A criterion for omission of variable amplitude loading histories

The standard random loading sequence EC9 and the cycle-by-cycle sequences TWIST and MiniTWIST have been edited by a procedure based on notch or local (hot spot) stress, and the results of tests on specimens of FE 690 and AIMg4.5Mn using original and edited spectra are compared. Omission of small cycles below a filter level of about 50% of the materials' constant amplitude endurance limit was found to be ‘allowable’; this figure was confirmed by a variety of literature data. Using this level, the crack initiation lives (compared with the fatigue life under the unedited sequence) were longer by 10–30% for EC9 and by 20–55% for TWIST and MiniTWIST. In addition, for the latter two spectra, the crack propagation lives were longer by up to 90% with a detrimental influence of higher loading levels. Total life of the notched aluminium specimens increased by 30–70% using a filter level of 50% of the material's endurance limit.     

Simulated flight fatigue of an alpha/beta titanium alloy

Simulated flight (FALSTAFF) fatigue tests have been carried out on precracked single edgenotch test-pieces of (Ti4Al4Mo2Sn0.5Si) IMI 550 titanium alloy. Predictions of simulated flight fatigue behaviour have been made from constant amplitude fatigue data, using a damage accumulation approach, with no allowance for load history. The predicted lives were conservative compared with the measured lives, and accurate within a factor of approximately two. Retardation of fatigue crack growth increased with increasing load amplitude. The microstructure produced by β-solution heat treatment at 1010°C, followed by ageing, was found to improve simulated flight fatigue lives by up to approximately 100% compared with standard solution treatment at 900°C, followed by ageing.     

STRESS STATE-RELATED FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH UNDER SPECTRUM LOADING

Abstract— The fatigue crack growth behaviour in aluminium alloy sheets of 2024-T3 and 7475-T761, subjected to standardized spectra (TWIST and FALSTAFF), was investigated using centre-cracked specimens. A strip crack closure model was used to interpret experimental data, and to make predictions for the crack growth.
The strip model is based on the Dugdale concept, but modified to keep plastically-stretched materials on the crack surface so that the crack opening load can be determined, and the fatigue crack growth can be analysed according to Elber's crack growth assumption. Differing from other models of the same kind, a variable constraint factor was introduced to account for the gradual transition of stress state at the crack tip resulting from the crack growth. It has been shown that the transition of stress state at the crack tip causes the unusual behaviour of the fatigue crack growth in sheets. Both experiments and predictions show that a crack may grow faster at a low load than at a higher one in a certain applied load range due to the crack tip stress state transition. The crack tip stress state also contributes to the thickness effect observed for the crack growth in sheets. In agreement with experimental results, it has been shown that a plane stress state will prevail at the crack tip in a thin sheet compared to that in a thick sheet. The plane stress state results in a higher crack opening level which leads to a longer fatigue life for thin sheets.     

FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH UNDER AN EQUIVALENT FALSTAFF SPECTRUM

Abstract—Optical fractography was used to estimate growth of small cracks at notches under programmed FALSTAFF loading in an Al-Cu alloy. Crack sizes as low as 25 microns and growth rates over two orders of magnitude could be resolved using this technique. Randomized MiniFALSTAFF load sequence was modified into a programmed load equivalent with major loads either preceding or following marker loads. Crack growth rate under programmed FALSTAFF spectrum as estimated by optical fractography conformed to compliance based estimates on a SE(T) specimen. Long crack growth rates under programmed and randomized MiniFALSTAFF spectrum were essentially similar. Spectrum load fatigue crack growth was studied in central hole coupons under notch inelastic conditions. Scatter in growth rates for small notch cracks was found to be of the same magnitude as that of long cracks. Multiple fatigue cracks are observed at the notch root, and they appear to influence each other.     

The significance of fractography for investigations of fatigue crack growth under variable-amplitude loading

Fatigue crack growth tests were carried out on 2024-T3 and 7075-T6 centrally cracked specimens. Variable-amplitude (VA) load spectra were used with periodic overload (OL) cycles added to constant-amplitude (CA) cycles. The fatigue fracture surfaces were examined in the SEM to obtain more detailed information on crack growth contributions of different load cycles. The striation patterns could be related to the load histories. SEM observations were related with (i) delayed retardation, (ii) the effect of 10 or a single OL on retardation, (iii) crack growth during the OL cycles, and (iv) crack growth arrest after a high peak load. Fractographs exhibited local scatter of crack growth rates and sometimes a rather tortuous 3D geometry of the crack front. Indications of structurally sensitive crack growth under VA loading were obtained. Fractography appears to be indispensable for the evaluation of fatigue crack growth prediction models in view of similarities and dissimilarities between crack growth under VA and CA loading.     

Gust severity effects on fatigue crack propagation in aluminium alloy sheet materials

Flight simulation fatigue tests were carried out on specimens of two aluminium alloys to investigate the effect of differing gust load experiences on fatigue crack propagation in 7075-T6 and the effect of gust load alleviation on 2024-T3. Two gust spectra were used: the Fokker F-27 spectrum for 7075-T6; and the reference spectrum TWIST for 2024-T3. There was a large systematic effect of gust severity on crack propagation rates in 7075-T6, and this effect correlated with the stress intensity factor for the root mean square of the gust amplitudes. Gust alleviation increased the crack initiation and total lives for 2024-T3, but decreased the crack propagation lives owing to a lessening of crack growth retardation following severe flights.     

Effects of different indentation methods on fatigue life extension of cracked specimens

In this paper, 3 different indentation methods have been investigated for crack arresting and fatigue life enhancement of cracked components. The influence of residual stresses induced by indentation on fatigue crack growth (FCG) rate was explored by experiments and numerical simulations. Fatigue tests were conducted on a group of specimens which were indented on the crack tip by various indentation load magnitudes. For another group of specimens, the double indentation and triple indentation methods were applied on the cracked specimens with the aim of obtaining proper residual stress fields that contribute to higher crack growth retardations. Both the numerical and experimental results revealed that the higher indentation loads led to larger domain of compressive residual stress around the crack tip and consequently to higher fatigue life extension. In addition, the triple indentation method resulted in more FCG retardation compared with single and double indentation methods. Furthermore, for the specimens repaired by double and triple indentation methods, indenting ahead of the crack tip led to retardation in more crack growth compared with the other horizontal positions of indentation.     

变幅载荷下纤维金属层板的疲劳与寿命预测

文章建立了纤维金属层板等幅疲劳载荷下的疲劳裂纹扩展速率与寿命预测模型。在此基础上对玻璃纤维-铝合金层板（GLARE）的疲劳裂纹扩展与分层扩展行为进行了试验研究,探讨了层板过载疲劳行为的机理,提出了纤维金属层板变幅载荷下疲劳寿命预测的等效裂纹闭合模型,并在GLARE层板上得到了验证。     

Fatigue behaviour and life prediction of fibre reinforced metal laminates under constant and variable amplitude loading

ABSTRACT Fatigue crack growth of fibre reinforced metal laminates (FRMLs) under constant and variable amplitude loading was studied through analysis and experiments. The distribution of the bridging stress along the crackline in centre‐cracked tension (CCT) specimen of FRMLs was modelled numerically, and the main factors affecting the bridging stress were identified. A test method for determining the delamination growth rates in a modified double cracked lap shear (DCLS) specimen was presented. Two models, one being fatigue‐mechanism‐based and the other phenomenological, were developed for predicting the fatigue life under constant amplitude loading. The fatigue behaviour, including crack growth and delamination growth, of glass fibre reinforced aluminium laminates (GLARE) under constant amplitude loading following a single overload was investigated experimentally, and the mechanisms for the effect of a single overload on the crack growth rates and the delamination growth rates were identified. An equivalent closure model for predicting crack‐growth in FRMLs under variable amplitude loading and spectrum loading was presented. All the models presented in this paper were verified by applying to GLARE under constant amplitude loading and Mini‐transport aircraft wing structures (TWIST) load sequence. The predicted crack growth rates are in good agreement with test results.     

Characteristics of fatigue crack propagation behaviour as identified by hysteresis loop at the crack tip

Fatigue crack propagation tests have been carried out under various load conditions. Hysteresis loops denoting the relationship between load and strain at the crack tip are obtained by using local compliance measurement. Crack growth acceleration, delayed retardation and non‐propagation phenomena are investigated by considering the variation of hysteresis loop expansion and hysteresis loop tail. Based on the physical meaning of hysteresis loops, two types of crack closure are ascertained and the effect of crack closure on fatigue crack propagation is studied. Results show that change of the effective amplitude of the stress intensity factor at the crack tip is the reason that crack propagation rates vary.     

Systematic fatigue spectrum editing by fast wavelet transform and genetic algorithm

Fatigue testing is critical in order to establish the service life of load-bearing components and structures. The extensive time associated with full fatigue spectrum testing can lead to prohibitive costs. A significant need exists for a fatigue load spectrum editing methodology, based on the mechanics of fatigue, that produces load spectra that can replicate service damage in laboratory testing and can lead to compressed testing times and reduced costs. In this work, a wavelet genetic (WAVEGEN) algorithm is developed to edit fatigue loading spectra using wavelet analysis to greatly reduce the length of a spectrum while retaining the same damage accumulation characteristics. In addition, an optimization protocol using a genetic algorithm is included within this process to automatically select the best wavelet editing parameters. The algorithm is designed to identify the most suitable wavelet type, filter, and level to optimally edit a given fatigue spectrum and ensure equivalence between edited and unedited spectra from a damage perspective. The algorithm was applied to two well-known aircraft fatigue spectra: Fighter Aircraft Loading Standard for Fatigue evaluation (FALSTAFF) and Transport Wing Standard (TWIST). The proposed approach has demonstrated that both spectra can be compressed significantly even while ensuring equivalence from a damage perspective.     

Fatigue crack propagation under in‐phase and out‐of‐phase biaxial loading

Fatigue damage characteristics of aluminium alloy under complex biaxial loads such as in‐phase and out‐of‐phase loading conditions and different biaxiality ratios have been investigated. The effects of microscale phenomena on macroscale crack growth were studied to develop an in‐depth understanding of crack nucleation and growth. Material characterization was conducted to study the microstructure variability. Scanning electron microscopy was used to identify the second phase particles, and energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy was performed to analyse their phases and elements. Extensive quasi‐static and fatigue tests were conducted on Al7075‐T651 cruciform specimens over a wide range of load ratios and phases. Detailed fractography analysis was conducted to understand the crack growth behaviour observed during the fatigue tests. Significant differences in crack initiation and propagation behaviour were observed when a phase difference was applied. Primarily, crack retardation and splitting were observed because of the constantly varying mode mixity caused by phase difference. The crack growth behaviour and fatigue lives under out‐of‐phase loading were compared with those under in‐phase loading to understand the effect of mixed‐mode fracture.     

Load sequence effects in fatigue crack growth of thick-walled welded C–Mn steel members

Many welded steel structures in marine, offshore, and infrastructural industries are subjected to variable amplitude (VA) fatigue loads. It is well known that the level and sequence of the load cycles can cause crack growth retardation or acceleration and thus influence the fatigue life. An important sequence effect is generated by a large stress cycle followed by smaller stress cycles. Whereas the effect of single large stress cycles in a further constant amplitude (CA) load on central through cracks in thin-walled aluminium sheet is well established, studies into the effects of practical VA loads on cracks in thick-walled welded steel structures are less common. This paper presents the results of CA tests with large stress peaks and VA tests on 70 mm C–Mn steel butt welded 4-point bending specimens with crack growth in thickness direction. It is demonstrated that loading by a sequence of accelerating and subsequent decelerating stress cycles cause significant retardation of the crack growth and that the same stress cycles but placed in random sequence hardly result in retarded crack growth. The obtained crack growth versus number of cycles for as-welded and stress relieved specimens have been simulated using two relatively simple crack rate retardation models, being the well-known Willenborg model and the Space-state model developed by Ray and Patankar. The latter model is also used to simulate crack growth of semi-elliptical surface cracks in welded steel structures tested by others. The Space-state model is able to predict experimental results with reasonable to good accuracy. A proposal is put forward for future improvement of the model.     

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.     

The role of air in fatigue load interaction

Natural fatigue crack formation and growth were studied in notched Al–Cu alloy coupons through high‐resolution SEM fractography. The experiments were conducted under programmed loading conditions designed to induce microscopic marking of the crack formation and growth process under varying stress ratio and closure‐free crack tip conditions. Control experiments were performed by switching between an air and vacuum environment. In air, varying the stress ratio from 0.74 down to 0.64 retards crack growth by up to a factor of five. This ‘closure‐free’ stress ratio history effect totally disappears in vacuum, suggesting a significant environmental influence on stress ratio and its history. Crack‐tip stress state appears to moderate environmental action, revealing a potential mechanism sensitive to residual stress. Consequently, crack closure, residual stress and crack front and plane orientation are identified as major load interaction mechanisms whose synergistic action controls fatigue under variable amplitude loading. The study also appears to suggest that as a consequence of the crack seeking the path of least resistance, load‐sequence sensitive crack plane and front orientation may only induce retardation effects.     

On the development of crack closure at high R levels after an overload

ABSTRACT In a 1999 paper it was asserted that crack closure cannot be of major importance in the mechanism of crack retardation following an overload, particularly since the authors found no evidence for crack closure at high R‐values, although crack retardation was observed. In the present work, overload experiments were carried out at R = 0.5 and crack closure was observed. In addition, the rate of fatigue crack growth in both constant amplitude and overload tests was found to be a function of ΔK_eff. It is concluded that crack closure is an important part of the retardation mechanism.     

Fatigue crack growth analysis of 2024 T3 aluminium specimens under aircraft service spectra

The fatigue crack growth behaviour of 2024 T3 aluminium was investigated experimentally. The fatigue experiments were performed under constant stress amplitude, constant amplitude with single and multiple overloads and aircraft service spectra. The fatigue spectra used correspond to the air-to-air, air-to-ground and instrumentation and navigation flight phases. They were applied for different stress levels. In total 11 different random flight service spectra were examined. The retardation effects caused by the overloads on the fatigue crack growth behaviour and the fatigue crack growth under aircraft service spectra were predicted using an in-house-developed code. The code makes use of the strip plastic zone approximation to account for material hardening effects along the path of prospective crack growth. Crack growth is treated incrementally and corresponds to failure of material elements ahead of an existing crack after a certain critical number of fatigue cycles. For the simulation of irregular service spectra by equivalent sequences of distinguished stress cycles a modified rainflow counting method is utilized. Spectrum simulation accounts also for non-linearity in fatigue damage accumulation and load sequence effects. The computed fatigue curves fit well with the experimental results.     

An experimental investigation on fatigue crack growth of AL6XN stainless steel

The crack growth behavior of AL6XN stainless steel was experimentally investigated using round compact tension (CT) specimens. The influences of the R-ratio (the ratio of the minimum load over the maximum applied load in a cycle), the tensile and compressive overloads, and the loading sequence on crack growth were studied in detail. The results from the constant-amplitude experiments show a sensitivity of the crack growth rate to the R-ratio. The application of a tensile overload has a profound effect on crack growth, resulting in a significant retardation in the crack propagation rate. A compressive overload (underload) leads to a short-lived acceleration in crack growth. Results from the two-step high-low loading reveal a period of crack growth retardation at the beginning of the lower amplitude step, an effect similar to that of a single overload. A crack driving force parameter together with a modified Wheeler model is found to correlate the crack growth experiments well.     

Combined action of crack closure and residual stress under periodic overloads: A fractographic analysis

The close relationship between sequence-sensitive near-tip residual stress and threshold stress intensity raises questions about load interaction models currently in use to estimate fatigue crack growth under variable amplitude loading. In an attempt to address them, experiments were performed on an Al–Cu alloy under specially designed load sequences with periodic overloads. Fractographic evidence from these tests confirms that fatigue crack closure, together with sequence sensitive variation in threshold stress intensity appear to explain all observed results. The fractographic data provide quantitative inputs for improved modeling of variable-amplitude fatigue, particularly at near-threshold crack growth rates. This study appears to suggest that conventional approaches based on the Wheeler and Willenborg residual stress models can provide reasonable estimates only by coincidence. They model the wrong parameter at lower fatigue crack growth rates and may simply not be valid at other growth rates.     

An experimental investigation of fatigue crack growth of stainless steel 304L

A series of fatigue crack growth experiments were conducted using round compact tension specimens of AISI 304L stainless steel under Mode I loading. The influences of the R-ratio (the ratio of the minimum load to the maximum applied load in a cycle), notch size, the tensile and compressive overloads, and the loading sequence on crack growth were studied. The results show that the material displays sensitivity to the R-ratio. The application of a tensile overload results in a short period of acceleration in the crack growth rate followed by a significant retardation in the crack growth rate. A compressive overload (underload) produces a short period of acceleration in crack growth and the magnitude of such an acceleration depends on the value of the loading amplitude of the constant-amplitude loading. Results from the two-step high-low loading sequence reveal a period of crack growth retardation at the beginning of the lower amplitude step, an effect similar to that of a single overload. Two existing crack growth models which are based on the stress intensity factor concept are evaluated using the experimental results. A two-parameter crack driving force approach together with a modified Wheeler’s model is found to correlate well the crack growth experiments.