The influence of simulated fuel-grade ethanol on fatigue crack propagation in pipeline and storage-tank steels

This study presents an evaluation of fatigue crack propagation in three steels (A36, X52, and X70) in a simulated fuel-grade ethanol environment. A fracture mechanics testing approach was used to determine crack propagation rates as a function of the stress-intensity-factor amplitude (ΔK). Results of this testing and the fracture analysis indicate that all three materials are susceptible to enhanced fatigue damage in fuel-grade ethanol environments. We show that the damage mechanism is attributed to susceptibility of each material to ethanol stress-corrosion cracking under fatigue loading conditions and propose a model for determining crack growth rates in ethanol fuel.     

Fatigue crack growth behavior of laser-processed 304 stainless steel in air and gaseous hydrogen

Fatigue crack growth test was performed to evaluate fatigue behavior of 304 stainless steel specimens with or without laser processing (welding and surface treatment) in air and gaseous hydrogen. As the crack propagation normal to the laser welding or scan direction, the laser-processed specimens exhibited a higher resistance to crack growth in the low stress intensity factor range (ΔK) than the as-received steel plates regardless of testing environments. However, the marked retardation of crack growth behavior vanished for welded specimens subjected to a 850 °C/h stress relief treatment or with a shorter distance from notch tip to the weld centerline in the test.Fatigue-fractured appearance of the steel plate tested in air was composed of mainly transgranular fatigue fracture and some flat facets, along with a small amount of intergranular fracture. While quasi-cleavage fracture and few twin boundary separations were observed for the same specimen in hydrogen. On the other hand, the lower crack growth rate of laser-processed specimens in both air and hydrogen was accompanied with rubbed areas on the fracture surfaces. It was found that the extent of quasi-cleavage fracture was related to the formation of strain-induced martensite, which would contribute to an increased fatigue crack growth rate of all specimens in gaseous hydrogen.     

Fatigue crack growth rate in underwater wet welds: out of water evaluation

The characteristics of fatigue crack propagation in welds produced in conventional conditions (welds made out of water) and in underwater repair welding conditions (underwater wet welding) were evaluated out of water. The fatigue crack growth rates da/dN showed considerable dependence on pore density and distribution, factors that vary significantly with the welding process and the environment. Variations in the fatigue crack propagation rate were correlated with analysis of the fracture surface in the zone of stable crack propagation. The results of this study show that the underwater wet welding procedure produces weld metal resistant to fatigue, which is suitable for use at low applied stresses in offshore structures.     

ADB610钢焊接接头概率疲劳裂纹扩展分析

采用焊条电弧焊方法对ADB610钢进行焊接,对焊接接头进行疲劳裂纹扩展试验,研究其概率疲劳裂纹扩展规律.采用两步七点递增多项式拟合方法,计算了一系列相同裂纹长度下母材区、热影响区和焊缝区的对数裂纹扩展速率方差和存活率分别为50%,90%,95%,99%,99.9%的裂纹扩展速率.结果表明,总体上母材区的裂纹扩展分散性最小,热影响区其次,焊缝区分散性最大;而且总体上存活率相同时,在裂纹扩展的初期,母材区的裂纹扩展速率最快,焊缝区的裂纹扩展速率最慢;在裂纹扩展末期,三区域的裂纹扩展快慢相当;随着存活率增大,三区域裂纹扩展快慢差别不大时所对应的裂纹长度减小.     

Sintered stainless steels: Fatigue crack propagation resistance under hydrogen charging conditions

Monophasic and multiphasic (two and three phases) sintered stainless steels were prepared both considering premixes of AISI 316LHC and AISI 434LHC stainless steels powders and using a prealloyed duplex stainless steel 25% Cr, 5% Ni, 2% Mo powder. Their fatigue crack propagation resistance was investigated both in air and under hydrogen charging conditions (0.5 M H₂SO₄ + 0.01 M KSCN aqueous solution; applied potential = −700 mV/SCE), considering three different stress ratios (R = 0.1; 0.5; 0.75). Fatigue crack propagation micromechanisms were investigated by means of fracture surface scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis.For all the investigated sintered stainless, fatigue crack propagation resistance is influenced by hydrogen charging and an increase of crack growth rates dependent on the steel microstructure is obtained. Experimental results also allow to identify the sintered stainless steel obtained from the prealloyed 25% Cr, 5% Ni, 2% Mo powder as the most resistant to fatigue crack propagation in air and under hydrogen charging conditions.     

Effect of corrosion severity on fatigue evolution in Al-Zn-Mg-Cu

The effect of existing-localized corrosion on fatigue cracking of 7075-T6511 was established using crack surface marker-band analysis and a fracture mechanics model. The substantial reduction of fatigue life due to EXCO solution L-S surface pre-corrosion is nearly independent of exposure time after initial-sharp degradation, scaling with the evolution of pit-cluster size and initial stress intensity range with exposure time. Independent of exposure time, formation of a resolvable fatigue crack (∼10 μm) accounts for a similar-low (∼5%) fraction of total fatigue life at low stress range (σ_max = 150 MPa, R = 0.1). Crack formation occurs at microscopic protrusions into the corroded volume. A corrosion-modified-equivalent initial flaw size (CM-EIFS); predicted with the AFGROW tool using measured initial aspect ratio, initiation cycles, and total fatigue life inputs; accurately represents the corrosion damage effect on fatigue for a range of exposures. The similar deleterious effect of several corroding environments for various-exposed surfaces is described by a lower-bound CM-EIFS with a 300 μm depth and 1200 μm surface length suggesting fatigue is governed by a microscopic pit-based topography. Either an approximate lower-bound, or specific CM-EIFS calibrated by limited measurements of fatigue life for service-environment exposed specimens, can be used to assess the impact of corrosion in a damage tolerant framework. Complexities (e.g., local H embrittlement, 3D pit geometry, topography dependent initiation, and microstructure sensitive small-crack growth) do not compromise the CM-EIFS estimation, but must be better understood for refined modeling.     

Hydrogen-assisted fatigue crack growth of AISI 316L stainless steel weld

The fatigue crack growth behaviors of AISI 316L stainless steel (SS) welds in air and gaseous hydrogen were evaluated, and further compared with the base plate. In air, the fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR) of the weld after heat-treatment at 1050 ^oC/1 h was similar to that of the base metal. Furthermore, all specimens became susceptible to hydrogen-accelerated crack growth. Mainly quasi-cleavage fracture related with the strain-induced martensite accounted for the accelerated crack growth in hydrogen. A smaller amount of martensite in the weld was responsible for the decreased susceptibility to hydrogen-enhanced fatigue crack growth relative to the base metal.     

激光冲击TC17钛合金疲劳裂纹扩展试验

为研究激光冲击强化对钛合金试件疲劳性能的影响,在标准试件的裂纹扩展路径上设计了全强化和间隔强化两种不同的强化方案,研究激光冲击强化对试件疲劳寿命和裂纹稳定扩展时速率的影响规律,利用有限元数值模拟和X射线残余应力测试获得了试件的残余应力场分布状态,并对比分析了试件的断口形貌和微观组织特征。结果表明:相比于未强化试件,激光冲击强化后试件的平均疲劳寿命分别提高了2.14倍和1.90倍,两种不同的冲击强化方法分别降低钛合金试件的裂纹扩展速率24%和15%。间隔强化后试件表面产生-512 MPa的最大残余压应力,裂纹扩展的C′值为-7.3,m值为2.6,而强化间隔区引入最大值为82.4 MPa的残余拉应力,裂纹扩展速率急剧升高,C′值减小至-13.6,m值为8.0。当裂纹扩展到强化区时,扩展速率再次降低,激光冲击强化对TC17钛合金疲劳裂纹扩展有显著的抑制作用。     

Temperature effect in the maximum propagation rate of a liquid metal filled crack: The T91 martensitic steel/Lead–Bismuth Eutectic system

The liquid metal embrittlement sensitivity of a modified 9Cr1Mo martensitic steel in contact with Lead–Bismuth Eutectic was studied as a function of the temperature in a wide range of deformation rate. A fracture mechanics approach (crack tip opening displacement and J-Δa) combined to a fractographic study was applied to study the maximum brittle crack propagation rate. Comparison of these data with the temperature evolution expected from the stress assisted dissolution model discards this model as the embrittlement mechanism. Thermally activated ductility recovery mechanisms fail to account for the experimental results. However, the data is compatible with a physi-sorption rate limiting process. The adsorption energy extracted from the temperature evolution of the maximum crack propagation rate compares favourably with existing Ab-Initio calculations. This strongly suggests that the LME mechanism is linked with the direct effect of surface adsorption.     

Effect of austenite instability on the hydrogen-enhanced crack growth of austenitic stainless steels

Fatigue crack growth tests were performed to assess the fatigue behavior of AISI 316L and 254 SMO stainless steels (SSs) in air and gaseous hydrogen. 254 SMO SS generally exhibited a greater resistance to fatigue crack growth than 316L. Sensitization treatment had only a marginal effect on the fatigue crack growth behavior of both alloys in air. Moreover, 316L SS exhibited significant hydrogen-enhanced crack growth but 254 SMO, even sensitized 254 SMO specimens, did not. A thin layer of strain-induced martensite was formed on the fatigue-fractured surface of the 316L SS, and its content increased when raising the stress ratio. The thin martensite layer was responsible for the hydrogen-enhanced fatigue crack growth of the 316L SS. By contrast, the extremely stable austenite was responsible for the low susceptibility of 254 SMO SS to hydrogen-accelerated crack growth. The trapping of hydrogen at the grain boundaries and the transformed martensite in the sensitized 316L specimens led to increased fatigue crack growth rates and intergranular fracture of the material.     

高速列车车轴用EA4T钢腐蚀疲劳性能研究

目的 研究腐蚀环境中EA4T车轴钢疲劳性能,为车轴的腐蚀检测和使用寿命评估提供依据.方法 采用旋转弯曲疲劳试验机,在人造雨水模拟的腐蚀环境和空气环境中,对EA4T车轴钢试样进行疲劳试验,以获得不同环境下试样的疲劳S-N曲线、表面损伤以及裂纹扩展规律.然后对扩展裂纹进行概率统计,通过扫描电镜对疲劳失效的断口进行观察,并分析对比不同环境中裂纹扩展门槛值的变化.结果 空气环境中,试样的疲劳极限为355 MPa,而在腐蚀环境中,试样不存在疲劳极限,107循环周次对应的疲劳强度降低到245 MPa,相比空气环境中降低了31％.Gumbel分布统计与Weibull双参数分布统计相比,更适合描述EA4T车轴钢试样表面腐蚀裂纹长度随加载次数的变化.腐蚀环境中,疲劳裂纹萌生于表面腐蚀坑,并存在多个裂纹源.腐蚀环境显著降低了试样裂纹扩展门槛值,空气环境下,该值为6.29 MPa·m1/2,腐蚀环境下降低到4.1 MPa·m1/2.结论 腐蚀环境降低EA4T钢疲劳寿命的主要原因是,腐蚀环境降低了裂纹扩展门槛值,加快了裂纹萌生以及短裂纹扩展.而当裂纹达到一定长度时,腐蚀环境对裂纹扩展几乎没有影响.     

Computer-aided experiment on arc welding

Fatigue properties of cast aluminium welded joints by friction stir welding (FSW) and MIG welding were investigated, comparing with that of the base plate. Fatigue crack propagation tests for the da/dN ? ΔK relation and bending fatigue tests for the S–N relation were carried out. Fatigue cracks in both FSW and MIG specimens were accelerated, when the fatigue crack tip reached the stir zone or the weld metal. This behaviour was discussed based on the crack closure induced by the crack surface roughness and the residual stress. In the S–N properties, the influence of specimen surface finishing on fatigue life was also examined. Fatigue lives of the FSW and MIG specimens in the ‘as weld’ condition were in the range of the largely scattered base plate fatigue lives, in spite of the different fatigue crack initiation sites in each specimen such as the porosity in the base plate, the tool mark bottom in the FSW and the weld toe in the MIG. The FSW specimens with the polished surface showed the particular improvement in fatigue strength for finite fatigue life.     

Fatigue properties of ferrite/bainite dual-phase X80 pipeline steel welded joints

Fatigue properties are important parameters for the safety design and security evaluation of pipelines. In this work, fatigue life and fatigue crack propagation of full-thickness X80 pipeline steel joints compared with the base metal (BM) was investigated. Full-thickness BM specimens showed superior fatigue life compared with that of welded joints. The fatigue crack initiation of full-thickness X80 welded joint specimens occurred at the outside weld toe and then grew inward until a fracture was formed. During fatigue crack growth in the heat-affected zone (HAZ), crack growth rate linearly increased with increased ΔK in each HAZ subregion. However, the change rate of fatigue crack growth rate (da/dN) differed among HAZ subregions. This difference was related to the variation in crack path and fracture mode because of the possible microstructural sensitivity of fatigue crack propagation behaviour.     

Corrosion fatigue behavior of dissimilar metal weldments under nominal constant ΔK loading mode in a simulated BWR coolant environment

Corrosion fatigue behavior of the dissimilar metal weldment, Alloy 52-A508, under a simulated BWR coolant condition was studied. Corrosion fatigue crack growth rates of the dissimilar metal weldments were observed to increase with crack extension under the nominal constant ΔK loading mode. It could be accounted for by a decrease in the Cr and Ni contents and the crack closure effect with the weld depth. Finite element analysis on the welding residual stress was performed. The trend of analytical results agreed well with that of the residual stress measurements obtained by a hole-drilling strain gauge method.     

Modelling the crack propagation rate for corrosion fatigue at high frequency of applied stress

The application of standard mathematical techniques for the solution of mass transport equations, in the case of advection that is caused by the pulsating movement of crack walls in the case of corrosion fatigue, can be very time consuming. This problem arises, due to the requirement that the time step that must be employed, when solving the non-stationary equations numerically, must be significantly smaller than the period of oscillation. For overcoming these time-consuming limitations, a simple algorithm, which is based on eliminating the convective term from the equations of mass transfer in the pulsating slab by a suitable change of variables, was developed. The estimation of the advection effect on the rate of corrosion fatigue has been performed for the cases of diffusion and mixed kinetic control at high frequencies of applied stress. It is shown that, in many cases, it is possible to use codes that were developed for describing stress corrosion cracking, i.e. for the case of mass transfer without advection at zero loading frequency, to predict corrosion fatigue crack propagation rate, by simply substituting an effective crack length. Numerical calculations that have been performed in this work also show that the method developed here yields results that are applicable not only to the elevated frequencies, but to the any arbitrary frequency from 0 to ∞ for estimating corrosion fatigue crack propagation rate.     

Comparative evaluation of environment induced cracking of conventional and advanced steam turbine blade steels. Part 2: Corrosion fatigue

Corrosion fatigue crack propagation rates have been determined for two steam turbine blade steels, PH13-8, a candidate steel for advanced turbines, and FV566, typical of conventional turbine blades. The testing was undertaken in simulated condensate environment, 300 ppb Cl⁻ and 300 ppb , at 90 °C using trapezoidal loading with a rise time of 20 min to simulate two-shifting (switching on- and off-load on a daily basis). Aerated and deaerated conditions were tested, the former being more representative of the retained aeration in the chamber as the system comes on load. In aerated solution at ΔK = 20 MPa m^1/2 the cyclic crack growth rate for the PH13-8 steel was about a factor of two lower than that for the FV566 steel but the reverse was true for deaerated solution. In both cases, the difference in growth rates diminished with increasing ΔK. Although the cyclic crack growth rate is high the number of cycles per annum is small and the direct impact on overall life may be modest, but not insignificant. The observed cracking behaviour is best explained by a hydrogen assisted cracking mechanism.     

Crack initiation and kinking behaviours of spot welded coach peel specimens under cyclic loading

Abstract

The present study is carried out to investigate fatigue crack initiation and kinking behaviours of spot welded coach peel (CP) specimens of low carbon steel sheets subjected to cyclic loading by experimental and finite element analysis methods. Evaluations of fatigue crack growth stages were performed by crack tip plastic strains and J integral analyses and also by microhardness measurements on process zone. According to the experimental and analytical results, fatigue crack initiation and growing stages in the spot welded CP specimens can be divided to three stages. Stage I corresponds to 'gap sharpening stage' observed at the beginning steps of cyclic loading with crack growing on the interface plane between the overlapped sheets. Stage II corresponds to kinked crack initiation and propagation through the sheet thickness observed after applying a certain number of loading cycles. Stage III corresponds to crack propagation through the width of the specimens observed at the final step of the fatigue crack propagation. The FE results of the crack paths and crack locations are in good agreement with those of experimental observations.     

Combine S-N curve and fracture mechanics for fatigue life analysis of welded structures

Based on the evolution of fatigue cracks in welded structures, the fatigue life of welded structures was defined as the sum of the crack initiation life N_i and the crack propagation life N_p. Correspondingly, a fatigue-life analysis method combining S-N curves and fracture mechanics theory was proposed. The equivalent structural stress method and the lower 99% boundary of the master S-N curve were used to evaluate N_i, and cracks at the end of the initiation stage were considered as semi-elliptical surface cracks. Moreover, Paris equation and the stress intensity factor range of the cracks were used to evaluate N_p. Furthermore, the fatigue test results obtained from the running girder of cranes were used as a reference for comparison and verification of the results. The results revealed that the equivalent structural stress is a good indicator for the crack initiation behavior of complex welded structures. In addition, the predicted fatigue life corresponded closely to the testing life.     

双相钢搭接点焊接头疲劳寿命分析

研究了双相钢焊点特征,对不同匹配双相钢搭接焊点进行了疲劳试验,获得了焊点的载荷寿命曲线.研究了双相钢焊点的疲劳裂纹扩展及失效形式,分析和解释了疲劳过程中的现象,并根据裂纹的实际扩展路径,提出了局部等效张开应力强度因子keq,从断裂力学的角度对双相钢焊点的疲劳失效进行了分析.结果表明,keq能够有效地关联具有不同厚度,不同熔核直径的搭接焊点试样的疲劳寿命,是反映双相钢焊点疲劳强度的有效参量,能够用来预测焊点疲劳寿命.     

Korrosionsermüdung von Aluminium- und Magnesium-Gußlegierungen

Corrosion fatigue of cast aluminium- and cast magnesium alloys The fatigue properties of the aluminium cast alloys AlSi7Mg and AlSi10Mg, magnesium high pressure die-cast AZ91 hp and AM60 hp, as well as low-pressure permanent mould casting AZ91 hp were determined at numbers of cycles to failure between 10⁵ and 10⁹ in ambient air and in saltwater spray. The investigations were performed at constant amplitudes and in addition at varying load amplitudes for aluminium cast alloy AlSi10Mg and low-pressure permanent mould casting AZ91 hp with a high-frequency testing facility (20 kHz ultrasound). The SN-curves of the aluminium cast alloys and of the magnesium low-pressure permanent mould casting are steeper in corrosive environment than in laboratory air. No endurance limit could be detected up to 10⁹ cycles in both environments. The magnesium high pressure die-cast alloys do not have an endurance limit in saltwater spray, whereas an endurance limit could be detected in laboratory air. The life time curves for in-service loading conditions are about parallel to the SN-curves for ambient air, but steeper for corrosive environment. The reason for the reduced fatigue properties in corrosive environment are accelerated crack initiation and higher crack propagation rates. Material defects may lead to a large scatter of the fatigue data for testing in air as well as in saltwater spray. Corrosion pits are formed on the surface of both light-weight alloys at higher number of cycles. They become crack initiation sites.