Torsional fatigue with axial constant stress of oligo‐crystalline 316L stainless steel thin wire

A series of symmetric torsional fatigue with axial constant stress tests, a kind of multiaxial fatigue test, was conducted on oligo‐crystalline 316L stainless steel thin wire, which was less than 3.5 grains across diameter of 200 μm. The material presents significant cyclic hardening under symmetric torsion cycling, and hardening is more obvious with the increasing shear strain amplitude. However, symmetric torsional cycle with constant axial stresses tests characterize rapid initial hardening and then gradually softening until fatigue failure. The axial stress has a great effect on torsional fatigue life. Fractography observation shows a mixed failure mode combined torsional fatigue with tensile strain because of axial tensile stress. A newly proposed model with axial stress damage parameter is used to predict the torsional fatigue life with constant axial stress of small scale thin wire.     

MECHANISMS AND FATIGUE PERFORMANCE OF TWO STEELS IN CYCLIC TORSION WITH AXIAL STATIC TENSION/COMPRESSION

Abstract— Fatigue tests conducted under fully reversed cyclic torsion, with and without superimposed axial static tension/compression loads, were carried out using hour-glass smooth specimens in laboratory air. A high strength spring steel and a 316L stainless steel, were employed to evaluate the effects of mean stress on fatigue performance. Experimental test results show that a biaxial tensile/compressive mean stress had no influence on the cyclic stress-strain response in both materials. However a biaxial tensile mean stress was found to be detrimental to fatigue life of the high strength spring steel but had no effect on the total fatigue life of 316L stainless steel. A compressive mean stress was found to be beneficial to the life of both steels. The fatigue behaviour of the two materials was investigated by experimental observations and the application of theoretical analyses of short crack growth behaviour. Based upon the analysis of surface acetate replicas it has been found that fatigue crack growth is material/stress-state dependent. A biaxial tensile static stress promoted a change in the direction of the Stage I (mode II) crack from the longitudinal direction to a plane normal to the specimen axis in the high strength steel but not in the stainless steel. Consequently a different growth behaviour of Stage I (mode II) cracks was observed for the two materials. The effect of a biaxial mean stress on fatigue crack growth behaviour of the two materials is analysed and described in some detail.     

Analytical and experimental studies on fatigue crack path under complex multi-axial loading

In real engineering components and structures, many accidental failures are due to unexpected or additional loadings, such as additional bending or torsion, etc. Fractographical analyses of the failure surface and the crack orientation are helpful for identifying the effects of the non‐proportional multi‐axial loading. There are many factors that influence fatigue crack paths. This paper studies the effects of multi‐axial loading path on the crack path. Two kinds of materials were studied and compared in this paper: AISI 303 stainless steel and 42CrMo4 steel. Experiments were conducted in a biaxial testing machine INSTRON 8800. Six different biaxial loading paths were selected and applied in the tests to observe the effects of multi‐axial loading paths on the additional hardening, fatigue life and the crack propagation orientation. Fractographic analyses of the plane orientations of crack initiation and propagation were carried out by optical microscope and SEM approaches. It was shown that the two materials studied had different crack orientations under the same loading path, due to their different cyclic plasticity behaviour and different sensitivity to non‐proportional loading. Theoretical predictions of the damage plane were made using the critical plane approaches such as the Brown–Miller, the Findley, the Wang–Brown, the Fatemi–Socie, the Smith–Watson–Topper and the Liu's criteria. Comparisons of the predicted orientation of the damage plane with the experimental observations show that the critical plane models give satisfactory predictions for the orientations of early crack growth of the 42CrMo4 steel, but less accurate predictions were obtained for the AISI 303 stainless steel. This observation appears to show that the applicability of the fatigue models is dependent on the material type and multi‐axial microstructure characteristics.     

Stochastic modelling of low-cycle fatigue damage in 316L stainless steel under variable multiaxial loading

In the present study, a stochastic model is developed for the low-cycle fatigue life prediction and reliability assessment of 316L stainless steel under variable multiaxial loading. In the proposed model, fatigue phenomenon is considered as a Markov process, and damage vector and reliability are defined on every plane. Any low-cycle fatigue damage evaluating method can be included in the proposed model. The model enables calculation of statistical reliability and crack initiation direction under variable multiaxial loading, which are generally not available. In the present study, a critical plane method proposed by Kandil et al . ( Metals Soc., London 280, 203–210, 1982) maximum tensile strain range, and von Mises equivalent strain range are used to calculate fatigue damage. When the critical plane method is chosen, the effect of multiple critical planes is also included in the proposed model. Maximum tensile strain and von Mises strain methods are used for the demonstration of the generality of the proposed model. The material properties and the stochastic model parameters are obtained from uniaxial tests only. The stochastic model made of the parameters obtained from the uniaxial tests is applied to the life prediction and reliability assessment of 316L stainless steel under variable multiaxial loading. The predicted results show good aggreement with experimental results.     

Long-life torsion fatigue with normal mean stresses

Relatively simple fatigue tests have been performed on two common engineering materials, cast ductile iron and low-carbon steel, using two stress states, cyclic torsion and cyclic torsion with static axial and hoop stresses. Tests were designed to discriminate between normal stress and hydrostatic stress as the most suitable mean stress correction term for high cycle fatigue analysis. Microscopy shows that cracks in low-carbon steel nucleate and grow on maximum shear planes, while for cast iron pre-existing flaws grow on maximum normal stress planes. The data illustrate that tensile normal stress acting on a shear plane significantly reduced fatigue life and is an appropriate input for fatigue analysis of ductile materials. Static normal stresses did not significantly affect the fatigue life for the cast iron because the net mean stress on the maximum normal stress plane was zero. Mean torsion significantly reduced the fatigue strength of the cast iron. A critical plane long-life parameter for nodular iron which accounts for both stress state and mean stress is proposed, and is found to accurately correlate experimental data.     

Numerical approach of cyclic behaviour of 316LN stainless steel based on a polycrystal modelling including strain gradients

A non-local polycrystal approach, taking into account strain gradients, is proposed to simulate the 316LN stainless steel fatigue life curve in the hardening stage. Material parameters identification is performed on tensile curves corresponding to several 316LN polycrystals presenting different grain sizes. Applied to an actual 3D aggregate of 316LN stainless steel of 1200 grains, this model leads to an accurate prediction of cyclic curves. Geometrical Necessary Dislocation densities related to the computed strain gradient are added to the micro-plasticity laws. Compared to standard models, this model predicts a decrease of the local stresses as well as a grain size effect.     

A weight function-critical plane approach for low-cycle fatigue under variable amplitude multiaxial loading

Low‐cycle fatigue data of type 304 stainless steel obtained under axial‐torsional loading of variable amplitudes are analyzed using four multiaxial fatigue parameters: SWT, KBM, FS and LKN. Rainflow cycle counting and Morrow's plastic work interaction rule are used to calculate fatigue damage. The performance of a fatigue model is dependent on the fatigue parameter, the critical plane and the damage accumulation rule employed in the model. The conservatism and non‐conservatism of predicted lives are examined for some combinations of these variables. A new critical plane called the weight function‐critical plane is introduced for variable amplitude loading. This approach is found to improve the KBM‐based life predictions.     

Finite Element Analysis of Modeling Residual Stress Distribution in All-position Duplex Stainless Steel Welded Pipe

On the basis of the thermal-elastic-plastic theory, a three-dimensional finite element numerical simulation is performed on the girth welded residual stresses of the duplex stainless steel pipe with ANSYS nonlinear finite element program for the first time. Three-dimensional FEM using mobile heat source for analysis transient temperature field and welding stress field in circumferential joint of pipes is founded. Distributions of axial and hoop residual stresses of the joint are investigated. The axial and the hoop residual stresses at the weld and weld vicinity on inner surface of pipes are tensile, and they are gradually transferred into compressive with the increase of the departure from the weld. The axial residual stresses at the weld and weld vicinity on outer surface of pipes is compressive while the hoop one is tensile. The distributions of residual stresses compared positive-circle with negative-circle show distinct symmetry. These results provide theoretical knowledge for the optimization of p     

Effects of a single tensile overload on fatigue crack growth in a 316L steel

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a single tensile overload on subsequent fatigue crack growth in a 316L stainless steel. Fatigue tests were conducted under the plane stress condition, and further supplemented with compliance measurements and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) observations. Effects of a tensile overload, e.g. initial acceleration and subsequent retardation of fatigue crack growth, were explained and quantified by FESEM and compliance measurements. The FESEM observations suggest that the initial crack growth acceleration stems from void and quasi-cleavage fracture within the fatigue damage zone in the vicinity of the crack tip. Systematic compliance measurements taken during fatigue crack growth suggest that the overall crack growth retardation is related to strain hardening and residual compressive stress produced by the plastic deformation associated with the tensile overload.     

A new high temperature life correlation model for austenitic and ferritic stainless steels

Low-cycle fatigue tests on 429EM ferritic stainless steel and 316L austenitic stainless steel were carried out in a wide range of temperatures from room temperature to 750 °C. The Tomkins fatigue life model was applied to correlate the fatigue life with crack propagation rate and this model matched well with the fatigue life of 429EM stainless steel but not for the 316L stainless steel. A new life prediction model was developed to consider the temperature effect on fatigue life. The predictions show good agreement with experimental results for both materials. The predicted lives were within a±2X scatter band at all test temperatures.     

Validating generality of recently developed critical plane model for fatigue life assessments using multiaxial test database on seventeen different materials

The present studies are aimed at validation of a newly developed critical plane model with respect to large variety of engineering materials used for different applications. This newly developed model has been recently reported by present authors. To strengthen general applicability of this model, multiaxial test database consisting of a wide variety of multiaxial loading paths have been considered. The strain paths include pure axial, pure torsion, in‐phase axial‐torsion, out‐of‐phase axial‐torsion with phase shift angles varying from 30° to 180° having sine/trapezoidal/triangular strain waveforms, with/without mean axial/shear strains and asynchronous axial‐torsion strain paths of different frequency ratios etc. The materials covered in present study are mainly categorized as ferrous and nonferrous alloys. In ferrous alloy category, material grades from plain carbon steel (mild steel, 16MnR, SA333 Gr. 6, E235 and E355), low‐alloy steel (1Cr‐Mo‐V and S460 N) and austenitic stainless steel (SS304, SS316L and SS347) have been considered. In nonferrous alloy category, aluminium alloys (2024T3‐Al, 7075T651‐Al, and PA38‐T6‐Al), titanium (pure titanium and TC4 alloy), cobalt base super‐alloy (Haynes 188), and nickel alloy (Inconel‐718) have been considered. The predicted and test fatigue lives are found in good agreement for all these materials and complex multiaxial loading paths.     

316L不锈钢的高温疲劳蠕变行为和寿命预测

进行316L不锈钢在单级和两级载荷作用下的高温疲劳蠕变试验,研究了载荷历程效应对材料行为的影响.在已有统一的疲劳蠕变损伤演化模型基础上,得到了316L高温单级载荷作用下非线性损伤演化曲线.同时,建立了一种耦合载荷历程效应的多级疲劳蠕变载荷作用下的材料破坏准则.基于该破坏准则,结合材料的非线性损伤模型对316L不锈钢高温两级载荷作用下的疲劳蠕变寿命进行了预测,预测结果与试验数据符合得比较好.     

Characterizing the effect of residual stresses on high cycle fatigue (HCF) with induction heating treated stainless steel specimens

A new method for introducing a predetermined amount of residual stresses in stainless steel thick-walled hollow fatigue test specimens was developed by the authors [1] using high frequency induction heating. The advantage of the proposed method over more traditional approaches is to avoid any change in other important fatigue parameters, i.e. surface roughness, geometry, and microstructure, while introducing the residual stresses. The last point only holds if the material under study does not undergo any phase transformation within the range of temperatures and time exposures reached during the heat treatment. In this paper, the effect of residual stresses on high cycle fatigue (HCF) life of annealed AISI 304L stainless steel is investigated by introducing a residual stress field in thick-walled hollow fatigue specimens and by comparing the fatigue life obtained with the reference S–N curve. For the particular case studied, a surprising observation is made. Introducing tensile residual stresses beneath the surface of hollow fatigue specimens using the method proposed by Paquet et al. [1] leads to improved HCF lives. Validity of this result is confirmed by a statistical analysis. Residual stresses were analyzed by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique to rationalize this experimental result. The increase in fatigue life is explained by residual stresses evolution within the specimen cross section during the fatigue test, leading to a build up of compressive residual stresses beneath its surface. This is a clear demonstration that assimilating residual stresses resulting from fabrication processes to superimposed static mean stresses can lead to considerable errors in fatigue life predictions.     

Effect of laser-scan strategy on microstructure and fatigue properties of 316L additively manufactured stainless steel

The particular roles of grain morphology and defects, controlled using laser-scan strategies, on the mechanical properties and the fatigue behavior of 316L stainless steel are investigated. Microstructural characterization and X-ray tomography analysis was performed to understand the genesis of polycrystalline microstructure and defects. Tensile and fatigue tests were performed to analyze the effect of defect population and microstructural properties on plasticity and damage mechanisms during monotonic and cyclic loading. The effect of the grain-size and shape and type of defect was carefully investigated to evaluate the mechanisms driving the mechanical behavior under quasi-static and fatigue loading. It is shown that the laser-scan strategy determines the anisotropy in the plane perpendicular to the building direction. Moreover, contrary to the existing literature, for 316L obtained by AM, the grain size and shape does not affect the mechanical properties, and LoF defects drive the fatigue life, independent of the defect/grain size ratio.     

Influence of fretting on the fatigue strength at the vise clamp-specimen interface

Fretting fatigue is one of the most important phenomena for inducing a significant reduction of fatigue strength and consequently, leading to unexpected failure accidents of the engineering structures even at very low stresses. In the present study, both plain and fretting fatigue tests with zero mean stress were carried out on two different types of steel, low-carbon steel and martensitic stainless steel, by means of a reversed bending fatigue testing machine. The drop in the fatigue strengths through fretting at vise clamp-specimen interface were significant for both tested steels. The fretting processes produced a reduction in fatigue strength of about 27% for low-carbon steel and 16% for martensitic stainless steel.     

基于塑性应变能的多轴低周疲劳寿命预测模型

在分析多轴疲劳损伤机理的基础上,提出一个新的多轴低周疲劳寿命预测模型。此模型以临界平面上的塑性应变能作为疲劳损伤参量,分析了临界平面的特点并给出了损伤参量的计算过程。利用该模型预测了不同加载路径下的304不锈钢试件的疲劳寿命,并与试验值进行比较。结果表明,该损伤参量具有明确的物理意义,能够适用于多轴比例与非比例等各种复杂的加载情况。     

Strain-based multiaxial fatigue damage modelling

A new multiaxial fatigue damage model named characteristic plane approach is proposed in this paper, in which the strain components are used to correlate with the fatigue damage. The characteristic plane is defined as a material plane on which the complex three‐dimensional (3D) fatigue problem can be approximated using the plane strain components. Compared with most available critical plane‐based models for multiaxial fatigue problem, the physical basis of the characteristic plane does not rely on the observations of the fatigue crack in the proposed model. The cracking information is not required for multiaxial fatigue analysis, and the proposed model can automatically adapt for different failure modes, such as shear or tensile‐dominated failure. Mean stress effect is also included in the proposed model by a correction factor. The life predictions of the proposed fatigue damage model under constant amplitude loading are compared with a wide range of metal fatigue results in the literature.     

Analysis of the fatigue failure of a mountain bike front shock

We present an analysis of a mountain bike front shock failure. The failure of the 1-year-old shock occurred catastrophically as the bike was ridden off of a 1-m drop. The failure was the result of fast fracture through both shock tubes at the location where the tubes were press fit into the shock upper crown. Examination of the fracture surfaces of the tubes revealed regions of fatigue crack growth that nearly penetrated the entire thickness of both tubes. An estimate of the forces during use, coupled with stress analysis, revealed three stresses near the fracture site—axial compression, bending, and hoop stresses. During operation, the axial compressive stress is negligible while the hoop and bending stresses are significant. Based on fracture mechanics, and an estimate of the bending stress from a 1-m drop, it is confirmed that the fatigue cracks present on the fracture surface were large enough to induce fast fracture. Prior to the existence of the fatigue cracks, the stresses were magnified locally near the fracture site by a significant stress concentration caused by the sharp transition from the shock tube to the crown. The fatigue cracks initiated at a circumferential location in the tube commensurate with high tensile bending stress and the stiffest region of the crown (highest stress concentration). Based on the evidence, the most probable cause of the bike shock fatigue failure was the shock design, which facilitated high local stresses during use.     

Notched fatigue behavior including load sequence effects under axial and torsional loadings

Notch effects on axial and torsion fatigue behaviors of low carbon steel were investigated. Fully-reversed tests were conducted on thin-walled tubular specimens with or without a transverse circular hole. A shear failure mechanism was observed for both smooth and notched specimens and under both axial and torsion loadings. The notch effect was more pronounced under axial loading, in spite of higher stress concentration factor in torsion. The commonly used nominal S–N approach with fatigue notch factor in conjunction with von Mises effective stress resulted in overly conservative life predictions of both smooth and notched torsion fatigue lives. Neuber’s rule yielded notch root stress and strain amplitudes close to the FEA results for both axial and torsion loadings. The local strain approach based on effective strain obtained from Neuber’s rule or FEA resulted in poor correlation of the fatigue life data of smooth and notched specimens. The Fatemi–Socie critical plane parameter represented the observed failure mechanism and resulted in very good correlations of smooth and notched specimens fatigue data under both axial and torsion loadings. In block loading tests with equal number of alternating axial and torsion cycles at the same stress level, beneficial effect of axial loading was observed. Possible potential reasons for this unexpected behavior are discussed.     

Understanding low cycle fatigue and creep–fatigue interaction behavior of 316 L(N) stainless steel weld joint

The aim of this work is to study the time dependent effects on the low cycle fatigue (LCF) behavior of 316 L(N) stainless steel weld joint. Influence of strain rate, temperature, strain range, hold time and hold duration on fatigue life is evaluated. Occurrence of dynamic strain aging, creep damage, overall distribution of damage across the weld joint and the role of microstructure on the failure mode and failure location of the weld joint is discussed as a function of test parameters.