Review of Environmentally Assisted Cracking

Many efforts have been made in the past by several researchers to arrive at some unifying principles governing the embrittlement phenomena. An inescapable conclusion reached by all these efforts was that the behavior is very complex. Hence, recognizing the complexity of material/environment behavior, we focus our attention here only in extracting some similarities in the experimental trends to arrive at some generic principles of behavior. Crack nucleation and growth are examined under static load in the presence of internal and external environments. Stress concentration, either pre-existing or in-situ generated, appears to be a requirement for embrittlement. A chemical stress concentration factor is defined for a given material/environment system as the ratio of failure stress with and without the damaging chemical environment. All factors that affect the buildup of the required stress concentration, such as planarity of slip, stacking fault energy, etc., also affect the stress-corrosion behavior. The chemical stress concentration factor is coupled with the mechanical stress concentration factor. In addition, generic features for all systems appear to be (a) an existence of a threshold stress as a function of concentration of the damaging environment and flow properties of the material, and (b) an existence of a limiting threshold as a function of concentration, indicative of a damage saturation for that environment. Kinetics of crack growth also depends on concentration and the mode of crack growth. In general, environment appears to enhance crack tip ductility on one side by the reduction of energy for dislocation nucleation and glide, and to reduce cohesive energy for cleavage, on the other. These two opposing factors are coupled to provide environmentally induced crack nucleation and growth. The relative ratio of these two opposing factors depends on concentration and flow properties, thereby affecting limiting thresholds. The limiting concentration or saturation depends on the relative chemistry of environment and material. A dynamic dislocation model is suggested to account for crack growth.     

S-N Fatigue Behavior of Anodized 7050-T7451 Produced in Different Electrolytes

The effect of anodizing layers processed in different electrolytes of chromic acid (chromic acid anodizing [CAA]), sulfuric acid (sulfuric acid anodizing [SAA]), and tartaric acid (tartaric acid anodizing [TAA]) on the S-N fatigue behavior of the 7050-T7451 specimen was examined. The fatigue tests were conducted at an R ratio of 0.1 and at three different stress levels of 200, 220, and 270 MPa. Some specimens were exposed to continuous salt spraying of 5 pct NaCl solution for 336 hours and subsequently fatigue tested at an applied stress of 200 MPa. The detrimental effect of anodizing on the S-N fatigue resistance of 7050-T7451 was observed. The fatigue resistance varied with different anodizing electrolytes particularly at low stress with the greatest resistance for the TAA followed by CAA and SAA. The fractographic and micrographic observations showed the morphological difference in each anodized layer, which seemed to determine the ease of crack initiation and the resistance to S-N fatigue. The resistance to S-N fatigue of anodized 7050-T7451 specimens was, for example, affected strongly by the nature of preanodized layer with different acid-pickling processes. The pits found in the pre-CAA specimens seemed to be slightly irregular and deeper than those in the pre-TAA counterparts, reducing the fatigue resistance of the 7050-T7451 specimens. The CAA, SAA, and TAA specimens showed similar resistance to corrosion plus fatigue.     

Friction-stir welding effects on microstructure and fatigue of aluminum alloy 7050-T7451

Aluminum alloy 7050 was friction-stir welded (FSW) in a T7451 temper to investigate the effects on the microstructure and mechanical properties. Results are discussed for the as-welded condition (as-FSW) and for a postweld heat-treated condition consisting of 121 °C for 24 hours (as-FSW + T6). Optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) examination of the weld-nugget region show that the FS welding process transforms the initial millimeter-sized pancake-shaped grains in the parent material to fine 1 to 5 μm dynamically recrystallized grains; also, the FS welding process redissolves the strengthening precipitates in the weld-nugget region. In the heat-affected zone (HAZ), the initial grain size is retained, while the size of the strengthening precipitates and of the precipitatefree zone (PFZ) is coarsened by a factor of 5. Tensile specimens tested transverse to the weld show that there is a 25 to 30 pct reduction in the strength level, a 60 pct reduction in the elongation in the as-FSW condition, and that the fracture path is in the HAZ. The postweld heat treatment of 121 °C for 24 hours did not result in an improvement either in the strength or the ductility of the welded material. Comparison of fatigue-crack growth rates (FCGRs) between the parent T7451 material and the as-FSW + T6 condition, at a stress ratio of R = 0.33, shows that the FCG resistance of the weldnugget region is decreased, while the FCG resistance of the HAZ is increased. Differences in FCGRs, however, are substantially reduced at a stress ratio of R = 0.70. Analysis of residual stresses, fatigue-crack closure, and fatigue fracture surfaces suggests that decrease in fatigue crack growth resistance in the weld-nugget region is due to an intergranular failure mechanism; in the HAZ region, residual stresses are more dominant than the microstructure improving the fatigue crack growth resistance.     

Applied Stress Affecting the Environmentally Assisted Cracking

Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is affected by the mode of applied stress, i.e., tension, compression, or torsion. The cracking is measured in terms of initiation time to nucleate a crack or time to failure. In a simple uniaxial loading under tension or compression, it is observed that the initiation time can vary in orders of magnitude depending on the alloy and the environment. Fracture can be intergranular or transgranular or mixed mode. Factors that affect SCC are solubility of the metal into surrounding chemical solution, and diffusion rate (like hydrogen into a tensile region) of an aggressive element into the metal and liquid metallic elements in the grain boundaries. Strain hardening exponent that affects the local internal stresses and their gradients can affect the diffusion kinetics. We examine two environments (Ga and 3.5 pct NaCl) for the same alloy 7075-T651, under constant uniaxial tension and compression load. These two cases provide us application to two different governing mechanisms namely liquid metal embrittlement (7075-Ga) and hydrogen-assisted cracking (7075-NaCl). We note that, in spite of the differences in their mechanisms, both systems show similar behavior in the applied K vs crack initiation time plots. One common theme among them is the transport mechanism of a solute element to a tensile-stress region to initiate fracture.     

Characterizations of pore and constituent particle populations in 7050-T7451 aluminum plate alloys

Although qualitative relationships between fatigue lives and the sizes of the microstructural features, such as pores and particles, are well known, the quantitative models are lacking because of the unavailability of the required detailed microstructural data. The purpose of this work was to obtain such data for the high porosity (HP) and reduced porosity (RP) variants of the aluminum 7050-T7451 thick-plate alloys. Both alloys had similar tensile and fracture properties, but the reduced porosity variant showed superior fatigue performance attributed to the smaller sizes of the fatigue crack initiating particles and pores. Those size differences, as well as the differences in the through-thickness size gradients, have been characterized in this work. The sizes, shapes, and orientations of particles and pores were analyzed first on the plane sections and then converted to the true three-dimensional (3-D) characteristics using the moment method. In the conversions, the particle and pore shapes have been assumed as triaxial ellipsoids and their size distributions as lognormal. The spatial distributions were quantified using the nearest neighbor spacing method. Results confirmed that the reduced porosity alloy had smaller particles and pores than the high porosity variant. The size distributions in the former were also more confined. In both alloys, the largest particles and pores were at the plate centers and the smallest at the surface. Their spatial distributions could be categorized as random with clusters.     

Enhancing the Environmentally Assisted Cracking Resistance of Aircraft Quality Al Alloy of Type AA7075 Stiffened with Polymer Matrix Composite Using Cerium Chloride Inhibitor

This study explores a methodology to raise environmentally assisted cracking resistance of alclad Al–Zn–Mg–Cu (AA7075) alloy, used in aircraft structures, stiffened with polymer matrix composite asymmetric patch in order to suppress growth of fatigue cracks. Fracture mechanics studies of adhesively bonded center-pre-cracked Al alloy specimens having stiffeners were carried out in 3.5 wt% sodium chloride environment to understand the effect of cerium chloride inhibitor on the threshold stress intensity for stress corrosion cracking as well as the second-stage (steady-state) crack growth rate. It was observed that in the peak- and the two-step-aged tempers, the crack growth rate of the alloy reduced by two and a half, and four times, respectively, while the threshold stress intensity increased by 14–15% due to the addition of 1000 ppm of this inhibitor. The study offers a method to enhance significantly life of aging aircrafts stiffened with polymer matrix composite.     

Effect of Loading History on Stress Corrosion Cracking of 7075-T651 Aluminum Alloy in Saline Aqueous Environment

An experimental study of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) was conducted on 7075-T651 aluminum alloy in a chromate-inhibited, acidic 3.5 pct sodium chloride aqueous solution using compact tension specimens with a thickness of 3.8 mm under permanent immersion conditions. The effects of loading magnitude, overload, underload, and two-step high-low sequence loading on incubation time and crack growth behavior were investigated. The results show that the SCC process consists of three stages: incubation, transient crack growth, and stable crack growth. The incubation time is highly dependent on the load level. Tensile overload or compressive underload applied prior to SCC significantly altered the initiation time of corrosion cracking. Transition from a high to a low loading magnitude resulted in a second incubation but much shorter or disappearing transient stage. The stable crack growth rate is independent of stress intensity factor in the range of 10 to 22 MPa ?{textm} . sqrt {text{m}} .     

Chloride Ion Activity and Susceptibility of Al Alloys 7075-T6 and 5083-H131 to Stress Corrosion Cracking

The influence of chloride ion activity on the susceptibility of aluminum alloys 5083-H131 and 7075-T6 to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) was investigated by conducting slow strain-rate tensile tests at a strain-rate of 10^?7 s^?1 in naturally aerated aqueous solutions with varying NaCl mass fraction (0.001 to 20 pct) and in a 3.5 pct mass fraction NaCl solution with varying strain-rates (10^?8 to 10^?4 s^?1). This study found that both alloys exhibited reduced strengths and failure strains (times) in the solutions compared with laboratory air. The extent of these reductions was greater in alloy 5083 for the conditions examined. The strength and ductility of both alloys decreased with chloride ion activity in a manner that indicates a chemical reaction is responsible. The strength and ductility of both alloys decreased with strain-rate in a sigmoidal manner, but the transition in alloy 7075 occurred at slower strain-rates of approximately two orders of magnitude. It was deduced that the chloride ion interacts chemically with the passivated surface in the potential gradient at the crack tip to cause SCC. While no mechanism of cracking can be eliminated on the basis of these results alone, the results are consistent with the hypothesis that the absorbed hydrogen causes cracking in alloy 7075 while cracking in 5083 is the result of a dissolution mechanism.     

Mechanisms and Kinetics of Environmentally Assisted Cracking: Current Status, Issues, and Suggestions for Further Work

Mechanisms and kinetics of metal-induced embrittlement, hydrogen-embrittlement, and stress-corrosion cracking are discussed, and long-standing controversies are addressed by reviewing critical observations. Recommendations are also made regarding further work (including repetition of previous work using more advanced measurement and characterisation techniques) that should be carried out in order to resolve some of the contentious issues. The evidence to date suggests that adsorption-based mechanisms, involving weakening of substrate interatomic bonds so that dislocation emission or decohesion is facilitated, accounts for embrittlement in many systems. Embrittling adsorbed species include some metal atoms, hydrogen, and complex ions produced by de-alloying. Other viable mechanisms of embrittlement include those based on (1) dissolution of anodic grain-boundary regions, and (2) decohesion at grain boundaries owing to segregated hydrogen and impurities. The hydrogen-enhanced localised-plasticity mechanism, based on solute hydrogen facilitating dislocation activity in the plastic zone ahead of cracks, makes a contribution in some cases, but is relatively unimportant compared with these other mechanisms for most fracture modes. The film-induced cleavage mechanism, proposed especially for stress-corrosion cracking in systems involving de-alloying at crack tips, is questionable on numerous grounds, and is probably not viable. Rate-controlling processes for environmentally assisted cracking are not well established, except for solid-metal induced embrittlement where surface self-diffusion of embrittling atoms to crack tips controls cracking kinetics. In some systems, adsorption kinetics are probably rate-controlling for liquid-metal embrittlement, hydrogen-environment embrittlement, and stress-corrosion cracking. In other cases, rate-controlling processes could include the rate of anodic or cathodic reactions at and behind crack tips (responsible for producing embrittling species such as hydrogen) and rates of hydrogen diffusion ahead of cracks.     

7050合金淬火析出相的脱溶析出行为研究

采用事温水作为淬火介质进行Jominy末端淬火实验,采集了合金淬火过程试样的温度-时间变化曲线,测定了末端淬火试样距淬火端不同距离合金的淬火态电导率和硬度,结合透射电镜组织观察,研究了冷却速率对合金过饱和固溶体脱溶析出的影响,通过观察淬火析出相非均质形核,考察了7050合金过饱和固溶体淬火脱溶析出相的析出规律.结果表明,淬火冷却速率对7050合金的过饱和固溶体的脱溶析出行为有着显著影响.末端淬火实验过程中,合金过饱和固溶体大角晶界、小角晶界、晶内弥散相周围分别在距淬火端5,10和15 mm出现淬火析出相.随着距淬火端距离的增加,淬火态合金导电率呈上升趋势,合金淬火析出相尺寸变大,体积分数增加.合金淬火平衡η相的非均质形核核心的优先次序为:晶界、亚晶界、A国<,3>Zr等纳米级弥散相粒子.     

Service Life Prediction of RC Bridge Structures Exposed to Chloride Environments

For a long-span coastal bridge structure, the corrosion initiation time is controlled by the speed of chloride ions transfer and the depassivation process within the structure. These processes are significantly influenced by the actual variation of the environmental conditions on the concrete surface throughout its service life. From the regional climate characteristics through local climate conditions, the microclimate variation on the concrete surface is studied in this research. A set of realistic environmental condition profiles is proposed, based on the exposure conditions and the material properties of the components. Moreover, a 2D integrated corrosion performance assessment model is constructed to capture the change in environmental conditions and simulate the coupled diffusion process and the corrosion performance in the time domain. Two typical locations (Hong Kong and Michigan) are chosen as numerical examples for implementing the proposed corrosion performance assessment model, and control of the environmental factors of the various chloride exposures is highlighted. These factors are used to construct an integral empirical equation together with the general critical material and geometrical parameters.     

氯化铈对K562肿瘤细胞凋亡影响的实验研究

为了探讨氯化铈对肿瘤细胞凋亡的影响,本实验以K562细胞为研究对象,采用荧光显微镜定性检测细胞凋亡、流式细胞术定量测定细胞凋亡率.实验得出,与对照组相比,3mg/L氯化铈作用24h和500 mg/L氯化铈作用48h可以显著诱导细胞凋亡,30mg/L,150mg/L和250mg/L作用24h细胞凋亡率明显减少,同时氯化铈对K562细胞凋亡的影响随着作用时间的延长作用逐渐消失,对于同一时间来讲,氯化铈剂量和细胞凋亡之间的剂量-效应关系不明显.     

热变形参数对7050铝合金微观组织的影响

在Gleeble-1500热模拟实验机上对7050铝合金试样在变形温度为250℃～450℃,应变速率为0．01～10s^-1,变形程度为50％、60％和70％的条件下进行等温压缩实验。利用透射电镜（TEM）分析了合金在不同变形参数条件下的微观组织特征。     

论环保铜合金研究方向（续）

2．2硅磷系环保合金的开发 本系合金开发的目的是在黄铜中加入富有、廉价元素硅、磷等以求产业化生产环保合金。由于铋、碲、锑等属于稀有金属,地壳中的含量极为稀少,如果广泛用于易切削黄铜合金势必造成资源上的不足,对长期发展产生影响。国外早已针对这一问题进行过深入的研究,     

论环保铜合金硏究方向

概述了国内外环保铜合金开发现状,重点介绍了硅磷黄铜开发情况,认为孩系合金是立足富有元素、成本低的优良环保合金,在卫浴系统中具有重要应用前景,是具有长久应用历史的铅黄铜材料的一次重要革命。     

1420合金的应力腐蚀断裂行为

采用电化学方法和慢应变速率拉伸(SSRT)技术，研究了时效制度对1420Al-Li合金的时效动力学及抗应力腐蚀性能的影响。通过透射电镜、扫描电镜观察与分析，探讨了不同时效处理工艺下1420合金的显微组织、慢应变速率拉伸断口形貌及其影响机制。结果表明，与120℃／12h相比，采用120℃，6h 190℃，6h处理不仅可以缩短合金到达时效峰值的时间，提高合金的强度，使其断裂强度、断裂时间、延伸率以及总断裂能等都得到显著提高，同时也改善了合金的抗应力腐蚀性能。     

Stress-Corrosion Cracking of AISI 4340 Steel in Aqueous Environments

Stress corrosion cracking of the high-strength martensitic steel AISI 4340 (yield stress = 1503 MPa) in NaCl aqueous solutions of different concentrations was studied experimentally using compact tension specimens in free corroding conditions. The experiments were conducted under the controls of constant load, constant crack opening displacement (COD), constant loading rate, and constant COD rate. Despite the differences in controlling conditions, the experiments yielded similar results for the threshold stress intensity factor and the plateau velocity in the 3.5 wt pct NaCl solution. Dependence of the plateau velocity on the NaCl concentration was observed, whereas the values of the threshold stress intensity factors seem to be independent of the NaCl concentration in distilled water.     

7129-T5合金的生产工艺研究

对于汽车用7129-T5合金的生产工艺进行了研究,生产出了满足客户力学性能要求（σb≥380MPa,σ0.2≥338MPa,δ5≥9％）的产品。在本研究的工艺条件下,T5态合金的抗拉强度、屈服强度和延伸率可达440MPa、390MPa和18％。