In‐phase and out‐of‐phase thermomechanical fatigue behavior of 4Cr5MoSiV1 hot work die steel cycling from 400 °C to 700 °C

The hysteresis loops, stress and strain behavior, lifetime behavior and fracture characteristic of 4Cr5MoSiV1 hot work die steel at a wide range of mechanical strain amplitudes (from 0.5% to 1.3%) during the in‐phase (IP) and out‐of‐phase (OP) thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) tests cycling from 400 °C to 700 °C under full reverse strain‐controlled condition were investigated. Stress‐mechanical strain hysteresis loops of 4Cr5MoSiV1 steel are asymmetric, and stress reduction appears at high‐temperature half cycles owing to a decrease in strength with increasing temperature. 4Cr5MoSiV1 steel always exhibits continuous cyclic softening for both types of TMF tests, and the cyclic softening rate is larger in OP loading condition. OP TMF life of 4Cr5MoSiV1 steel is approximately 60% of IP TMF life at the same mechanical strain amplitude and maximum temperature. Lifetime determined and predicted in both types of TMF tests is adequately described by the Ostergren model. Fracture surfaces under IP TMF loading display the striation and tear ridge, showing quasi‐cleavage characteristics, and the cracks are less but longer. However, fracture surfaces under OP TMF loading mainly display the striation and dimple characteristics, and the cracks are more and shorter.     

A modification of Smith–Watson–Topper damage parameter for fatigue life prediction under non‐proportional loading

In this paper, the shortcomings of the Smith–Watson–Topper (SWT) damage parameter are analysed on the basis of the critical plane concept. It is found that the SWT model usually overestimates the fatigue lives of materials since it only takes into account the fatigue damage caused by the tensile components. To solve this problem, Chen et al. (CXH) modified the SWT model through considering the shear components. However, there are at least two problems present in CXH model: (1) the mean stress is not considered and (2) the different influence of the normal and shear components on fatigue life is not included. Besides, experimental validations show that the modification by Chen et al. usually leads to conservative fatigue life predictions during non‐proportional loading. In order to overcome the shortcomings of SWT and CXH models, a damage parameter as the effective strain energy density (ESED) is proposed. Experimental validations by using eight kinds of materials show that the ESED model can give satisfactory fatigue life predictions under the non‐proportional loading.     

Stress‐life prediction of 25°C polypropylene materials based on calibration of Zhurkov fatigue life model

In this study, to evaluate the chemical and mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP), activation‐energy and tensile tests were performed at room temperature (25°C) on pure PP and PP reinforced with glass fibre (GF). To improve the prediction accuracy of the fatigue life, three models based on the calibration of the Zhurkov model were proposed: a regression model, modified strain‐rate model and lethargy coefficient‐based model. Based on the experimental data analysis and statistical assessment results, we proposed a modified strain‐rate model that satisfies the dependency of the physical parameters and is congruent with the predicted fatigue life data. The experimental data and modified strain‐rate model were compared with the direct cyclic analysis results. The tendency of the frequency factor as a correction parameter in the modified strain‐rate model corresponded to the experimental activation energy and the increasing GF content.     

Low cycle fatigue behaviour of a 1Cr-Mo-V steel with bainite and ferrite microstructure

A 1Cr-Mo-V turbine rotor steel forging, heat treated to obtain a bainite-20% ferrite microstructure, has been investigated for low cycle fatigue behaviour at room temperature and 535°C. In addition to establishing life expectancy curves, cyclic stress response and cyclic stress/strain curves were derived and the influence of time-dependent effects on high temperature low cycle fatigue life was also determined by introducing varying hold times at the peak tensile strain level of the fatigue cycle. The life expectancy curve obtained is comparable to that reported for the bainitic structure in this steel. Introduction of a dwell period of 5 min is found to reduce the low cycle fatigue life by a factor of 1.6.     

Biaxial fatigue for proportional and non‐proportional loading paths

In order to study the use of a local approach to predict crack‐initiation life on notches in mechanical components under multiaxial fatigue conditions, the study of the local cyclic elasto‐plastic behaviour and the selection of an appropriate multiaxial fatigue model are essential steps in fatigue‐life prediction. The evolution of stress–strain fields from the initial state to the stabilized state depends on the material type, loading amplitude and loading paths. A series of biaxial tension–compression tests with static or cyclic torsion were carried out on a biaxial servo‐hydraulic testing machine. Specimens were made of an alloy steel 42CrMo4 quenched and tempered. The shear stress relaxations of the cyclic tension–compression with a steady torsion angle were observed for various loading levels. Finite element analyses were used to simulate the cyclic behaviour and good agreement was found. Based on the local stabilized cyclic elastic–plastic stress–strain responses, the strain‐based multiaxial fatigue damage parameters were applied and correlated with the experimentally obtained lives. As a comparison, a stress‐invariant‐based approach with the minimum circumscribed ellipse (MCE) approach for evaluating the effective shear stress amplitude was also applied for fatigue life prediction. The comparison showed that both the equivalent strain range and the stress‐invariant parameter with non‐proportional factors correlated well with the experimental results obtained in this study.     

Damage behaviour of laminated composites during fatigue loading

This study deals with the modelling of damage evolution in the carbon/epoxy laminated composites under static and fatigue loading. A cumulative damage model is developed on the basis of damage evolution due to static and fatigue during cyclic loading. A continuum damage mechanics (CDM)‐based damage model coupling with the micromechanics has been utilized to predict the fatigue behaviour of laminate composites. A multicriterion approach has been introduced to predict the damage behaviour in the longitudinal, transverse, and shear direction at the ply scale. Extensive experimental results on T300/EPL1012 carbon/epoxy laminates are prepared to characterize under static and fatigue loading and to evaluate the proposed model in different conditions. The obtained results show that at the beginning of the cyclic loading, the damage grows suddenly and increases until final failure, which justifies the proposed method is able to predict the evolution of the damage due to static and fatigue loading separately during cyclic loading. The obtained results show that considering damage due to static loading leads to more accurate results, particularly in low‐cycle fatigue.     

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.     

Development of a unified creep‐fatigue equation including heat treatment

Background

Creep and fatigue damages in metals are known to interact and then lead to aggregated damage. While models exist for fatigue, creep and creep‐fatigue, no models cover all 3 load regimes. Also, a heat treatment–related parameter is not well included in most creep‐fatigue models.

Need

There is a need to develop a creep‐fatigue equation, which covers the full loading regime from pure fatigue to pure creep, and creep‐fatigue. Also needed is inclusion of a heat treatment–related parameter.

Approach

The unified creep‐fatigue equation was started from the Coffin‐Manson equation and integrated with the Manson‐Haferd parameter. This equation was validated on Inconel 718.

Outcomes

The method of deriving the coefficients and the formula of the creep function are demonstrated, and the resulting equation shows a good ability to describe the grain‐size effect and the fully integrated characteristics.

Originality

Original contributions of this work are the development of a new formulation to represent creep, fatigue and creep‐fatigue in metals. Also the inclusion of grain size—which is a proxy for heat treatment—in the formulation of this equation and in a proposed modified Manson‐Haferd parameter.     

An investigation of the fatigue of CK45 steel in the as‐received state and after pre‐fatigue deformation

Fatigue failure, ratcheting behaviour and influence of pre‐fatigue on fatigue behaviour were investigated under uniaxial cyclic loading for CK45 steel at room temperature. The fatigue life was recorded for various stress ratios, and then, three mean stress models were considered. The Walker model showed an acceptable accuracy in comparison with Smith–Watson–Topper and Park et al. models. The ratcheting strains were measured for various loading conditions in order to evaluate the impact of mean stress, stress amplitude and stress ratio on ratcheting behaviour. The experimental results showed that the ratcheting strain increased with increasing mean stress, stress amplitude and stress ratio. In addition, the results of the post‐ratcheting‐fatigue tests showed that although the fatigue life decreased with increasing pre‐ratcheting strain (the ratcheting strain that is accumulated in pre‐fatigue), the loading condition that pre‐fatigue experiments were conducted has a significant effect on subsequent fatigue behaviour.     

Multiaxial low‐cycle fatigue life evaluation under different non‐proportional loading paths

This paper presents analytical and experimental investigations for fatigue lives of structures under uniaxial, torsional, multiaxial proportional, and non‐proportional loading conditions. It is known that the rotation of principal stress/strain axes and material additional hardening due to non‐proportionality of cycle loading are the 2 main causes resulting in shorter fatigue lives compared with those under proportional loading. This paper treats these 2 causes as independent factors influencing multiaxial fatigue damage and proposes a new non‐proportional influencing parameter to consider their combined effects on the fatigue lives of structures. A critical plane model for multiaxial fatigue lives prediction is also proposed by using the proposed non‐proportional influencing factor to modify the Fatemi‐Socie model. The comparison between experiment results and theoretical evaluation shows that the proposed model can effectively predict the fatigue life due to multiaxial non‐proportional loading.     

Cumulative fatigue damage of stress below the fatigue limit in weldment steel under block loading

To investigate the cumulative fatigue damage below the fatigue limit of multipass weldment martensitic stainless steel, and to clarify the effect of cycle ratios and high‐stress level in the statement, fatigue tests were conducted under constant and combined high‐ and low‐stress amplitude relative to stress above and below the fatigue limit. The outcomes indicate that neither modified Miner's nor Haibach's approach provided accurate evaluation under repeated two‐step amplitude loading. Moreover, effect of cycle ratios has been determined. Additionally, the cumulative fatigue damage saturated model is established and validated. Cumulative fatigue damage contributed by low‐stress below the fatigue limit in high stress of 700 MPa is higher than that with 650 MPa at identical conditions (fatigue limit 575 MPa). Thus, high stress affects fatigue damage behaviour below the fatigue limit. A new predicted approach has been proposed based on Corten‐Dolan law, whose accuracy and applicability have been proven.     

A fatigue driving energy approach to high‐cycle fatigue life estimation under variable amplitude loading

In this paper, a concept of fatigue driving energy is formulated to describe the process of fatigue failure. The parameter is taken as a combination of the fatigue driving stress and strain energy density. By assessing the change of this parameter, a new non‐linear damage model is proposed for residual life estimation within high‐cycle fatigue regime under variable amplitude loading. In order to consider the effects of loading histories on damage accumulation under such condition, the load interaction effects are incorporated into the new model, and a modified version is thus developed. Life predictions by these two models and Miner rule are compared using experimental data from literature. The results show that the proposed model gives lower deviations than the Miner rule, while the modified model shows better prediction performances than the others. Moreover, the proposed model and its modifications are ease of implementation with the use of S–N curve.     

The rate-dependent behaviour of ± 55 ° filament-wound glass-fibre/epoxy tubes under biaxial loading

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation into the behaviour of glass-fibre-reinforced epoxy tubes subjected to monotonic biaxial loading. Commercially available tubes with a filament winding pattern of ± 55 ° were tested in a biaxial testing machine with various ratios of axial stress to hoop stress. In addition, the tubes were tested at three rates of monotonic loading. The resulting stress/strain curves were analyzed and biaxial failure envelopes in terms of stress and strain were constructed demonstrating the complexity of the behaviour of the tubes. It is shown that the rate and ratio of biaxial loading affect the monotonic failure strength, damage accumulation and the mode of failure. In addition, these results are discussed based on macro and micro observations of damage and failure modes.     

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.     

Ratcheting behaviour and mean stress considerations in uniaxial low-cycle fatigue of Inconel 718 at 649 °C

The ratcheting behaviour of Inconel 718 was investigated at 649 °C under uniaxial cyclic loading. Stress-control tests have been conducted at various combinations of stress amplitude and mean stress. The ratcheting strain at failure increases with increasing mean stress for a given stress amplitude and with decreasing stress amplitude for a given mean stress. Fatigue lives were correlated using three mean stress models: the Goodman equation, the Smith–Watson–Topper (SWT) parameter and the Walker parameter. It has been shown that the Goodman equation and the SWT parameter do not correlate life data, while the Walker parameter yields acceptable correlation. The SWT parameter was modified to incorporate the ratcheting effect. The new parameter is found to yield correlation similar to that of the Walker parameter.     

Low‐cycle fatigue of 316L stainless steel under proportional and nonproportional loadings

This paper discusses low‐cycle fatigue characteristics of 316L stainless steel under proportional and nonproportional loadings. Tension–torsion multiaxial low‐cycle fatigue tests were performed using five strain paths. Additional hardening was observed under nonproportional loadings and was more significant in tests with larger nonproportionality. Mises equivalent strain, Smith–Watson–Topper, Fatemi–Socie, Kandil–Brown–Miller and nonproportional strain parameters were applied to the experimental data to evaluate the multiaxial low‐cycle fatigue damage. The applicability of the damage laws to practical design was discussed.     

Low‐cycle fatigue life behaviour of BS 460B and BS B500B steel reinforcing bars

This paper investigates the low‐cycle fatigue resistance of BS 460B and BS B500B steel reinforcing bars and proposes models for predicting their fatigue life based on plastic‐strain (?_ap) and total‐strain (?_a) amplitudes. Constant‐amplitude, strain‐controlled low‐cycle fatigue tests were carried out on these bars under cyclic load with a frequency of 0.05 Hz. The maximum applied axial strain amplitude (?_s,max) ranges from 3 to 10% with zero and non‐zero mean strains. The strain ratios (R = ?_s,min/?_s,max) used are R =?1, ?0.5 and 0. Hysteresis loops were recorded and plastic and total strain amplitudes were related to the number of reversals (2N_f) to fatigue failure and models for predicting the number of reversals to fatigue failure were proposed. It is concluded that the predicted fatigue life of these bars is very accurate when compared with the measured experimental fatigue life results for wide range of values of strain ratios. It is also observed that based on plastic‐strain amplitude, BS B500B consistently has a longer life (higher number of cycles to failure) than those of BS 460B for all R values; however, at low plastic‐strain amplitudes they tend to behave similarly, irrespective of R value. Other observations and conclusions were also drawn.     

Bond behaviour of high‐strength concrete flexural member under low cyclic fatigue loading

Use of high‐strength concrete can lead to more economical design reducing the material requirements, weight of structure and extended service life of structure. The effect of fatigue loading is more prominent on the structures using high‐strength concrete. Bond between concrete and reinforcing bars is a major factor affecting the performance and sustainability of reinforced concrete structures. Less research is available on the effect of low cyclic fatigue loading on the bond strength of high‐strength concrete. In this research, reinforced concrete beams (1165 × 150 × 225 mm) were tested under low cyclic loading with different stress range levels. It can be concluded that the bond strength of high‐strength concrete is more than for normal‐strength concrete. Low‐cyclic fatigue loading decreased the bond strength under monotonic loading by about 43–45%. Energy dissipation during cycling is found to be good. At higher cycles, energy dissipation decreased because of local damages in front of bar ribs. With the increase in number of cycles, change in slip behaviour was found.     

Fatigue behaviour of 16Mo3 steel at elevated temperatures under uniaxial as well as biaxial‐planar loading

The isothermal fatigue behaviour of the ferritic steel 16Mo3 was investigated at 200 and 500 °C under uniaxial and biaxial‐planar loading. Furthermore, thermo‐mechanical fatigue behaviour under uniaxial loading was characterized under in‐phase (IP) and out‐of‐phase (OP) conditions between 200 and 500 °C. The fatigue lives of uniaxial and biaxial loading are in a good agreement to each other by using the distortion energy hypothesis according to von Mises. Under IP and OP thermo‐mechanical loading, nearly the same lifetimes were determined. They agree well with those of the isothermal tests at 500 °C. A recently developed fatigue lifetime model was applied on all tests and shows an excellent agreement within a scatter of two.     

Finite-element analysis and experimental study on tensile fatigue behaviour of bitumen–stone adhesion

Tensile fatigue behaviours of bitumen–stone adhesion were investigated using a dynamic mechanics analyser under stress‐controlled mode at two temperatures of 5 and 25°C and various controlled‐stress levels. Failure characteristics including interfacial failure and cohesive failure were examined using image analysis of fracture surfaces. Finite‐element analysis on stress distributions was conducted under different temperatures, film thickness and interfacial bonding conditions. A Coulomb–Mohr like criterion in combination with shear and normal stresses is proposed to deal with the extreme thin adhesive layer, which can be further simplified into an adhesive zone without significant loss of accuracy for stress analysis.