An analysis of the reasons for the reduction in reliability of machinery structures under low temperature climate conditions

The influence of low temperature on the reliability of machine parts and on the characteristics of strength of steels and their weld joints is analyzed. It is established that a drop in temperature in impact cyclic loading causes a decrease in fatigue resistance of weld joints of low-alloy steels and a corresponding increase in relative frequency of crack formation in them. A comparison of experimental and service data shows that the increase in service relative frequency of crack formation in welded machine parts at reduced temperature is an indication of their fatigue origin. It was concluded that the increase in the frequency of failures of welded machine parts with a reduction in temperature observed under service conditions is caused by a reduction in their fatigue resistance and an increase in the tendency of their materials toward brittle fracture.     

Failure of a steam turbine rotor due to circumferential crack growth influenced by temperature and steady torsion

High cycle fatigue as a final mechanism of failure in rotating systems, especially steam turbines, is a serious phenomenon. Incomplete information of its effective parameters could lead into catastrophic failure of the rotor. In high cycle fatigue, one of the most effective factors in crack growth is high temperature. In fact, a high-temperature change alters mechanical characteristics of material including their fracture mechanic. Therefore, the investigation of crack growth of fatigue and crack front development in various steam temperatures requires a careful consideration of the different parts of the rotor along the steam turbine rotor. This study investigated the propagation of a circumferential crack at three points of the turbine rotor in 24,149 and 260 ^∘ C under the influence of rotor weight loading. In addition, the study addressed torque as another important parameter in crack growth which is caused by steam pressure in the turbine. Through the obtained results, a crack front shape is achieved which can be used in rotor vibration analysis. Reviewing the related literature indicated that crack growth rate associated with alternative mode I loading in the presence of steady mode III loading is reduced. To investigation this phenomenon, the study considered roughness induced crack closure due to steady torsion and its corresponding equations by analytical method were derived. Finally, the study investigated the influence of roughness on crack growth rate in abovementioned three points of the rotor.     

Failure Analysis and Design Optimization of the Steady Rest Hanger Rod Pipe Assembly

This article investigates the failure of the steady rest hanger rod pipe assembly weld joints of an automotive exhaust system. Rig testing of the exhaust system showed the presence of crack at the steady rest hanger rod and brace weld joints. Metallurgical investigation was performed in order to determine the root case of failure and contribution factors. Metallurgical analysis methods included visual examination, thickness measurements, optical and scanning electron microscopy, chemical analysis of the material and weld evaluation. A CAE analysis was performed to simulate the rig test. Finite element simulation of the system also showed high damage at the steady rest hanger and brace weld locations. A DOE study was conducted to identify the design variables that could impact the dynamic response of the system like the thickness of the parts, the weld characteristics of joints, etc. Design changes were proposed; to improve the fatigue life of steady rest hanger rod pipe assembly based on the results of DOE-based study. The new design was analyzed using finite element analysis and compared with the original design for fatigue life, which showed a considerable improvement in the durability of the joint.     

Fatigue crack paths in AA2024-T3 when loaded with constant amplitude and simple underload spectra

It is well known that variable amplitude fatigue loading produces progression marks on fatigue crack surfaces that are related to the loading sequence. These marks are generally a local change in the crack path. The same pattern of loading can produce a pattern of progression marks that have differences from material-to-material or from heat treatment-to-heat treatment, yet the crack path changes that produce these markings are not considered in the prediction of the crack growth behaviour. These path changes can be used to: investigate how the crack grows, aid crack growth measurement and shed light on the mechanism that forms striations. Consequently, an understanding of these path changes and their fundamental cause in structurally significant alloys is important to the explanation of how fatigue cracks grow and how their life can be predicted.In this paper, a number of simple loading sequences were used to investigate the influence that underloads have on the crack path, to develop a better understanding of the formation of fatigue striations and the coarser crack path changes associated with loading changes. The material chosen was aluminium alloy (AA)2024-T3. The results from the tests reported here were compared to previously investigated AA7050-T7451 specimens that were loaded in a similar manner. It is shown that the fatigue crack surfaces that were produced here were the direct consequence of the applied loading interacting with the crystal structure of the material. By changing the loading, via the addition of underloads it was possible to produce fatigue crack surfaces that where composed of not only striations but ridges, depressions and fissures. These features give an indication of the crack growth mechanism. Although, AA2024-T3 and AA7050-T7451 have different chemical compositions, mechanical properties and micro-structures, it was shown that both materials share essentially similar fracture features corresponding to crack propagation at the cycle-by-cycle level. It also appears that despite the above noted differences, similar failure mechanisms may take place.     

Fatigue behaviour and lifing of two single crystal superalloys

A model has been developed to predict the high temperature cyclic life of single crystal superalloys RR2000 and CMSX-4 under conditions of creep and fatigue. A combined creep–fatigue model is used, although it is found that failure always occurs by creep or fatigue separately, and that creep–fatigue interaction has a minor influence. Microstructural investigation of a series of interrupted high- and low-frequency tests are presented, these are combined with the results of a series of interrupted creep tests to identify the separate and interactive mechanisms of creep and fatigue. When creep damage is present the material behaves homogeneously. Under these conditions crack growth is initiation controlled, the mechanism of failure is surface or casting pore-initiated planar crack growth followed by shear on crystallographic planes. As the temperature is lowered or the cyclic frequency increased, the material behaves less homogeneously and shear bands are formed during cycling. Crack growth under these conditions is again initiation controlled and failure is by rapid crystallographic crack growth along shear bands. Such a failure is a distinct fatigue failure and occurs when little creep damage is present. Under certain cyclic conditions, mainly those where the crystallographic failure mechanism is dominant, the material shows an anomalous increase in fatigue resistance with temperature up to approximately 950 °C. This behaviour has been quantified by relating it to the effect of strain rate and temperature on the yield strength of the material.     

On numerical analysis of damage evolution in cyclic elastic-plastic crack growth problems

Structures subjected to severe cyclic loading may fail due to low cycle fatigue. During the latter part of the fatigue life the crack growth rate may increase due to crack growth from static failure modes. This was investigated numerically by Skallerud and Zhang ( Int. J. Solids Struct. 34, 3141–3161, 1997) for a butt-welded plate with a circular crack growing from the centre of the weld. The weld material was slightly overmatching, and for simplicity, base material properties were employed in the finite element model. The predicted crack growth rate was significantly underpredicted in the early part of crack growth. In the present investigation, more detailed material modelling was used, and some metallurgical aspects were addressed. The fatigue part of the crack growth was determined by using the computed cyclic J -integral, and the static mode crack growth from ductile tearing is determined from computations accounting for void nucleation/growth/coalescence by means of a modified Gurson–Tvergaard model.     

Failure analysis of the exhaust valve stem from a Waukesha P9390 GSI gas engine

A failure occurred of the exhaust valve stem from a Waukesha P9390 GSI gas engine. The valve failed as a result of overheating. The significant hardness loss and the extensive surface oxidation and fretting/galling on the valve stem were indicative of the overheating. The fatigue properties of the alloy dropped due to the over aging and the over temperature. This led to multiple fatigue crack initiation followed by rapid crack propagation to failure.     

The mixed-mode investigation of the fatigue crack in CTS metallic specimen

The experiments of a fatigue crack under mixed-mode loading are performed with CTS (Compact-Tension-Shear) specimens associated to a mixed mode loading device. The effect of loading angle on crack growth rate and on crack bifurcation angle is analyzed. Also, the welded specimens are introduced in the experiments in order to investigate the influence of the filled weld. In the fatigue tests, three loading angles, two loading levels and two materials are selected in the experiments. Furthermore, on the basis of the experimental data, a mixed-mode crack growth model is proposed in order to evaluate numerically a fatigue crack growth rate, in which the effects of the loading mode and of the residual stresses due to weld are considered. The validation of the model is carried out on CTS specimens under mixed mode loading.     

Crack initiation and crack propagation under thermal cyclic loading

Theoretical and experimental investigations of crack initiation and crack propagation under thermal cyclic loading are presented. For the experimental investigation a special thermal fatigue test rig has been constructed in which a small circular cylindrical specimen is heated up to a homogeneous temperature and cyclically cooled down under well defined thermal and mechanical boundary conditions by a jet of cold water. At the end of the cooling phase the specimen is reheated to the initial temperature and the following cycle begins. The experiments are performed with uncracked and mechanically precracked specimens of the German austenitic stainless steel X6CrNi 1811.

In the crack initiation part of the investigation the number of load cycles to initiate cracks under thermal cyclic load is compared to the number of load cycles to initiate cracks under uniaxial mechanical fatigue loading at the same strain range as in the cyclic thermal experiment. The development of initiated cracks under thermal cyclic load is compared with the development of cracks under uniaxial mechanical cyclic load.

In the crack propagation part of the investigation crack growth rates of semi-elliptical surface cracks under thermal cyclic loading are determined and compared to suitable mechanical fatigue tests made on compact-tension and four-point bending specimens with semi-elliptical surface cracks. The effect of environment, frequency, load shape and temperature on the crack growth rate is determined for the material in mechanical fatigue tests.

The theoretical investigations are based on the temperature distribution in the specimen, which is calculated using finite element programs and compared to experimental results. From the temperature distribution, elastic and elastic-plastic stress distributions are determined taking into account the temperature dependence of the material properties. The prediction of crack propagation relies on linear-elastic fracture mechanics. Stress intensity factors are calculated with the weight function method and crack propagation is determined using the Paris relation.

To demonstrate the quality of the crack growth analysis the experimental results are compared to the prediction of crack propagation under thermal cyclic load.     

Residual Fatigue Life of Elements with Inhomogeneous Mechanical Characteristics

We propose a computational model of fatigue crack growth in structural elements with inhomogeneous mechanical characteristics. The model is based on the energy criterion of fatigue fracture of materials and a hypothesis that the crack propagates in the direction of the maximum possible rate. The fatigue-crack growth rate is represented as a function of the parameters of loading and strength characteristics of the material. The proposed model is used for the determination of the residual fatigue life of welded structures with faulty fusions. The results of numerical evaluation of residual fatigue life are in good agreement with the experimental data.     

Damage tolerance reliability analysis of automotive spot-welded joints

This paper develops a damage tolerance reliability analysis methodology for automotive spot-welded joints under multi-axial and variable amplitude loading history. The total fatigue life of a spot weld is divided into two parts, crack initiation and crack propagation. The multi-axial loading history is obtained from transient response finite element analysis of a vehicle model. A three-dimensional finite element model of a simplified joint with four spot welds is developed for static stress/strain analysis. A probabilistic Miner's rule is combined with a randomized strain-life curve family and the stress/strain analysis result to develop a strain-based probabilistic fatigue crack initiation life prediction for spot welds. Afterwards, the fatigue crack inside the base material sheet is modeled as a surface crack. Then a probabilistic crack growth model is combined with the stress analysis result to develop a probabilistic fatigue crack growth life prediction for spot welds. Both methods are implemented with MSC/NASTRAN and MSC/FATIGUE software, and are useful for reliability assessment of automotive spot-welded joints against fatigue and fracture.     

High and low cycle fatigue behavior of linear friction welded Ti–6Al–4V

Linear friction welded Ti–6Al–4V was investigated in fatigue at various stress amplitudes ranging from the high cycle fatigue (HCF) to the low cycle fatigue (LCF) regime. The base material was composed of hot-rolled Ti–6Al–4V plate that presented a strong crystallographic texture. The welds were characterized in terms of microstructure using electron backscatter diffraction and hardness measurements. The microstructural gradients across the weld zone and thermomechanically affected zone of the linear friction welds are discussed in terms of the crystallographic texture, grain shape and hardness levels, relative to the parent material. The location of crack nucleation under fatigue loading was analyzed relative to the local microstructural features and hardness gradients. Though crack nucleation was not observed within the weld or thermomechanically affected zones, its occurrence within the base material in LCF appears to be affected by the welding process. In particular, by performing high resolution digital image correlation during LCF, the crack nucleation site was related to the local accumulation of plastic deformation in the vicinity of the linear friction weld.     

Crack tip constraint correction applied to probabilistic fracture mechanics analyses of floating production, storage and off-loading vessels

Revision 4 of the British Energy R6 document: “Assessment of the integrity of structures containing defects” provides methods to allow for loss of crack tip constraint for shallow weld flaws. The document also provides methods to estimate upper-bound values of the through thickness residual stress distribution for a range of common weld joint configurations. The present paper presents approaches to modify the R6 Option 1 failure assessment diagram (FAD) for loss of crack tip constraint pertaining to primary and non-uniform residual stress. The modified FAD was formulated for probabilistic fracture mechanics analyses of semi-elliptical surface cracks located at transverse deck welds of floating production, storage and off-loading vessels designed to operate in the North Sea. The objective was to study the influence on the failure probability of modifying the FAD for constraint and allowing for non-uniform residual stress. Another objective was to study the influence of constraint correction on the combined fatigue and fracture failure probability for the vessels subjected to wave loading.The results demonstrate clearly the importance of correcting for crack tip constraint pertaining to both primary and secondary stress and to allow for non-uniform residual stress for shallow surface flaws of known crack heights. However, in combination with fatigue crack growth the effects become less prominent as the failure probability is governed by the uncertainty in the parameters of the crack growth relationship and the long-term stress distribution.     

Assessment of fatigue crack closure under in-phase and out-of-phase thermomechanical fatigue loading using a temperature dependent strip yield model

In this paper fatigue crack closure under in-phase and out-of-phase thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) loading is studied using a temperature dependent strip yield model. It is shown that fatigue crack closure is strongly influenced by the phase relation between mechanical loading and temperature, if the temperature difference goes along with a temperature dependence of the yield stress. In order to demonstrate the effect of the temperature dependent yield stress, the influence of in-phase and out-of-phase TMF loading is studied for a polycrystalline nickel-base superalloy. By using a mechanism based lifetime model, implications for fatigue lives are demonstrated.     

Fatigue crack growth in a coarse-grained iron–silicon alloy

The fatigue crack growth in a coarse-grained Fe-2 wt% Si alloy is investigated in considerable detail. At room temperature, the material is quasi-brittle and the failure mode is mixed cleavage. Under a mode-I cyclic loading, the crack can overcome the barrier effect of grain boundaries, which dominates the overall damage evolution. Associated with the geometrically necessary crack front branching, there are two possible break-through modes for a fatigue crack to propagate across a high-angle grain boundary.     

Fatigue life prediction for boom structure of concrete pump truck

Frequent premature fatigue failure of construction machinery has spurred the demand for fatigue life prediction of such equipment. In this study, fatigue cracks were investigated in a concrete pump truck boom typically a high-strength steel plate welded box girder structure. The focus was two-tip corner cracks which frequently initiate at the weld toe between the top flange plate and the web plate because these are commonly observed in the field. A fatigue crack growth numerical approach for three-dimensional shell problems was proposed to simulate fatigue crack growth in cracked structures. Fatigue experiments were performed on a full-scale cracked boom to validate the effectiveness of this approach. The influence of the initial crack length was examined using the proposed approach. Numerical results revealed that variation in the initial crack length can affect the remaining fatigue life. For engineering convenience, an interpolation method was employed to determine the remaining fatigue life of a cracked boom with an arbitrary initial crack length. The comparisons between interpolation and numerical results demonstrate that the interpolation method can be used to guide repair decisions with reasonable precision.     

A physics-based model for evaluating hot compressive dwell effects on fatigue crack growth in 319 cast aluminum alloys

Fatigue crack growth under hot compressive dwell (HCD) conditions, a case of creep–fatigue occurring under compressive loading, is an important failure mode in high temperature environments. Creep-induced tensile residual stresses gradually built up in the vicinity of the crack are considered to be a key factor contributing to crack growth under HCD conditions. To understand and quantify this effect, a simple physics-based model has been developed, in which the residual stress contributions associated with creep and plasticity are added to the elastic response of the material to predict crack growth under HCD conditions using Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM). Test of a cast 319 Al alloy has been conducted both for material characterization and under baseline and HCD conditions to evaluate the model. With HCD, the crack growth rate was increased on average by a factor of about 6, which is consistent with model predictions.     

Fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth in Ti‐6Al‐4V friction stir welds

Friction stir welding of titanium holds the promise for producing joints with microstructures and mechanical properties that are more comparable to wrought material than traditional fusion welding processes. Extensive data exist on the microstructure and static mechanical properties of titanium friction stir welds, but very little are available on the durability (fatigue) and even less on the damage tolerance (fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth). This paper presents the results of an investigation into the damage tolerance of friction stir welds made in 6 mm thick Ti‐6Al‐4V after a post‐weld heat treatment. It was found that the apparent fracture toughness was lower than the wrought base material, 7–25% depending on the crack orientation relative to the weld, but the crack growth performance (ΔK vs. da/dN) of the weld in the absence of weld‐induced residual stresses was identical to the base material.     

In-situ SEM study of short fatigue crack propagation behavior in a dissimilar metal welded joint of nuclear power plant

In-situ Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) fatigue experiments were carried out to study short fatigue crack propagation (FCP) behavior of various regions (weld zone, interface region and heat affected zone (HAZ)) in a domestic dissimilar metal welded joint of nuclear power plant. The local microstructural effect on short fatigue crack initiation and propagation behavior was investigated with its influence on both material fatigue and structure fatigue analyzed. Considering material fatigue, in the weld region, crack grows along δ ferrites when propagating parallel to the dendrite, and deflects or branches along δ ferrite, γ austenite dendrite, δ/γ interface and grain boundaries when propagating perpendicular to the dendrite; in safe ends, the crack grows along slip lines and coalesces with secondary cracks; in A508 HAZ, the crack propagates or branches along martensite transgranularly. In terms of structural fatigue, the crack tends to deflect when propagating across the weld/A508 interface or weld/316 L interface with the influence of local microstructure, and the weld/A508 interface region has a resistance to FCP due to its high strength. The fatigue crack propagation rate of each region was compared and analyzed. The fatigue fractography was also characterized under SEM to analyze the crack propagation process.     

Microstructure and fatigue crack growth behavior in tungsten inert gas welded DP780 dual-phase steel

The purpose of this study was to evaluate microstructural and mechanical change of DP780 steel after tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding and the influence of notch locations on the fatigue crack growth (FCG) behavior. The tempering of martensite in the sub-critical heat affected zone (HAZ) resulted in a lower hardness (~ 220 HV) compared to the base material (~ 270 HV), failure was found to originate in the soft HAZ during tensile test. The fusion zone (FZ) consisted of martensite and some acicular ferrite. The joint showed a superior tensile strength with a joint efficiency of 94.6%. The crack growth path of HAZ gradually deviated towards BM due to the asymmetrical plastic zone at the crack tip. The FCG rate of the crack transverse to the weld was fluctuant. The Paris model can describe the FCG rate of homogeneous material rather well, but it cannot precisely represent the FCG rate of heterogeneous material. The fatigue fracture surface showed that the stable expanding region was mainly characterized by typical fatigue striations in conjunction with secondary cracks; the rapid expanding region contained quasi-cleavage morphology and dimples. However, ductile fracture mechanism predominated with an increasing stress intensity factor range (ΔK). The final unstable failure fractograph was subtotal dimples.