FATIGUE DAMAGE IN 1045 STEEL UNDER CONSTANT AMPLITUDE BIAXIAL LOADING

The progressive nature of fatigue damage under multiaxial stress states has been investigated. Experiments were performed on thin-wall tubular specimens of 1045 steel in tension, torsion and combined tension-torsion loading. Two equivalent strain amplitudes, one in the high cycle fatigue (HCF) region and one in low cycle fatigue (LCF) region were employed in this study. Four recently proposed damage theories were evaluated. Crack depth was used as a damage parameter in comparing damage curves under different loading modes.
Different types of crack systems were observed in the HCF and LCF regions. The damage curve obtained in tension loading can be used to evaluate the damage behavior under combined tension—torsion loading. The results of torsion loading show that torsional damage behavior is different from the above two loading modes.     

FATIGUE CRACK PROPAGATION BEHAVIOUR UNDER VARIABLE AMPLITUDE LOADING IN THE NEAR-THRESHOLD REGION OF A HIGH-STRENGTH LOW-ALLOY STEEL

The near-threshold behaviour of a high-strength low-alloy steel used in helicopter rotors under variable amplitude loading is investigated in ambient air and in vacuum. Strong sequence effects occur, in particular a high decrease in crack growth rates after overloads of 40% on maximum load while keeping the amplitude constant. A detailed study of the retardation phenomenon due to the overloads provides an explanation for the different behaviour observed in air and in vacuum and has laid the basis for a method of predicting crack propagation under helicopter loading spectra.     

FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH UNDER BIAXIAL LOADING

Fatigue crack growth under biaxial loading for long cracks subjected to low cyclic stress levels was investigated. The biaxial stress ratio λ ranging from -0.5 to + 1.0 was considered. The strain energy density factor range was used as the criterion for predicting the crack growth rates and crack path. The agreement between prediction and experimental results was reasonable for crack growth rates and marginal for crack paths. The investigation highlighted the inherent difficulties for crack path prediction and indicated the increased sensitivity to initial crack angle and biaxial stress ratio when the biaxial stress ratio approaches unity.     

钢纤维混凝土等幅弯曲疲劳加载下的疲劳应变和疲劳模量以及损伤研究

利用已有试验数据,对最大疲劳应变和疲劳残余应变进行拟合,得到疲劳应变演化方程,其相关系数均在0.97以上。考虑到等幅弯曲疲劳加载条件下,疲劳模量与疲劳应变成反比关系,利用对称性,由疲劳应变演化方程得到疲劳模量演化方程,通过拟合试验结果,发现由疲劳模量演化方程表达的拟合曲线与试验曲线吻合很好,其相关系数均在0.99以上。最后,利用疲劳应变与疲劳模量定义损伤变量,得到损伤变量演化曲线,经对比发现,由最大疲劳应变和疲劳残余应变定义的损伤变量演化曲线基本一致,且相差很小;而由疲劳模量定义的损伤变量演化曲线明显大于由疲劳应变定义的损伤变量演化曲线。     

CYCLIC PLASTICITY AND LOW CYCLE FATIGUE LIFE IN VARIABLE AMPLITUDE LOADING

Abstract— Low cycle plastic stress-strain response and fatigue life of low carbon steel in variable amplitude loading is investigated. Repeated block straining with defined probability distribution of strain peaks within a block was chosen. With the help of rain-flow analysis of a strain block the cyclic hardening/softening curves as well as the service cyclic stress-strain curves during random amplitude block loading were obtained. The relation between service stress-strain curves and the basic stress-strain curve was established. The fatigue life prediction based on the actual cyclic stress-strain response and rain-flow analysis was found to be in agreement with experimental results.     

INFLUENCE OF TRANSFORMATION-INDUCED CRACK CLOSURE ON SLOW FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH UNDER VARIABLE AMPLITUDE LOADING

Abstract Fatigue crack growth under constant and random loading conditions was investigated for a metastable austenitic-bainitic steel in comparison with a ferritic chromium steel at very low crack growth rates. Experimentally determined random crack growth was compared with linear Miner calculations on the basis of constant amplitude results. It was found that the measured crack growth rates in transforming material are a factor of 10 lower than the calculated values, whereas the difference is only a factor of 2 for the ferritic steel. The reason for the pronounced crack growth retardation in the metastable alloy is transformation of part of the austenitic phase into martensite in the stress field of the crack tip, accompanied by a volume increase and, consequently, residual compressive stresses. Rare high load cycles in the random sequence increase the closure level, which then leads to pronounced retardation of fatigue crack growth for the numerous successive low amplitude cycles.     

FATIGUE-CRACK ARREST IN MILD STEEL SPECIMENS UNDER CONSTANT AMPLITUDE LOADING

Abstract— Unexpected arrest of long fatigue cracks was observed in mild steel single edge notch three-point bend specimens tested under constant amplitude loading. Arrest was associated with a low, but still positive, slope of the crack length against stress intensity factor curve, and can be explained using the R -curve concept for fatigue-crack growth. At a stress ratio of 0.1, the fatigue threshold was 6.6, 7.3 or 8.0 MN/m^3/2 depending on the definition of threshold used. This has obvious implications for both the development of a standard test method for the fatigue threshold and the application of data to practical problems.     

MICROSTRUCTURAL EFFECT ON LOW CYCLE FATIGUE BEHAVIOUR IN Ti-ALLOYS UNDER BIAXIAL LOADING

Abstract— Low cycle fatigue tests under axial, torsional and combined axial-torsional loading were conducted using thin-wall tubular specimens of Ti-6A1–4V titanium alloys. Two kinds of alloys with different microstructures, the (α+β) and β alloys, were investigated in fatigue tests at room temperature. When the failure life was correlated with the equivalent plastic strain, the life in axial loading shifted toward the lower life region compared with those in other loading modes in both alloys. Dominant surface cracks propagated in mode I under axial and combined loading in the two alloys. Although growth by the mode II type was predominant under torsional loading, the growth direction of the main crack coincided with the specimen axis in the (α+β) alloy, but the circumferential direction in the β alloy. The cracking morphology depended on the microstructure, especially under the torsional mode of loading, and was simulated successfully by using the proposed model for crack initiation.     

VARIABLE AMPLITUDE LOADING OF SMALL FATIGUE CRACKS IN 6261-T6 ALUMINIUM ALLOY

Abstract— Constant and variable amplitude (VA) loading fatigue studies were carried out on a 6261 aluminium alloy using cylindrical plain hour-glass specimens. Crack growth was monitored via surface replication using cellulose acetate.
Crack growth results at constant amplitude loading show the typical intermittent high and low periods of growth rate associated with crack-microstructure interactions. Acceleration in growth rate during an overload block depends on crack length and stress amplitude ratio. It appears to pass through a maximum at a crack length corresponding to the first microstructural barrier. Microstructural-based modelling is therefore required for small fatigue cracks, rather than solely closure-based modelling. The Navarro-de los Rios model of short fatigue crack growth appears able to provide good indications of crack growth rates under VA block loading, and gives reasonable life predictions.
For short cracks (surface length < 80 μm) and a small overload ratio (6.7%), crack growth may show severe retardation during the overload block. This is ascribed to crack tip blunting being more important than the increase in stresses when closure is low. It appears from a Miner's rule type exercise, that VA block loading has its major effect on growth at a surface crack length of 20 μm. This means that the crack initiation period cannot be ignored in life prediction models for small fatigue cracks.     

DEVELOPMENT OF SEMI-ELLIPTIC FATIGUE CRACKS IN AK6 ALUMINIUM ALLOY UNDER BIAXIAL LOADING

Fatigue mechanisms are investigated in AK6 aluminum alloy under biaxial loading. The development of a semi-elliptic crack under conditions of biaxial compression-tension is connected with the emergence of spherical particles. A mechanism of rotational instability is suggested, connecting the processes of particle formation with a specific mechanism of material failure. A similarity is revealed in the formation of fatigue striations within the studied ratio λ of biaxial loads from –0.9 to +0.9. As λ increases, the crack-growth rate also increases. It is suggested that this be allowed for when introducing a correction to the mode I stress-intensity factor.     

在多轴载荷下45钢的循环特性

通过多轴疲劳试验，研究了在多轴加载条件下45钢的循环特性变化规律，分析了非比例附加强化、多轴循环软化/硬化特性及疲劳寿命对加载路径参数的依赖性，结果表明，相位角主要影响非比例附加强化程度，幅值比主要影响多轴循环软化/硬化特性，二者都影响多轴疲劳寿命。     

FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH IN TWO ADVANCED TITANIUM ALLOYS UNDER CONSTANT AND VARIABLE AMPLITUDE LOADING AT 25 AND 175 °C

Fatigue crack growth of β-21S and Ti-62222 in sheet form was investigated under constant and miniTWIST flight spectra loading conditions at 25 and 175 °C. Variable amplitude results were compared with life calculations performed using NASA/FLAGRO software and constant amplitude fatigue crack growth results. Single tensile overloads under constant Δ K were performed to evaluate load interaction effects. Constant amplitude results showed that fatigue crack growth resistance was slightly better for Ti-62222 than β-21S at 25 and 175 °C. The presence of crack closure under various conditions caused moderate shifts in the fatigue crack growth data. Under miniTWIST flight spectra loading, Ti-62222 exhibited a greater extension in life in comparison to the β-21S at elevated temperature, consistent with the NASA/FLAGRO calculations. This was also consistent with the single tensile overloads where 25 °C tests were comparable for both materials, while at 175 °C, delay cycles were greater by a factor of almost three for Ti-62222. Extensive secondary cracking in Ti-62222 at elevated temperature accounted for the extended fatigue lives.     

EQUIVALENT CONSTANT AMPLITUDE CONCEPTS EXAMINED UNDER FATIGUE CRACK PROPAGATION BY BLOCK LOADING

Abstract— Fatigue crack growth behaviour under block loading sequences has been studied on the aluminium alloy 2024 T351, using four different equivalent constant amplitude concepts. The root mean squared method gives acceptable results only for relatively long blocks. The equivalent method based on the Paris law (modified to take into account crack closure) gives good predictions for the observed growth rates as does Elbers' method. Finally, a new method based on energy considerations gives excellent results for the studied test conditions.