significant influence on crack growth rate. The best combination of resistance to crack initiation and growth of short cracks was exhibited by microstructures with both a fine prior austenite grain size and a fine lamellar spacing. Formerly with Carnegie Mellon University     

Finite-Element Method-Based Model to Study High-Cycle Fatigue in Turbine Blades

In order to satisfy the defense challenges of the 21st century, more advanced technologies are needed to build aircraft engines that are lighter, compact, and more powerful than existing designs. Turbine blades are highly critical components of an aircraft engine, and high-cycle fatigue is one of the prime reasons for turbine blade failures; thus understanding and prediction of fatigue failure are of the utmost importance. A primary function of the Turbine Engine Fatigue Facility of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Propulsion Directorate at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is evaluation of the development of crack initiation and growth in turbine blade components. One major avenue for the inception of a crack under high-cycle fatigue is the use of a shaker table or an applied forcing function imposed by a piezoelectric transducer. In order for a crack to develop in a plate device, one must have appropriate specimen geometry that produces crack initiation. There are many situations where particular plate dimensions are chosen for testing but a crack never initiates even at the designated endurance limit. This paper presents a method, based on finite-element evaluation, that determines if plate geometry does lead to high-cycle fatigue (HCF) cracking. Furthermore, it justifies the use of a concentrated load as a representation for an aerodynamic forcing function. If the method is followed, a researcher can study the crack-growth scenario within the HCF environment.     

20CrMnTi齿轮钢的点蚀敏感性及裂纹萌生风险

利用弱腐蚀倾向的溶液环境,控制20CrMnTi钢产生有限的亚稳态蚀点分布.运用电化学噪声法,研究了20CrMnTi钢亚稳态蚀点的萌生规律,结合ANSYS有限元计算,导入真实腐蚀形貌,对比研究了不同腐蚀条件下蚀孔周边的应力分布与裂纹萌生风险.结果表明,20CrMnTi具有较高的点蚀敏感性,其亚稳态蚀点集中在杂质相边缘优先形核,随Cl^-浓度的升高,点蚀孕育期明显缩短,点蚀敏感性增大.不同Cl^-浓度下引起的形核速率上升会缩短蚀点间距,表面微裂纹易连接蚀点而发生扩展,增大裂纹萌生风险.     

Fatigue Strength and Crack Initiation Mechanism of Very-High-Cycle Fatigue for Low Alloy Steels

The fatigue strength and crack initiation mechanisms of very-high-cycle fatigue (VHCF) for two low alloy steels were investigated. Rotary bending tests at 52.5?Hz with hour-glass type specimens were carried out to obtain the fatigue propensity of the test steels, for which the failure occurred up to the VHCF regime of 10⁸ cycles with the S-N curves of stepwise tendency. Fractography observations show that the crack initiation of VHCF is at subsurface inclusion with ??fish-eye?? pattern. The fish-eye is of equiaxed shape and tends to tangent the specimen surface. The size of the fish-eye becomes large with the increasing depth of related inclusion from the surface. The fish-eye crack grows faster outward to the specimen surface than inward. The values of the stress intensity factor (K _I ) at different regions of fracture surface were calculated, indicating that the K _I value of fish-eye crack is close to the value of relevant fatigue threshold (??K _th ). A new parameter was proposed to interpret the competition mechanism of fatigue crack initiation at the specimen surface or at the subsurface. The simulation results indicate that large inclusion size, small grain size, and high strength of material will promote fatigue crack initiation at the specimen subsurface, which are in agreement with experimental observations.     

The Role of Local Microstructure on Small Fatigue Crack Propagation in an α?+?β Titanium Alloy, Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-6Mo

Microstructural origins of the variability in fatigue lifetime observed in the high- and very-high-cycle fatigue regimes in titanium alloys were explored by examining the role of microstructural heterogeneity (neighborhoods of grains with similar crystallographic orientations or microtexture) on the initiation and early growth of fatigue cracks in Ti-6246. Ultrasonic fatigue of focused ion beam (FIB) micronotched samples was used to investigate long lifetime (10⁷ to 10⁹) behavior for two microstructural conditions: one with microtexture and one without microtexture. For specimens containing notches of nominally 20???m in length, fatigue crack initiation in the microtextured material was most likely to occur from notches placed in neighborhoods with a microtexture favorably oriented for easy basal slip. Initiation lifetimes in the untextured material with similar sized notches were, on average, slightly greater than those for the microtextured condition. In both materials, the crack-initiation lifetime from micronotches of length 2c?>?20???m was a very small fraction (<1?pct) of the measured fatigue lifetime for unnotched specimens. Furthermore, in the microtextured condition, small fatigue crack propagation rates did not correlate with the microtextured regions and did not statistically differ from average small crack growth rates in the untextured material. As the micronotch size was reduced below 20???m, fatigue crack initiation was controlled by microstructure rather than by FIB-machined defects. Finally, predictions of the fraction of life consumed in small and long fatigue crack growth from preexisting cracks nominally equivalent in size to the micronotches was compared with the measured fatigue life of unnotched specimens. The predicted range of lifetimes when factoring in the experimentally observed variability in small fatigue crack growth, only accounted for 0.1?pct of the observed fatigue lifetime variability. These findings indicate that in the high-and very-high-cycle fatigue regimes, fatigue life is dominated by crack initiation and that the variation in the initiation lifetime is responsible for the observed variation in total fatigue life.     

Effects of sodium chloride and shot peening on corrosion fatigue of AISI 6150 steel

Reversed-bending fatigue tests of quenched and tempered AISI 6150 steel were conducted in dry air and in aqueous 3 pct NaCl. The 3 pct NaCl environment drastically reduced fatigue life but two different shot peening treatments were found to improve the corrosion fatigue life over that of unpeened samples. Multiple fatigue crack initiation occurred at very distinct locations in both the unpeened and the peened specimens fatigued in 3 pct NaCl. Fatigue crack propagation from each initiation site occurred first on flat facets normal to the stress axis and then by a more ductile mechanism after the initiation facets had linked. The average size of the corrosion fatigue initiation facets in the peened specimens was much smaller than that of the unpeened specimens; however, the number of initiation sites was greater in the peened specimens. It is believed that the beneficial effect of the shot peening results from significantly reduced early fatigue crack propagation rates in the compressive residual stress layer at the surface. Formerly Research Assistant, Materials Department, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee     

Influence of residual stresses and loading frequencies on corrosion fatigue crack growth behavior of weldments

The effect of residual stresses and loading frequencies on corrosion fatigue crack growth behavior under synthetic seawater with a free corrosion potential was examined using center-cracked tension (CCT) and single edge-cracked tension (SECT) specimens machined from mild steel butt-welded joints and the parent material. A series of fatigue crack growth tests were carried out with a sinusoidal loading wave form at a stress ratio of 0.05 with a loading frequency of 0.017 to 6.7 Hz. The results show that the crack growth resistance of a weld metal in the SECT specimen is higher than that in the CCT specimen regardless of testing conditions. The discrepancy is attributed to the differences in residual stress distribution at the crack tip in the two specimen geometries. The crack growth rate of the weld metal in the CCT specimen in seawater increased with decreasing loading frequency. The acceleration of the crack growth rate may be related to the occurrence of brittle striation or cleavage due to hydrogen embrittlement. It was found that the corrosion fatigue crack growth rate of a welded joint with tensile residual stress can be predicted using the effective stress intensity factor range, which takes into account both the residual stress and the loading frequency effects.     

A study of subsurface crack initiation produced by rolling contact fatigue

Results of subsurface crack initiation studies produced by pure rolling contact fatigue in 7075-T6 aluminum alloy are presented in this article. Microstructural changes and subsequent crack initiation below the contacting surface in cylindrical test specimens subjected to repeated rolling contact are illustrated. The rolling conditions are simulated in a three-dimensional elastic-plastic finite element model in order to estimate the plastic strains and residual stresses in the test material. The numerically estimated distribution of plastic strains in the model correlate well with the extent of microstructural changes observed in the test specimen. Results also indicate that a combination of plastic strains and low values of residual stresses is conducive to subsurface crack initiation and growth.     

Ultrasonic Fatigue Damage Behavior of 304L Austenitic Stainless Steel Based on Micro-plasticity and Heat Dissipation

Very high cycle fatigue behavior(107-109 cycles)of 304 Laustenitic stainless steel was studied with ultrasonic fatigue testing system(20kHz).The characteristics of fatigue crack initiation and propagation were discussed based on the observation of surface plastic deformation and heat dissipation.It was found that micro-plasticity(slip markings)could be observed on the specimen surface even at very low stress amplitudes.The persistent slip markings increased clearly along with a remarkable process of heat dissipation just before the fatigue failure.By detailed investigation using a scanning electron microscope and an infrared camera,slip markings appeared at the large grains where the fatigue crack initiation site was located.The surface temperature around the fatigue crack tip and the slip markings close to the fracture surface increased prominently with the propagation of fatigue crack.Finally,the coupling relationship among the fatigue crack propagation,appearance of surface slip markings and heat dissipation was analyzed for a better understanding of ultrasonic fatigue damage behavior.     

Fatigue crack initiation and early propagation in Al 2219-T851

Fatigue crack initiation in Al 2219-T851 for fully reversed loading(R = σ/σ_max =?1) parallel to the material rolling direction is found to occur at intermetallic inclusions at the specimen surface. The inclusions are not involved in crack initiation for fatigue perpendicular to the rolling direction, and for this orientation crack initiation is at grain boundaries and specimens have an increased fatigue life. Except for fatigue at low peak stress, multiple numbers of microcracks are formed and for selected failed specimens the number of cracks has been determined as a function of crack length. Such crack length distribution measurements show that there is significant retardation of microcracks by interaction with grain boundaries. Furthermore it is found that the coalescence of microcracks provides a mechanism for cracking to “jump“ grain boundaries and reduce fatigue lifetime. The effect of relative humidity on this process is to increase the observed mean crack length, and decrease the number of crack initiations apparently due to weakening of the matrix-intermetallic interface at potential initiation sites. The overall result is that no significant dependence of fatigue life on relative humidity is found.     

Fatigue crack initiation and early propagation in Al 2219-T851

Fatigue crack initiation in Al 2219-T851 for fully reversed loading(R = σ/σ_max =−1) parallel to the material rolling direction is found to occur at intermetallic inclusions at the specimen surface. The inclusions are not involved in crack initiation for fatigue perpendicular to the rolling direction, and for this orientation crack initiation is at grain boundaries and specimens have an increased fatigue life. Except for fatigue at low peak stress, multiple numbers of microcracks are formed and for selected failed specimens the number of cracks has been determined as a function of crack length. Such crack length distribution measurements show that there is significant retardation of microcracks by interaction with grain boundaries. Furthermore it is found that the coalescence of microcracks provides a mechanism for cracking to “jump“ grain boundaries and reduce fatigue lifetime. The effect of relative humidity on this process is to increase the observed mean crack length, and decrease the number of crack initiations apparently due to weakening of the matrix-intermetallic interface at potential initiation sites. The overall result is that no significant dependence of fatigue life on relative humidity is found. Formerly with the Science Center, Rock-well International     

Friction Stir Processing of Investment-Cast Ti-6Al-4V: Microstructure and Properties

Investment-cast titanium components are becoming increasingly common in the aerospace industry due to the ability to produce large, complex, one-piece components that were previously fabricated by mechanically fastening multiple pieces together. The fabricated components are labor-intensive and the fastener holes are stress concentrators and prime sites for fatigue crack initiation. The castings are typically hot-isostatically-pressed (HIP) to close internal porosity, but have a coarse, fully lamellar structure that has low resistance to fatigue crack initiation. The as-cast + HIP material exhibited 1- to 1.5-mm prior β grains containing a fully lamellar α + β microstructure consistent with slow cooling from above the β transus. Friction stir processing (FSP) was used to locally modify the microstructure on the surface of an investment-cast Ti-6Al-4V plate. Friction stir processing converted the as-cast microstructure to fine (1- to 2-μm) equiaxed α grains. Using micropillars created with a dual-beam focused ion beam device, it was found that the fine-grained equiaxed structure has about a 12 pct higher compressive yield stress. In wrought products, higher strength conditions are more resistant to fatigue crack initiation, while the coarse lamellar microstructure in the base material has better fatigue crack growth resistance. In combination, these two microstructures can increase the fatigue life of titanium alloy castings by increasing the number of cycles prior to crack initiation while retaining the same low-crack growth rates of the colony microstructure in the remainder of the component. In the current study, high-cycle fatigue testing of investment-cast Ti-6Al-4V was performed on four-point bend specimens. Early results show that FSP can increase fatigue strength dramatically. This article is based on a presentation given in the symposium entitled “Materials Behavior: Far from Equilibrium” as part of the Golden Jubilee Celebration of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, which occurred December 15–16, 2006 in Mumbai, India.     

Residual Stress Measurement and Fatigue Crack Growth Prediction after Cold Expansion of Cracked Fastener Holes

The cold expansion technique is often used to introduce beneficial compressive stress at fastener holes, and can be used for remedial work where cracks already exist. In this paper, results are presented showing the effect of preexisting cracks on the residual stress field produced by cold expanding a fastener hole, and on subsequent fatigue crack growth. The effect on the residual stresses was experimentally evaluated in two ways: indirectly, in terms of retained expansion and directly, by measurement of the stresses using the X-ray and neutron diffraction techniques. The retained expansion ratio showed that cold expansion is more sensitive to the existence of precracks at lower levels of applied interference, and the inlet and outlet faces have different behavior. The stress measurements showed that preexisting cracks reduce the compressive residual stresses more on the mandrel inlet face than on the outlet face and in the middle of the specimen. The effect on fatigue crack growth rates was modeled using a linear-elastic fracture mechanics approach. It was found that cold expansion of a hole containing a preexisting crack longer than 1 mm introduces little benefit for subsequent fatigue crack growth behavior.     

Crack deflection during fatigue and monotonic fracture of a SiC whisker reinforced 2009 aluminium alloy

Fatigue crack growth under Mode I loading, and static fracture in both symmetrical and asymmetrical notched four point bend specimens, have been examined in SiC whisker reinforced 2009 aluminium alloy. In the fatigue tests a range of orientations of the starter notch, with respect to the extrusion direction, L, was examined. Slanted crack propagation was observed in all specimens except that in the T-L configuration. For the monotonic tests the specimen orientation (L-T) remained constant whilst the ratio of Mode I to Mode II loading was varied. Again crack deflection was observed in all cases apart from the L-T specimen under pure Mode I loading. Whisker debonding was found to be the dominant factor controlling crack deflection, independent of the mixity of the loading mode. Under mixed-mode static loading, the deflection angle was controlled by the average orientation of the whiskers subject to the asymmetrically distributed maximum principal stress. In fatigue loading, however, the crack tended to follow the most frequently observed whisker orientation. These contrasting observations are interpreted in terms of the different sampling volumes at the crack tip in monotonic fracture and in fatigue crack growth.     

Influence of microstructure on fatigue crack initiation in fully pearlitic steels

The effect of microstructure on the fatigue crack initiation of fully pearlitic steels was studied through independent variation of the prior austenite grain size, pearlite colony size, and the pearlite interlamellar spacing. Increasing yield strength (controlled by decreasing the pearlite interlamellar spacing) was seen to increase the smooth and notched-bar crack initiation endurance limit. Grain and colony size variations, at constant yield strength, were seen to exhibit no effect on crack initiation. Scanning Electron Microscopy revealed smooth-bar cracks to have initiated at surface inclusions. The influence of the pearlite interlamellar spacing, reflecting a change in the effective slip length, and the differences between notched and smooth-bar fatigue specimens for studying the effects of microstructure on crack initiation are discussed. Formerly with Carnegie-Mellon University     

The Significance of Crack Initiation Stage in Very High Cycle Fatigue of Steels

Different stages of the Very High Cycle Fatigue (VHCF) crack evolution in tool steels have been explored using a 20 kHz ultrasonic fatigue testing equipment. Extensive experimental data is presented describing VHCF behaviour, strength and crack initiating defects in an AISI H11 tool steel. Striation measurements are used to estimate fatigue crack growth rate, between 10^?8 and 10^?6 m/cycle, and the number of load cycles required for a crack to grow to critical dimensions. The growth of small fatigue cracks within the “fish‐eye” is shown to be distinctively different from the crack propagation behaviour of larger cracks. More importantly, the crack initiation stage is shown to determine the total fatigue life, which emphasizes the inherent difficulty to detect VHCF cracks prior to failure. Several mechanisms for initiation and early crack growth are possible. Some of them are discussed here: crack development by local accumulation of fatigue damage at the inclusion – matrix interface, hydrogen assisted crack growth and crack initiation by decohesion of carbides from the matrix.     

超声冲击对P355NL1钢焊接接头超高周疲劳性能影响

 通过超声疲劳试验探究超声冲击对P355NL1钢焊接接头超高周疲劳性能的影响。结果表明,由疲劳[S-N]曲线可知,在105～109寿命区间内,冲击态试样的疲劳性能要高于焊态试样,在1.0×108的疲劳寿命下,焊态试样的疲劳强度为139 MPa,冲击态的疲劳强度为217 MPa,冲击态疲劳强度相较于焊态提高了56%,这表明超声冲击可以明显提高焊接接头的疲劳强度。利用扫描电镜（SEM）观察断口形貌可以发现,裂纹源位于焊接接头焊根区表面。P355NL1钢焊接接头疲劳断裂为准解理断裂,超声冲击可以提高焊接接头的疲劳强度,但不会改变其疲劳失效机理。超声冲击可以降低焊根处应力集中,引入有益压应力和表面晶粒细化,从而提高焊接接头的疲劳强度。