Low‐cycle fatigue/high‐cycle fatigue interactions in notched Ti‐6Al‐4V*

Combined low‐cycle fatigue/high‐cycle fatigue (LCF/HCF) loadings were investigated for smooth and circumferentially V‐notched cylindrical Ti–6Al–4V fatigue specimens. Smooth specimens were first cycled under LCF loading conditions for a fraction of the previously established fatigue life. The HCF 10⁷ cycle fatigue limit stress after LCF cycling was established using a step loading technique. Specimens with two notch sizes, both having elastic stress concentration factors of K_t = 2.7, were cycled under LCF loading conditions at a nominal stress ratio of R = 0.1. The subsequent 10⁶ cycle HCF fatigue limit stress at both R = 0.1 and 0.8 was determined. The combined loading LCF/HCF fatigue limit stresses for all specimens were compared to the baseline HCF fatigue limit stresses. After LCF cycling and prior to HCF cycling, the notched specimens were heat tinted, and final fracture surfaces examined for cracks formed during the initial LCF loading. Fatigue test results indicate that the LCF loading, applied for 75% of total LCF life for the smooth specimens and 25% for the notched specimens, resulted in only small reductions in the subsequent HCF fatigue limit stress. Under certain loading conditions, plasticity‐induced stress redistribution at the notch root during LCF cycling appears responsible for an observed increase in HCF fatigue limit stress, in terms of net section stress.     

Off-axis fatigue cracking behaviour in notched fibre metal laminates

The off‐axis fatigue cracking behaviour of notched fibre metal laminates under constant amplitude loading conditions was investigated experimentally and numerically. It was found that the off‐axis fatigue crack initiation life decreased as the off‐axis angles increased. This indicated that the off‐axis laminates raised the applied stress level in the aluminium (Al) layer and subsequently resulted in earlier cracking in the Al layer. The off‐axis fatigue crack initiation lives of notched fibre metal laminates were predicted using lamination theory and an energy‐based critical plane fatigue damage analysis from the literature. After a crack initiated in the Al layer, it was observed that the crack path angles of the off‐axis specimens were neither perpendicular to the fibre nor to the loading direction. A finite‐element model was established for predicting the crack path angles.     

Fatigue crack growth in fibre metal laminates with multiple open holes

The fatigue crack growth behaviour of hybrid S2‐glass reinforced aluminium laminates (Glare) with multiple open holes was investigated experimentally and analytically. It was observed that the presence of multiple‐site fatigue damage would increase crack growth rates in the metal layers as two propagating cracks converged. An analytical crack growth model was established for predicting crack growth rates based on empirical Paris equation. The effective stress intensity factor at crack tips is a function of mode I far‐field stress intensity factor, crack opening stress intensity factor and effective non‐dimensional stress intensity factor that incorporated the crack‐bridging effect in fibre metal laminates. The predicted results under different applied stress can capture the trend of averaged crack growth rates in experiments, although deviation exists in the predictions.     

Low‐cycle fatigue life prediction of various metallic materials under multiaxial loading

This paper proposed a simple life prediction model for assessing fatigue lives of metallic materials subjected to multiaxial low‐cycle fatigue (LCF) loading. This proposed model consists of the maximum shear strain range, the normal strain range and the maximum normal stress on the maximum shear strain range plane. Additional cyclic hardening developed during non‐proportional loading is included in the normal stress and strain terms. A computer‐based procedure for multiaxial fatigue life prediction incorporating critical plane damage parameters is presented as well. The accuracy and reliability of the proposed model are systematically checked by using about 300 test data through testing nine kinds of material under both zero and non‐zero mean stress multiaxial loading paths.     

Crack closure in fibre metal laminates

GLARE is a fibre metal laminate (FML) built up of alternating layers of S2-glass/FM94 prepreg and aluminium 2024-T3. The excellent fatigue behaviour of GLARE can be described with a recently published analytical prediction model. This model is based on linear elastic fracture mechanics and the assumption that a similar stress state in the aluminium layers of GLARE and monolithic aluminium result in the same crack growth behaviour. It therefore describes the crack growth with an effective stress intensity factor (SIF) range at the crack tip in the aluminium layers, including the effect of internal residual stress as result of curing and the stiffness differences between the individual layers. In that model, an empirical relation is used to calculate the effective SIF range, which had been determined without sufficiently investigating the effect of crack closure. This paper presents the research performed on crack closure in GLARE. It is assumed that crack closure in FMLs is determined by the actual stress cycles in the metal layers and that it can be described with the available relations for monolithic aluminium published in the literature. Fatigue crack growth experiments have been performed on GLARE specimens in which crack growth rates and crack opening stresses have been recorded. The prediction model incorporating the crack closure relation for aluminium 2024-T3 obtained from the literature has been validated with the test results. It is concluded that crack growth in GLARE can be correlated with the effective SIF range at the crack tip in the aluminium layers, if it is determined with the crack closure relation for aluminium 2024-T3 based on actual stresses in the aluminium layers.     

Predicting fatigue crack initiation in fibre metal laminates based on metal fatigue test data

A methodology is presented to predict the cycles to crack initiation in a notched fibre metal laminate subjected to cyclic loading. The methodology contains four steps. First, the far-field metal layer stress cycle is obtained using classical laminate theory. Second, the peak stress cycle is estimated from a combination of a handbook solution for the stress concentration factor in a finite isotropic plate, and analytical solutions for the stress concentration for equal situations in infinitely large plates. The third step is to adapt the amplitude of the peak stress cycle to the characteristics of S–N data for monolithic material from the literature to allow for the cycles to initiation to be read from the S–N curve for each metal layer.In contrast to what can be found hitherto in the literature about predicting the cycles to fatigue crack initiation in fibre metal laminates, the authors of this paper leave no obscurities but rather attempt to bring understanding of the complete path from situation to prediction.Test results from the literature for Glare 4B-3/2-0.3 have been replicated using the aforementioned methodology. It is shown that it can accurately predict the number of cycles to crack initiation, although the S–N data that is used for the predictions dictates the obtained accuracy. The closer the stress cycle value of the S–N data is to the value of the case analysed, the higher the accuracy obtained. Such a trend was not observed for the stress concentration factor of the S–N curves used, although a choice for S–N data with a different stress concentration factor can cause a significant change in precision. The method is also shown to work for several other fibre metal laminates.     

Fatigue crack growth in hybrid boron/glass/aluminium fibre metal laminates

The crack growth behaviour of hybrid boron/glass/aluminium fibre metal laminates (FMLs) under constant‐amplitude fatigue loading was investigated. The hybrid FMLs consist of Al 2024‐T3 alloy as the metal layers and a mixture of boron fibres and glass fibres as the fibre layers. Two types of boron/glass/aluminium laminates were fabricated and tested. In the first type, the glass fibre/prepreg and the boron fibre/prepreg were used separately in the fibre layers, and in the second type, the boron fibres and the glass fibres were uniformly mingled together to form a hybrid boron fibre/glass fibre prepreg. An analytical model was also proposed to predict the fatigue crack growth behaviour of hybrid boron/glass/aluminium FMLs. The effective stress intensity factor at a crack tip was formulated as a function of the remote stress intensity factor, crack opening stress intensity factor, and the bridging stress intensity factor. The bridging stress acting on the delamination boundary along the crack length was also calculated based on the crack opening relations. Then, the empirical Paris‐type fatigue crack growth law was used for predicting the crack growth rates. A good correlation between the predicted and experimental crack growth rates has been obtained.     

Fatigue damage development in new fibre metal laminates made by the VARTM process

This paper investigates the tensile and fatigue properties of a newly developed fibre metal laminate (FML) manufactured using the vacuum assisted resin transfer moulding (VARTM) method. This manufacturing method allows the glass fibre reinforced epoxy and 2024‐T3 aluminium FML to be prepared at lower cost than conventionally manufactured FMLs. However, in order for the resin to infiltrate the FML, the metal sheets need to be perforated. These perforation holes act as crack initiators and reduce the FML's performance. Tension and fatigue test results of three different designs are reported and compared to mechanical property predictions. Additionally, single sheet Al alloy specimens were tested in order to analyse the influence of the drilling method.     

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.     

Fatigue crack growth in fibre metal laminates under selective variable-amplitude loading

To extend the predictive capability of existing crack growth models for fibre metal laminates under constant amplitude fatigue loading to variable-amplitude loading, further research on variable-amplitude fatigue mechanisms in fibre metal laminates is necessary. In response to this need, an experimental study into the effects of multiple overloads, underloads and various block-loading sequences on crack growth in the fibre metal laminate Glare was investigated. Crack growth retardation effects were observed in the tests; however, the magnitude of these effects was lower than seen in monolithic aluminium because of fibre bridging. As a result, predictions of the observed behaviour were attempted using an existing constant-amplitude fatigue crack growth model for Glare in combination with a linear damage accumulation law.     

A cumulative damage model for fatigue life estimation of high‐strength steels in high‐cycle and very‐high‐cycle fatigue regimes

A cumulative fatigue damage model is presented to estimate fatigue life for high‐strength steels in high‐cycle and very‐high‐cycle fatigue regimes with fish‐eye mode failure, and a simple formula is obtained. The model takes into account the inclusion size, fine granular area (FGA) size, and tensile strength of materials. Then, the ‘equivalent crack growth rate’ of FGA is proposed. The model is used to estimate the fatigue life and equivalent crack growth rate for a bearing steel (GCr15) of present investigation and four high‐strength steels in the literature. The equivalent crack growth rate of FGA is calculated to be of the order of magnitude of 10^?14–10^?11 m/cycle. The estimated results accord well with the present experimental results and prior predictions and experimental results in the literature. Moreover, the effect of inclusion size on fatigue life is discussed. It is indicated that the inclusion size has an important influence on the fatigue life, and the effect is related to the relative size of inclusion for FGA. For the inclusion size close to the FGA size, the former has a substantial effect on the fatigue life. While for the relatively large value of FGA size to inclusion size, it has little effect on the fatigue life.     

Impact and subsequent fatigue damage growth in carbon fibre laminates

The influence of the ply stacking sequence on the impact resistance and subsequent O-tension fatigue performance of carbon fibre laminates has been investigated. Drop-weight impact tests were conducted on a range of 16 ply carbon fibre laminates with either all non-woven plies or mixtures of woven and non-woven plies. Damaged coupons were tested in O-tension fatigue for up to 10⁶ cycles, scanned using an ultrasonic probe and then loaded in tension until failure.The impact resistance and subsequent fatigue performance have been found to be sensitive to the ply stacking sequence. The non-woven composites showed a marked sensitivity to impact loading, but increases in residual static strength were noted after cycling. The inclusion of a woven fabric served to improve the impact resistance of the laminates. Fatigue cycling resulted in considerably improved residual static strengths; by 10⁶ cycles any effect of the impact damage had been removed.     

Vibroacoustic performance of fiber metal laminates with delamination

In the present work, the numerical assessment of vibroacoustic (VA) performance of fiber metal laminates (FML) with mid-plane center delamination is presented. A fluid structure interaction study has been done using finite element method (FEM). Experimental validation is performed on an aluminium (AL) panel for verifying the correctness of finite element (FE) idealization procedure to simulate the fluid-structure interaction. Delamination is introduced in the FE model of FML panel and VA analysis is subsequently carried out. Sound transmission loss (STL) is computed on the panel with center delamination and without delamination. The overall sound pressure level (OASPL) shows that the presence of delamination (40% in total area) in FML has not changed the total energy of the transmitted sound when compared to aluminium and composites. However, in the narrow frequency bands (150–200 Hz, 200–250 Hz), the sound transmission nature has been significantly affected due to local delamination modes participating in the fluid-structure interaction process.     

Influence of bulk damage on crack initiation in low‐cycle fatigue of 316 stainless steel

To investigate the effect of bulk damage on fatigue crack initiation, crack initiations due to low‐cycle fatigue of Type 316 stainless steel were observed by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and scanning electron microscopy. The EBSD observations showed that local misorientation developed inhomogeneously due to the cyclic strain, and many cracks were initiated from the slip steps and grain boundaries where the local misorientation was relatively large. The crack initiations could be categorized into two types: enhancement of the driving force by geometrical discontinuity (slip steps and notches), and reduction of material resistance against crack initiation caused by accumulated bulk damage at grain boundaries. In particular, more than half of the cracks were initiated from grain boundaries. However, in spite of the significant bulk damage, the fatigue life was extended by removing the surface cracks under strain of 1 and 2% amplitude. The stress state at the microstructural level was changed by the surface removal, and the damaged portion did not suffer further damage. It was concluded that although bulk damage surely exists, the fatigue life can be restored to that of the untested specimen by removing the surface cracks.     

A mathematical equation relating low cycle fatigue data to fatigue crack propagation rates

A mathematical equation is derived to predict fatigue crack growth rates on the basis of a J integral analysis from the fatigue fracture behaviour of low cycle fatigue samples. According to this equation, the fatigue crack propagation curves can be predicted if low cycle fatigue data and an initial microcrack size are available. The results obtained from this study show that the predicted fatigue crack propagation rates for Ti-24V, Ti-6Al-4V and Al-6Zn-2Mg alloys are very close to experimental values.     

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.     

Rapid method for low cycle fatigue properties: thickness effect on the fatigue crack initiation life of welded joints

Welded assemblies are commonly used in the shipbuilding industry. Because of the combination of stress concentration and cyclic loading, welded joints could be a critical area for fatigue damage. Thus, knowing stress and strain histories at the critical points of the structure is necessary, particularly when a confined plasticity occurs, to determine the fatigue life of welded assemblies. To avoid time‐consuming nonlinear finite element analyses (FEA), simplified estimation methods of the elastic–plastic strain/stress can be used. In a previous work, an approach to estimate stress state at critical points was developed and employed in the case of double‐notched specimens. The present paper focuses on welded joints in order to validate this strategy with the aim to estimate the fatigue crack initiation life of T‐joints. To go further, a parametric approach has been adopted to take into account the local geometries of welded joints and to determine the constraint operator without any FEA. The results predicted by this approach are compared with experimental fatigue results.     

High‐temperature low cycle fatigue damage assessment in near alpha IMI‐834 titanium alloy

In the present work, evolution of damage under high‐temperature (823 K) low cycle fatigue loading condition in near α IMI‐834 titanium alloy has been studied. The in situ damage has been experimentally measured during cyclic deformation using the alternating current potential drop (ACPD) technique. The measured damage curve has been compared with the damage curves calculated through mechanical variables such as cyclic modulus and stress amplitude. The ACPD damage curve has been found most sensitive towards high‐temperature low cycle fatigue damage evolution.     

Investigation of crack initiation and propagation behavior of AISI 310 stainless steel up to very high cycle fatigue

Fatigue behavior up to very high cycles for AISI 310 stainless steel has been investigated. The fatigue crack initiated from the surface of the material. It was found that up to 10⁶ cycles, cracks initiated from the carbide precipitates at grain boundaries. However, above 10⁶ cycles, the cracks initiated from persistent slip bands found at the surface of the specimen. At lower stress levels, slip bands were developed without initiating the cracks. The horizontal asymptote S–N curve from 10⁶ to 10⁹ cycles was attributed to the development of slip bands all over the surface of the specimen, before crack initiation.     

Interaction between matrix cracking and edge delamination in composite laminates

Matrix cracking and edge delamination are two main damage modes in continuous-fibre composite laminates. They are often investigated separately, and so the interaction between two damage modes has not yet been revealed. In this paper, a simple parallel-spring model is introduced to model the longitudinal stiffness reduction due to matrix cracking and edge delamination together. The energy release rate of edge delamination eliminating the matrix crack effect and the energy release rate of matrix cracking in the presence of edge delamination are then obtained. Experimental materials include carbon- and glass-fibre-reinforced bismaleimide composite laminates under static tension. The growth of matrix cracks and edge delaminations was recorded by means of NDT techniques. Results show that matrix cracks may initiate before or after edge lamination. This depends on the laminate layup, and especially on the thickness of the 90° plies. Edge delamination may also induce matrix cracking. Matrix cracking has a significant effect on the stiffness reduction in GRP laminates. The present model can predict the stiffness reduction in a laminate containing both matrix cracks and edge delaminations. The mixed-mode delamination fracture toughness obtained from the present model shows up to 50% differences compared with O'Brien's model for GRP laminates. However, matrix cracking has a small effect on the mixed-mode interlaminar fracture toughness of the CFRP laminates.