Influence of notch severity on thermomechanical fatigue life of a directionally solidified Ni‐base superalloy

The aim of this work is to understand the influence of notches under thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) in a directionally solidified Ni‐base superalloy. Experiments were performed utilizing linear out‐of‐phase and in‐phase TMF loadings on longitudinally oriented smooth and cylindrically notched specimens. Several notch severities were considered with elastic stress concentrations ranging from 1.3 to 3.0. The local response of the notched specimens was determined using the finite element method with a transversely isotropic viscoplastic constitutive model. Comparing the analysis to experiments, the locations observed for crack nucleation in the notch, which are offset from the notch root in directionally solidified alloys, are consistent with the maximum von Mises stress. Various local and nonlocal methods are evaluated to understand the life trends under out‐of‐phase TMF. The results show that a nonlocal invariant area‐averaging method is the best approach for collapsing the TMF lives of specimens with different notch severities.     

Creep deformation and rupture behaviour of directionally solidified GTD 111 superalloy

The creep behaviour of directionally solidified (DS) Ni‐base superalloy GTD 111 has been investigated at various temperatures (649 °C to 982 °C) and stresses (124 MPa to 896 MPa). Specimens machined in longitudinal and transverse directions with respect to the grain orientation from three batches of the material were tested. The specimens in the longitudinal direction consistently exhibited higher creep rupture life and creep ductility than specimens from the transverse direction. There were some systematic variations in creep deformation and rupture behaviour among specimens from different batches. Optical and scanning electron microscopy investigations were conducted to understand the creep rupture behaviour. Various deformation and rupture models were evaluated for representing the creep behaviour of the alloy and a neural network model was applied to creep rupture data to assess its predictive capability.     

Effect of microstructure on crack propagation in high-temperature fatigue of directionally solidified Ni-based superalloy

In order to clarify the crack propagation properties of an anisotropic material (Ni‐based directionally solidified superalloy), longitudinally loaded specimens (L‐specimens) and transversely loaded specimens (T‐specimens) with a crack are subjected to high temperature fatigue. The crack propagation rate is reasonably well correlated with the effective stress intensity factor range regardless of the propagation direction (specimens L and T), the stress range and the stress ratio. However, the crack propagation rate shows a notable fluctuation particularly in the T‐specimens. It is at most about five times faster than the average. The fracture surface features can be classified into four types with three transgranular and one intergranular types. In the former, though the crack is along the {100} or {110} planes on a macroscopic scale, it threads through the {111} or {100} planes on a microscopic scale. Crack propagation is notably accelerated in the intergranular region, while deceleration is caused by crack branching.     

Elevated temperature fatigue crack growth in directionally solidified GTD-111 superalloy

GTD‐111 is a General Electric proprietary nickel‐base superalloy widely employed in a growing fleet of industrial gas turbines. However, much of the published research to date has focused on creep damage and coating durability, with no available data on fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR). Accordingly, FCGR has been measured at several load ratios and an elevated temperature, 760 °C (1400 °F) corresponding to typical turbine bucket conditions. In order to account for load ratio effect, several different methods for determining Walker model parameters are discussed in terms of methodological consistency and accuracy.     

Creep‐fatigue behaviour of single‐crystal Ni‐base superalloy CMSX‐8

The creep‐fatigue behaviour of a lower cost, reduced rhenium Ni‐base superalloy, CMSX‐8, a variant of CMSX‐4, cast in a single crystal was experimentally evaluated over a broad range of conditions, from room temperature to 1100°C, and for two loading orientations: <001> and <111>. The fatigue lives depend on the orientation, cycle type, and temperature. The relative importance of these parameters on influencing the life is identified and discussed. From this understanding, a simple life model is constructed to capture the influence of these broad test conditions. The results are compared with those of the higher Re superalloy, CMSX‐4.     

Anisotropic viscoplasticity constitutive model for directionally solidified superalloy

Abstract

The macroscopic deformation behaviour of a Ni-based directionally solidified (DS) superalloy was experimentally investigated, and an anisotropic constitutive model of the material was developed. Monotonic and creep tests were performed on uniaxial test specimens machined from DS plates so that the angle between the loading direction and the solidified grain direction varied between 0 and 90°. Tension-torsion creep tests were also conducted to examine the anisotropic behaviour under multiaxial stress conditions. The material exhibited marked anisotropy under elastic and viscous deformation conditions, whereas it showed isotropy under plastic deformation conditions of high strain rates. Then crystal plasticity analyses were carried out to identify slip systems under creep loading conditions, assuming the anisotropic creep behaviour of the DS material. A viscoplastic constitutive model for expressing both the anisotropic elasticity-viscosity and the isotropic plasticity was proposed. The elastic constants were determined using a self-consistent approach, and viscous parameters were modelled by crystal plasticity analyses. The calculation results obtained using the constitutive model were compared with the experimental data to evaluate the validity of the model. It was demonstrated that the constitutive model could satisfactorily describe the anisotropic behaviour under uniaxial and multiaxial stress conditions with a given set of material parameters.     

Creep‐fatigue deformation micromechanisms of a directionally solidified nickel‐base superalloy at 850°C

In the present exploration, it was attempted to understand the creep‐fatigue (CF) deformation micromechanisms of alloy CM 247 DS LC by conducting low‐cycle fatigue (LCF) and CF tests employing strain amplitude ranging from 0.6% to 1.0% at T = 850°C in the air and performing extensive electron microscopic examinations. The cyclic life of the alloy lessens for all CF tests conducted at 1 and 5 minute dwell time in comparison to LCF tests. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) examinations confirmed that during CF tests substructure consists of dislocation loop, mixed dislocations, and γ' rafting, a typical creep deformation signature of nickel‐base superalloys, it also consists of features observed during fatigue deformation such as anti‐phase boundary (APB)‐coupled dislocations inside γ' precipitates and local tangles of dislocations. This confirms that the deformation of CF‐tested specimens is ascribed to the synergistic effect of both creep and fatigue. This fact was further verified by scanning electron microscopic (SEM) examinations.     

Experimental investigation on low cycle fatigue and fracture behaviour of a notched Ni‐based superalloy at elevated temperature

In order to investigate the effects of stress concentration on low cycle fatigue properties and fracture behaviour of a nickel‐based powder metallurgy superalloy, FGH97, at elevated temperature, the low cycle fatigue tests have been conducted with semi‐circular and semi‐elliptical single‐edge notched plate specimens at 550 and 700 °C. The results show that the fatigue life of the notched specimen decreases with the increase of stress concentration factor and the fatigue crack initiation life evidently decreases because of the defect located in the stress concentration zone. Moreover, the plastic deformation induced by notch stress concentration affects the initial crack occurrence zone. The angle α of the crack occurrence zone is within ±10° of notch bisector for semi‐circular notched specimens and ±20° for semi‐elliptical notched specimens. The crack propagation rate decreases to a minimum at a certain length, D, and then increases with the growth of the crack. The crack propagation rate of the semi‐elliptical notched specimen decelerates at a faster rate than that of the semi‐circular notched specimen because of the increase of the notch plasticity gradient. The crack length, D, is affected by both the applied load and the notch plasticity gradient. In addition, the fracture mechanism is shown to transition from transgranular to intergranular as temperature increases from 550 to 700 °C, which would accelerate crack propagation and reduce the fatigue life.     

Experimental investigation and life prediction of hot corrosion pre‐exposure on low‐cycle fatigue of a directionally solidified nickel‐base superalloy

Low‐cycle fatigue tests were conducted on the directionally solidified nickel‐base superalloy DZ125 at 850 °C in the unexposed and exposed specimens for 2, 15, 25 and 50 h in hot corrosion environment. The pre‐exposed specimen exhibited a lower life than unexposed specimens. Fatigue cracks in the unexposed specimens are initiated from defects near the surface, while the cracks of exposed specimens preferentially occur on the surface. Hot corrosion damage in fatigue life was found to be associated with the reduction of the bearing area. A novel life prediction methodology based on continuum damage mechanics was proposed to predict the experimentally observed decrease in low‐cycle fatigue life with increasing prior exposure time.     

Mechanism‐based life model for out‐of‐phase thermomechanical fatigue in single crystal Ni‐base superalloys

This paper describes an enhanced physics‐inspired model to predict the life of the second‐generation single crystal superalloy PWA 1484 experiencing out‐of‐phase (OP) thermomechanical fatigue (TMF). Degradation due to either pure fatigue or a coupling between fatigue and environmental attack are the primary concerns under this loading. The life model incorporates the effects of material anisotropy by utilizing the inelastic shear strain on the slip system having the highest Schmid factor while accounting for the effects of temperature‐dependent slip spacing and stress‐assisted γ′ depletion. Both conventional TMF and special bithermal fatigue (BiF) experiments were conducted to isolate and therefore better understand the interactions between these degradation mechanisms. The influences of crystallographic orientation, applied mechanical strain range, cycle maximum temperature and high temperature hold times were assessed. The resulting physics‐inspired life estimation model for OP TMF and OP BiF predicts the number of cycles to crack initiation as a function of crystal orientation, applied strain amplitude and stresses, temperature, cycle time (including dwells), and surface roughness within a factor of 2.     

On the fatigue small crack behaviors of directionally solidified superalloy DZ4 by in situ SEM observations

Small fatigue crack behaviors in a nickel-based directionally solidified superalloy DZ4 were studied by in situ Scanning Electron Microscopy. The crack initiation and propagation manners were identified under different temperatures, i.e. 25 °C, 350 °C, 700 °C. Fatigue crack growth occurred preferentially along slip bands at 25 °C and 350 °C but by Mode-I type at 700 °C. The crack growth rate generally increased with temperature, especially between room temperature and 350 °C. The anomalous small crack growth was analyzed by in situ examining the effect of microstructure. The small cracks were found to be primarily microstructurally small and secondly mechanically small.     

Low cycle fatigue behavior of a directionally solidified cobalt base superalloy

An investigation has been made of the low cycle fatigue behavior and microstructure evolution of a directionally solidified cobalt-base superalloy at room temperature, 700 and 850°C under the control of different total strain amplitudes. The results show that at room temperature the cyclic hardening of the alloy appears during the first few cycles, and then a long saturation stage begins. At 700°C, the alloy exhibits a pronounced initial hardening, and a secondary hardening after a short saturation. At 850°C, the alloy shows a continuous cyclic hardening until fracture. Examination by TEM indicates that the initial hardening of the alloy at room temperature is caused by the pile-ups of the stacking faults at the stacking fault intersections, while the saturation is related to the formation of the hexagonal close-packed (HCP) zones and twins. The mechanism of initial hardening at 700°C is similar to that at room temperature, while the stress saturation is due to interaction obstacle to stacking-fault becoming weaker, because of thermal activation. The secondary hardening is attributed to the formation of sessile dislocation tangles. The continuous cyclic hardening at 850°C is related to the interaction between the precipitates (M₂₃C₆)and dislocations.     

Influence of dwell times on the thermomechanical fatigue behavior of a directionally solidified Ni-base superalloy

In-phase (IP) and out-of-phase (OP) thermomechanical fatigue tests with T = 100–750 °C and optional dwells of 20 min at 750 °C were carried out on directionally solidified Ni-base Alloy 247 LC DS. Introducing dwells reduced the lifetime for both phase angles to about one sixth. Specific damage mechanisms were internal carbide and carbide–matrix interface cracks in IP tests and crack propagation along {1 1 1}-microtwin planes in OP tests. Introducing dwells intensified both effects, thus contributing to the lifetime reduction. During dwells, the gauge length may exhibit transversal creep because of extensometer forces distorting the strain measurement.     

Experimental and numerical investigation of the creep behaviour of Ni‐based superalloy GH4169 under varying loading

The high‐temperature creep experiment of Ni‐based superalloy GH4169 under the constant loading and varying loading conditions was conducted by using the round bar specimens. The creep time‐strain curves under different loading conditions were obtained to study the high‐temperature creep behaviour of GH4169 superalloy. At the same time, the longitudinal and lateral sections near the fracture of creep specimens were observed by the optical microscope, and the specimens with smaller grain corresponded to the larger creep strain rate. In view of the dispersion of the creep curves, the corresponding data processing method was put forward, and on this basis, a model that can describe the 3 stages of creep with certain physical meaning was established. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental results, especially the creep deformation under the varying loading condition. The predicted results of the relative time hardening model are closer to the experiment compared with time hardening and strain hardening model. The creep model is realized by the user's material subroutine code in a commercial FEM software package, which can be used as the basis of creep analysis for engineering structures.     

Analysis on the fatigue damage evolution of notched specimens with consideration of cyclic plasticity

This paper presents a damage mechanics method applied successfully to assess fatigue life of notched specimens with plastic deformation at the notch tip. A damage‐coupled elasto‐plastic constitutive model is employed in which nonlinear kinematic hardening is considered. The accumulated damage is described by a stress‐based damage model and a plastic strain‐based damage model, which depend on the cyclic stress and accumulated plastic strain, respectively. A three‐dimensional finite element implementation of these models is developed to predict the crack initiation life of notched specimens. Two cases, a notched plate under tension‐compression loadings and an SAE notched shaft under bending‐torsion loadings including non‐proportional loadings, are studied and the predicted results are compared with experimental data.     

Constitutive modelling and creep life prediction of a directionally solidified turbine blade under service loadings

Abstract

The high pressure turbine (HPT) blade of a heavy duty gas turbine operates under the interaction of complex aerodynamic, centrifugal and thermal loadings. The reliability of continuous working at elevated temperatures is a major limitation in service application of these materials. Therefore, it is essential to build the constitutive equations for predicting and analysing the creep deformation and creep lifetime of the blade. In present work, the creep deformation and lifetime of a HPT blade made of a nickel-based directionally solidified (DS) superalloy was numerically predicted. The θ-projection method was used to characterize the creep deformation of DZ125 under different temperatures and stress levels. The uniaxial equations of the θ-projection method were expanded into multi-axial form which was implemented into ABAQUS/UMAT (User MATerial subroutine) by an Euler method. A modified θ-projection method was employed to promote the adaptability of the original model to both steady state and transient temperature fields. Transient stress, strain and displacement distribution of the critical position inside the blade were obtained for service loading. The Larson–Miller parameter was employed to predict the creep lifetime of the blade. Simulation and results of the θ-projection method may also provide suggestions for the safety and life evaluation of HPT blade and other turbine blades.     

Creep properties of a U‐type notch plate in Ni‐based superalloy

In the present investigation, the effect of notch on creep rupture behavior and creep rupture life of a Ni‐based superalloy has been assessed by performing creep tests on smooth and U‐notched plate specimen under 0°C. The finite element analysis coupled with continuum damage mechanics are carried out to understand the stress distribution across the notch throat and the creep damage evolution under multi‐axial stress state. The creep rupture life of U‐notched specimen is much larger than that of plane plate specimen under the same stress condition, indicating that there is a strengthening effect on notch specimen. Creep rupture life increases with increasing the notch radius, the smaller notch radius can induce the creep rupture easier. The effect of notch on the creep damage is also studied. It is found that the location of the maximum creep damage and the maximum equivalent creep strain initiates first at the notch root and gradually moves to the inside as the notch radius increases.     

Effect of high-temperature hot corrosion on the low cycle fatigue behavior of a directionally solidified nickel-base superalloy

The low cycle fatigue behavior of a directionally solidified nickel-based superalloy DZ125 was examined at 850 °C in air using bare and salt-coated specimens. Experimental results show that the salt-coated specimen showed relatively low fatigue life compared with the bare specimen, and this effect accelerated with the increased applied maximum stress. Damage of hot corrosion in fatigue life was found to be associated with the reduction of the bare area and the early crack initiation from the weaken grain boundaries of recrystallized grains.     

Multiaxial fatigue of V‐notched steel specimens: a non‐conventional application of the local energy method

The paper deals with the multi‐axial fatigue strength of notched specimens made of 39NiCrMo3 hardened and tempered steel. Circumferentially V‐notched specimens were subjected to combined tension and torsion loading, both in‐phase and out‐of‐phase, under two nominal load ratios, R=?1 and R= 0, also taking into account the influence of the biaxiality ratio, λ=τ_a/σ_a. The notch geometry of all axi‐symmetric specimens was a notch tip radius of 0.1 mm, a notch depth of 4 mm, an included V‐notch angle of 90° and a net section diameter of 12 mm. The results from multi‐axial tests are discussed together with those obtained under pure tension and pure torsion loading on plain and notched specimens. Furthermore the fracture surfaces are examined and the size of non‐propagating cracks measured from some run‐out specimens at 5 million cycles. Finally, all results are presented in terms of the local strain energy density averaged in a given control volume close to the V‐notch tip. The control volume is found to be dependent on the loading mode.     

Prediction on fatigue life of U‐notched PMMA plate

In this paper, fatigue life prediction of U‐notched polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) plate is numerically investigated based on the combination of fatigue damage mechanism and fatigue crack propagation mechanism. First, strength and stiffness degeneration criterions during the fatigue process are established on the basis of nonlinear progressive damage evolution, and the fatigue crack initiation life is estimated. Second, fatigue crack propagation phase is analysed through virtual crack closure technique. The fatigue crack propagation life before totally fracture is also predicted. Finally, finite element models of PMMA plate weakened by lateral symmetric U‐notch are built up using ABAQUS, and the total fatigue life of notched plate is calculated by combining the crack initiation life with the crack propagation life. These results will play an important role for evaluating the fatigue life of U‐notched PMMA plate.