Gigacycle fatigue properties of 1800 MPa class spring steels

Fatigue tests up to 10⁸ cycles were carried out for two spring steels (Heats A and D1) and one valve spring steel (Heat F) with tensile strength, σ _B, of 1720, 1725 and 1764 MPa, respectively. The size and composition of inclusions in Heats Dl and F were controlled. The surface‐type fracture occurred at shorter lives below 10⁶ cycles, while the fish‐eye‐type fracture occurred at longer lives. The fatigue limit, σ _W, at 10⁸ cycles was 640 MPa for Heats A and D1 and 700 MPa for Heat F. Al₂O₃ inclusions for Heat A and both TiN inclusions and matrix cracks, i.e. internal facets, for Heat F were observed at the fish‐eye‐type fracture sites, while only matrix cracks were observed for Heat Dl. ODA, i.e. optically dark area, which is considered to be related to hydrogen effects, were formed around Al₂O₃ and TiN inclusions. Fatigue tests were also conducted after specimens were heated up to 573 K in high vacuum of 2 × 10^–6 Pa. The heat treatment eliminated matrix cracks for Heat D1 and the fatigue limit at 10⁸ cycles recovered to the estimated value of 920 MPa from the equation σ _w= 0.53 σ _B for the surface fracture. These results suggest that inclusions control and hydrogen influence the gigacycle fatigue properties for these high strength steels. In addition, it is expected that the creation of a martensite structure with a high resistance to hydrogen effects in the inclusion‐controlled steel could achieve the higher fatigue limit estimated for the surface‐type fracture.     

The fatigue limit of bearing steels – Part I: A pragmatic approach to predict very high cycle fatigue strength

Bearing steels and other high strength steels exhibit complex fatigue behavior in excess of 10⁷ cycles due to their sensitivity to defects like inclusions. Failure occurring in the very high cycle fatigue regime and the lack of an asymptote in the measured S–N data raise the questions as to the existence of fatigue limit and prediction of the fatigue strength of the high strength steel components. A series of two papers are written to discuss on the characteristics of the very high cycle fatigue and their implication for engineering applications. In the present paper (Part I) a deterministic defect model is developed to describe the fatigue crack growth from de-bonded hard inclusions. The model is shown to provide a unified prediction of fatigue behavior in different regimes, i.e. low cycle fatigue regime dictated by the tensile strength, high cycle fatigue regime obeying Basquin’s law and the very high cycle fatigue regime featured by the fish-eye and ODA (optically dark area) surrounding an interior fatigue-initiating inclusion on the fracture surface. The model predictions agree well with experiments. A combination of the deterministic model with a stochastic model that describes the inclusion size distribution allows prediction of fatigue strength and fatigue limit associated with certain reliability of a steel component. It is found that very high cycle fatigue, associated with interior inclusions, is attributed to the very slow crack propagation in vacuum condition, and that an asymptote for fatigue limit observed for mild steels also exists for high strength steels such as bearing steels, but extends beyond the very high cycle fatigue regime normally measured to-date. Monte Carlo simulation shows that such a fatigue limit asymptote becomes clearly visible in excess of 10¹² cycles, which is difficult to measure with today’s testing devices. Furthermore, the effects of steel cleanliness and specimen type and shape are studied by means of Monte Carlo simulations.     

基于内部失效机理预测评估渗碳Cr-Ni齿轮钢的超高周疲劳强度

对渗碳Cr-Ni齿轮钢进行应力比为0和0.3的室温超高周疲劳实验,观测试样中诱发裂纹萌生的夹杂和疲劳断口形貌,以全面评估渗碳Cr-Ni齿轮钢疲劳性能。将疲劳失效模式分为有细颗粒区(Fine granular area,FGA)的内部疲劳失效和有表面光滑区(Surface smooth area, SSA)的表面疲劳失效,并阐明了渗碳Cr-Ni齿轮钢的超高周内部疲劳破坏机制。基于累积损伤和位错能量法并结合细颗粒区形成机理和夹杂的最大评估尺寸,分别构建了两种渗碳Cr-Ni齿轮钢内部疲劳强度的预测模型。利用FGA尺寸与夹杂尺寸的比值和夹杂应力强度因子及应力比之间的关系,修正所提出的两种疲劳强度预测模型并给出了最大夹杂尺寸下的l_FGA-S-N曲线。结果表明,基于累积损伤法和位错能量法分别构建的疲劳强度预测模型都可用于预测评估渗碳Cr-Ni齿轮钢在多种应力比下的内部疲劳强度,基于位错能量法的强度预测模型精度较高。     

Investigation on defect distribution and its statistical evaluation for case hardened material states

The fracture behaviour of steel components with very hard material states under cyclic loading is mostly defined by non-metallic inclusions present in the material. The inclusion distribution is a result of specific conditions in steel making, casting and rolling processes. Standard methods (e.g. DIN EN 10247:2007) are commonly used for estimation of the distribution of non-metallic inclusions. These methods are based on random metallographic examination of longitudinal microsections and evaluation with standard pictures. For numerical evaluation of the endurance limit of very hard material states the knowledge of defect distribution of the material is necessary. However, the standard methods are not suitable to find the actual inclusion distribution.In a large investigation program on the fatigue strength of very hard material states, thin wall tubes made of a case hardening steel were tested. All fracture surfaces were investigated, size and coordinates of the fracture initiating defects were documented and analysed statistically. The defects appear as inclusion stringers stretched in rolling direction mainly containing Al-oxide. Several distribution functions for statistical analysis were investigated.Furthermore, transverse microsections with a total area of about 2000 mm² were investigated and the data of the maximum width of inclusion stringers were also analysed statistically. Comparison of the extreme value distribution of inclusions made by metallography and fractography, respectively, show that the metallographic method considerable underestimates the actual size of inclusions. Therefore micrographic methods are not suitable to generate input data for inclusion distribution based on fatigue design.     

Effects of shot peening on bending fatigue strength of spring steel SS 2090

Abstract

The influence of prior surface condition and of a shot peening treatment on the bending fatigue strength of a standard Si–Cr spring steel (SS 2090) has been investigated. This steel was initially hardened and tempered to a hardness of 52–54 HRC. After shot peening, compressive residual stresses had been introduced into a surface layer of depth ~0·3 mm, with the maximum value of ~1000 MN m^?2 being found close to the surface. The effect of this treatment was to increase the fatigue limit by ~40% to 890 MN m^?2. Coincident with this increase was a change in the site of fatigue initiation from a surface to a subsurface location beneath the compressive residual stress layer. The initiating inclusions, which were 20–40 μm in size, were analysed and found to be Al₂O₃. At stress amplitudes greater than the fatigue limit, initiation was invariably found to occur at the surface and was not always due to inclusions. Inclusion initiated failure has been modelled using the size and spatial distribution of inclusions in the test bars in addition to the variation of applied and residual stresses through the section. A crack propagation criterion based on linear elastic fracture mechanics is used, assuming that propagation is controlled by stress intensity threshold value. It is assumed that small cracks exist at oxide inclusions from the beginning of the fatigue life and that failure is associated with the propagation of one of these cracks.

MST/1392     

3D modeling of subsurface fatigue crack nucleation potency of primary inclusions in heat treated and shot peened martensitic gear steels

A computational strategy is developed to characterize the driving force for fatigue crack nucleation at subsurface primary inclusions in carburized and shot peened C61^® martensitic gear steels. Experimental investigation revealed minimum fatigue strength to be controlled by subsurface fatigue crack nucleation at inclusion clusters under cyclic bending. An algorithm is presented to simulate residual stress distribution induced through the shot peening process following carburization and tempering. A methodology is developed to analyze potency of fatigue crack nucleation at subsurface inclusions. Rate-independent 3D finite element analyses are performed to evaluate plastic deformation during processing and service. The specimen is subjected to reversed bending stress cycles with R = 0.05, representative of loading on a gear tooth. The matrix is modeled as an elastic–plastic material with pure nonlinear kinematic hardening. The inclusions are modeled as isotropic, linear elastic. Idealized inclusion geometries (ellipsoidal) are considered to study the fatigue crack nucleation potency at various subsurface depths. Three distinct types of second-phase particles (perfectly bonded, partially debonded, and cracked) are analyzed. Parametric studies quantify the effects of inclusion size, orientation and clustering on subsurface crack nucleation in the high cycle fatigue (HCF) or very high cycle fatigue (VHCF) regimes. The nonlocal average values of maximum plastic shear strain amplitude and Fatemi–Socie (FS) parameter calculated in the proximity of the inclusions are considered as the primary driving force parameters for fatigue crack nucleation and microstructurally small crack growth. The simulations indicate a strong propensity for crack nucleation at subsurface depths in agreement with experiments in which fatigue cracks nucleated at inclusion clusters, still in the compressive residual stress field. It is observed that the gradient from the surface of residual stress distribution, bending stress, and carburized material properties play a pivotal role in fatigue crack nucleation and small crack growth at subsurface primary inclusions. The fatigue potency of inclusion clusters is greatly increased by prior interfacial damage during processing.     

Simulated extreme value fatigue sensitivity to inclusions and pores in martensitic gear steels

The objective of this work is to model the sensitivity of high cycle fatigue resistance of secondary hardening martensitic gear steels to variability in extrinsic inhomogeneities such as primary inclusions, and pores, coupled with intrinsic microstructure variability. A simplified approach is presented to quantify the variability in the driving force for fatigue crack formation in the matrix at non-metallic inclusions and pores in lath martensitic gear steels using a three-dimensional crystal plasticity constitutive model. The utility of a simulation-based strategy for exploring sensitivity of minimum fatigue lifetime (low probability of failure) to microstructure lies in its inherent capability to consider parametric simulations of hundreds of inclusions and microstructures in contrast to limited numbers of physical experiments. Experiments are used to calibrate the polycrystalline cyclic stress–strain response and mean (50% probability) fatigue crack formation life. Several remote loading conditions are considered in the high cycle fatigue (HCF) regime relevant to typical gear applications. Idealized inhomogenieties (spherical) in the form of hard (Al₂O₃), soft inclusions (La₂O₂S), and pores are systematically investigated in this parametric computational study. Relations between remote loading conditions and local plasticity are discussed as a function of stress amplitude and microstructure. The maximum plastic shear strain range is used in the modified form of Fatemi–Socie parameter evaluated at the grain scale as a measure of the driving force for fatigue crack formation (nucleation and early growth to lengths on the order of several times the average grain size). Multiple realizations of the polycrystal microstructure are considered to obtain a statistical distribution of this fatigue indicator parameter (FIP). The results are used to construct an extreme value Gumbel distribution of the FIPs for the selected microstructures. Subsequently, a computational micromechanics based minimum life estimate that corresponds to 1% fatigue crack formation probability is calculated.     

High-cycle Fatigue Fracture Behavior of Ultrahigh Strength Steels

The fatigue fracture behavior of four ultrahigh strength steels with different melting processes and therefore different inclusion sizes were studied by using a rotating bar two-point bending fatigue machine in the high-cycle regime up to 107 cycles of loading. The fracture surfaces were observed by field emission scanning electron microscopy （FESEM）. It was found that the size of inclusion has significant effect on the fatigue behavior. For AtSI 4340 steel in which the inclusion size is smaller than 5.5 μm, all the fatigue cracks except one did not initiated from inclusion but from specimen surface and conventional S-N curve exists. For 65Si2MnWE and Aermet 100 steels in which the average inclusion sizes are 12.2 and 14.9 μm, respectively, fatigue cracks initiated from inclusions at lower stress amplitudes and stepwise S-N curves were observed. The S-N curve displays a continuous decline and fatigue failures originated from large oxide inclusion for 60Si2CrVA steel in which the average inclusion size is 44.4 pro. In the case of internal inclusion-induced fractures at cycles beyond about 1×10^6 for 65Si2MnWE and 60Si2CrVA steels, inclusion was always found inside the fish-eye and a granular bright facet （GBF） was observed in the vicinity around the inclusion. The GBF sizes increase with increasing the number of cycles to failure Nf in the long-life regime. The values of stress intensity factor range at crack initiation site for the GBF are almost constant with Nf, and are almost equal to that for the surface inclusion and the internal inclusion at cycles lower than about 1×10^6. Neither fish-eye nor GBF was observed for Aermet 100 steel in the present study.     

铁素体-珠光体型非调质钢的高周疲劳破坏行为

研究了三种碳和钒含量不同的铁素体-珠光型非调质钢的高周疲劳破坏行为,并与调质钢进行了对比.结果表明,铁素体-珠光体型非调质钢的高周疲劳性能与其微观组织特征有关.提高铁素体相硬度,其疲劳极限及疲劳极限比均提高,疲劳极限比最高可达0.60,远高于调质钢的0.50;热轧态粗大的网状铁素体-珠光体组织的疲劳性能较差,低于同等强度水平的高温回火马氏体组织。铁素体-珠光体型非调质钢疲劳破坏机制不同于调质钢,其疲劳裂纹基本上萌生于试样表面的铁素体/珠光体边界,并优先沿着铁素体/珠光体边界扩展;对于同等强度水平的调质钢,不存在像铁素体那样的软相,因而易在试样表层粗大的夹杂物处萌生疲劳裂纹.     

渗碳Cr-Ni高强硬度合金钢超高周疲劳寿命预测

为了给渗碳合金钢提供一种有效可行的超高周疲劳寿命预测方法,在应力比为0和0.3两种情况下,对渗碳Cr-Ni高强硬度合金钢展开疲劳试验研究.通过对试样断口的微观组织观测,发现渗碳层与基体材料中均有非金属夹杂的存在;通过对裂纹萌生位置和疲劳断口形貌的观察,将疲劳失效分为带有细晶粒区(Fine Granular Area,F...     

INITIAL FRACTURE MECHANISMS IN NICKEL ALLOYED PM STEEL

Abstract— Initial fatigue crack propagation mechanisms at near threshold conditions were studied for four nickel-alloyed, powder-metallurgy (PM) steels. Fatigue fracture surfaces were obtained by testing smooth rectangular specimens at 30 Hz and under constant amplitude and zero mean stress conditions. Materials based on Distaloy AE were used in two densities, namely 7.15 and 7.45 g/cm³.
All the fracture surfaces were composed of three morphological regions (i) a macrocrack initiation region Rl where cracks propagated preferentially through particles (ii) a macrocrack growth region R2 and (iii) an unstable crack growth region R3 where cracks propagated preferentially between particles. Initial fatigue crack growth, in region R1, was controlled by the propagation of short cracks whose dimensions were comparable to the material microstructure. The subsequent fatigue crack growth in regions R2 and R3 was controlled by ductile rupture between microvoids. Transparticle fracture in region R1 was independent of pore distribution, while interparticle fracture in regions R2 and R3 was dependent on pore distribution.     

Characterization of inclusions in clean steels: a review including the statistics of extremes methods

The application of new secondary refining techniques and non-metallic inclusion reduction techniques in steel production processes has greatly reduced the size and amount of non-metallic inclusions remaining in molten steels and steel products. This makes the inspection of inclusions difficult. Here the main methods used for the characterization of inclusions in clean steels are reviewed. The influences of inclusions on the properties of steels are discussed. Statistical methods for the prediction of the maximum inclusion size in a large volume of steel are introduced. Methods based on the statistics of extremes are described in detail. The methodology for the practical application of these methods is described and the factors affecting the precision of the estimation are discussed.     

Effect of Cold Rolling on Morphology of Carbides and Properties of 7Cr17MoV Stainless Steel

The evolution of the carbides and mechanical properties of 7Cr17MoV stainless steel used as cutlery material during cold rolling was investigated in this study. The results demonstrate that the microstructure of the rolled steel is composed of pearlite and spheroidal carbides. After cold rolling, the aggregation of carbides was no longer evident, and the carbides appeared to be small in size and uniformly distributed, whereas carbides in hot-rolled strips are clearly aggregated. Decreasing the thickness of the cold-rolled strips decreased the size of the carbide particles while increasing their number, which improved the particle distribution. A large number of fine, even nano-scaled carbides were observed in the material. The carbide phase, which primarily consisted of M₂₃C₆, did not change during cold rolling and annealing. The tensile strength and yield strength first decreased and then increased, and the elongation increased as the thickness of the cold-rolled strips decreased. Dimples and inclusion particles were readily observed upon tensile fracture. The inclusions are identified to be primarily carbides and oxide inclusions.     

Evaluation of giga-cycle fatigue properties of some maraging steels by intermittent ultrasonic fatigue testing

ABSTRACT In evaluating the giga-cycle fatigue strength of some high strength steels, information on the size distribution of nonmetallic inclusions contained in the material is indispensable. To save time and effort of obtaining such data concerning the inclusions, a convenient dissolution method to evaluate the maximum inclusion size is proposed, in place of a conventional method of measuring the inclusion sizes on many cross-sectional areas. Meanwhile, to save time-consuming work of obtaining giga-cycle fatigue properties of some metallic materials, an intermittent ultrasonic fatigue testing method has also been developed. In the present paper, these two newly developed methods were successfully combined to assess the long life fatigue properties of maraging steels as a function of inclusion size.     

Detrimental effect of nitride and aluminium oxide inclusions on fatigue life in rotating bending of bearing steels

Abstract

Rotating bending fatigue tests were performed on hardened AISI type 52100 bearing steel. Fracture surfaces after testing at a stress amplitude of 950 MPa showed that the Ti(C,N) inclusions which caused fatigue failure were significantly smaller than the corresponding alumina inclusions. The smallest crack initiating Ti(C,N) inclusion had a size of 3 μm and the smallest alumina inclusion was 17 μm. It was also shown that fatigue life was significantly shorter for a steel which showed cracked alumina inclusions on the fracture surfaces than for a steel which had non-cracked inclusions. Finite element calculations were performed to determine the driving forces of short cracks at Ti(C,N) and alumina inclusions. Two configurations were studied in each case, based on both non-cracked and cracked inclusions. The calculations incorporated heat treatment simulation and cyclic loading with successive growth of cracks. It was found that the Ti(C,N) configurations gave the highest driving forces for crack growth. The alumina configuration with a non-cracked inclusion gave the lowest driving force. It was concluded based both on experimental evidence and theoretical considerations that Ti(C,N) inclusions are more detrimental to fatigue life than alumina inclusions of the same size. It is their shape and thermal properties which make Ti(C,N) inclusions more detrimental than alumina inclusions. Internal cracking of alumina inclusions leads to reduced fatigue life.     

Effects of rare earth elements on inclusions and impact toughness of high-carbon chromium bearing steel

High-carbon chromium bearing steels with different rare earth (RE) contents were prepared to investigate the effects of RE on inclusions and impact toughness by different techniques. The results showed that RE addition could modify irregular Al₂O₃ and MnS into regular RE inclusions. With the increase of RE content, the reaction sequence of RE and potential inclusion forming elements should be O, S, As, P and C successively. RE inclusions containing C might precipitate in molten steel and solid state, but the precipitation temperature was significantly higher than that of carbides in high-carbon chromium bearing steel. For experimental bearing steels, the volume fraction of inclusions increased steadily with the increase of RE content, but smaller and more dispersed inclusions could be obtained by 0.018% RE content compared with bearing steel without RE, whereas the continuous increase of RE content led to an increasing trend for inclusion size and a gradual deterioration for inclusion distribution. RE addition could improve the transverse impact toughness and isotropy of bearing steel, and for modified high-carbon chromium bearing steel by RE alloying, the increase of RE content continuously increased both transverse and longitudinal impact toughness until excessive RE addition.     

On the mechanism of fatigue failure in the superlong life regime (N>107 cycles). Part 1: influence of hydrogen trapped by inclusions

The fracture surfaces of specimens of a heat-treated hard steel, namely Cr–Mo steel SCM435, which failed in the regime of N = 10⁵ to 5 × 10⁸ cycles, were investigated by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Specimens having a longer fatigue life had a particular morphology beside the inclusion at the fracture origin. The particular morphology looked optically dark when observed by an optical microscope and it was named the optically dark area (ODA). The ODA looks a rough area when observed by SEM and atomic force microscope (AFM). The relative size of the ODA to the size of the inclusion at the fracture origin increases with increase in fatigue life. Thus, the ODA is considered to have a crucial role in the mechanism of superlong fatigue failure. It has been assumed that the ODA is made by the cyclic fatigue stress and the synergetic effect of the hydrogen which is trapped by the inclusion at the fracture origin. To verify this hypothesis, in addition to conventionally heat-treated specimens (specimen QT, i.e. quenched and tempered), specimens annealed at 300 °C in a vacuum (specimen VA) and the specimens quenched in a vacuum (specimen VQ) were prepared to remove the hydrogen trapped by inclusions. The specimens VA and VQ, had a much smaller ODA than the specimen QT. Some other evidence of the influence of hydrogen on superlong fatigue failure are also presented. Thus, it is concluded that the hydrogen trapped by inclusions is a crucial factor which causes the superlong fatigue failure of high strength steels.     

A theory for fatigue crack propagation

A new continuum mechanics model is developed for predicting fatigue crack propagation rates using a fracture mechanics approach. The model demonstrates the critical dependence of fatigue crack growth on the fatigue ductility exponent, the fatigue ductility coefficient, the elastic modulus and the fracture toughness; it is related to the stress intensity range, implying that fatigue crack growth is critically dependent upon the condition at the tip of the crack.Four materials are studied, namely a creep resistant stainless steels, FV535; a $\text{2}\text{1}\text{2}$ per cent nickel-chromium-molybdenum direct hardening steel, 2S96D; a nickel base heat resisting alloy INCO 901; and a ferrous alloy containing titanium carbide in a medium alloy tool steel matrix, known as Ferrotic C.The developed model provides a means of predicting crack propagation rates based on mechanical properties, and the simplified model provides a fundamental basis for a more general form of the Paris relationship.     

Fracture toughness of M2 and H13 alloy tool steels

Abstract

The influence of microstructural variations on the fracture toughness of two tool steels having compositions (wt-%) lC–4Cr–5Mo–2V–6W (AISI M2 high-speed steel) and 0·35C–5Cr–1·5Mo;amp;#x2013;1V (AISI H13 hot-work steel) was investigated. In the as-hardened condition, the H13 steel has a higher fracture toughness than M2 steel, and the latter steel is harder. In the tempered condition, the H13 steel is again softer and has a higher fracture toughness than M2. There is a decrease in fracture toughness and an increase in hardness when the austenitizing temperature is above I050°C for M2 steel and above 1100°C for H13 steel, in both the as hardened and hardened and tempered conditions. The fracture toughness of both steels was enhanced by reducing the grain size and increasing the overall carbide volume in the matrix. The steel samples of average grain diameter ≥40μm exhibit 2–3 MN m ^?3/2 lower fracture toughness than samples of average grain diameter ≤15 μm. A high content of retained austenite appears to raise the fracture toughness of as-hardened M2 steel. Tempering improved the fracture toughness of M2 and H13 steels. The present results are explained using observations of changes in the microstructure and the modes of fracture.

MST/468     

Prediction of fatigue limit of induction surface hardened 1.05Cr–0.23Mo steel alloy using extreme value statistics

Fatigue characteristics of the surface hardened steel are different from that of normal steel, so the prediction of the fatigue limit of surface hardened steel is very complicated. In this paper, specimens are tested using rotary bending, and the surface of 1.05Cr–0.23Mo steel alloy is hardened by induction surface hardening. Variation of the distribution of microvickers hardness and residual stress is discussed, and the difference of S-N diagram between surface hardened steel and unhardened steel is examined. The maximum defect size of surface hardened specimen is calculated by the extreme value statistics to predict conservative fatigue limit. Actual shape of defect in the specimen is three dimensional, so a conversion method from 2D to 3D defect size based on examination volume and inclusion size is used to predict statistical maximum defect size. The predicted results can be defined as a lower fatigue limit which may be useful to predict conservative fatigue limit of surface hardened specimen.