Fatigue behavior and failure mechanism of basalt FRP composites under long-term cyclic loads

This paper studies the fatigue behavior of basalt fiber reinforced epoxy polymer (BFRP) composites and reveals the degradation mechanism of BFRP under different stress levels of cyclic loadings. The BFRP composites were tested under tension–tension fatigue load with different stress levels by an advanced fatigue loading equipment combined with in-situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The specimens were under long-term cyclic loads up to 1 × 10⁷ cycles. The stiffness degradation, S–N curves and the residual strength of run-out specimens were recorded during the test. The fatigue strength was predicted with the testing results using reliability methods. Meanwhile, the damage propagation and fracture surface of all specimens were observed and tracked during fatigue loading by an in-situ SEM, based on which damage mechanism under different stress levels was studied. The results show the prediction of fatigue strength by fitting S–N data up to 2 × 10⁶ cycles is lower than that of the data by 1 × 10⁷ cycles. It reveals the fatigue strength perdition is highly associated with the long-term run-out cycles and traditional two million run-out cycles cannot accurately predict fatigue behavior. The SEM images reveal that under high level of stress, the critical fiber breaking failure is the dominant damage, while the matrix cracking and interfacial debonding are main damage patterns at the low and middle fatigue stress level for BFRP. Based on the above fatigue behavior and damage pattern, a three stage fracture mechanism model under fatigue loading is developed.     

Control of ferroelectric phase transition in nano particulate NBT–BT based ceramics

Lead free relaxor NBT–BT based ceramic compositions were prepared using sol–gel method. The samples were sintered around 1140 °C for 3–4 h in the air. The characterization was done using X-ray diffraction (XRD), filed emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), Raman, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), dielectric and P–E loop measurements. The XRD patterns recorded at room temperature confirmed the phase formation of the samples. From FESEM micrographs, the particle sizes were estimated for calcined powders and are found to be in the range of 50–70 nm. The analysis of both Raman and FTIR spectral data of the samples also indicated the distortion of NBT lattice with the addition of Ba²⁺ and Nd³⁺ ions. It was found that the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of NBT–BT compositions beyond the morphotrophic phase boundary (MPB) are rather sensitive to the presence of tetragonal phase in addition to the rhombohedral phase. NBT ceramics exhibit a decrease in diffusive factor with increasing BT content, implying a degradation of relaxor feature leading to the normal ferroelectric nature. The ceramic samples employed in the present study exhibited variation in P–E hysteresis loops.     

Gigacycle fatigue initiation mechanism in Armco iron

Microstructure irreversibility plays a major role in the gigacycle fatigue crack initiation. Surface Persistent Slip Bands (PSB) formation on Copper and its alloy was well studied by Mughrabi et al. as typical fatigue crack nucleation in the very high cycle fatigue regime. In the present paper, Armco iron sheet specimens (1 mm thickness) were tested under ultrasonic frequency fatigue loading in tension–compression (R = −1). The test on the thin sheets has required a new design of specimen and new attachment of specimen. After gigacycle fatigue testing, the surface appearance was observed by optical and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Below about 88 MPa stress, there is no PSBs even after fatigue cycle up to 5 × 10⁹. With a sufficient stress (above 88 MPa), PSBs in the ferrite grain was observed by optic microscope after 10⁸ cycles loading. Investigation with the SEM shows that the PSB can appear in the body-centered cubic crystal in the gigacycle fatigue regime. Because of the grain boundary, however, the local PSB did not continually progress to the grain beside even after 10⁹ cycles when the stress remained at the low level.     

Carbon composites based on multi-axial multi-ply stitched preforms – Part 6. Fatigue behaviour at low loads: Stiffness degradation and damage development

This article studies the fatigue properties of a carbon-fibre cross-ply non-crimp fabric reinforced epoxy composite. Tensile–tensile fatigue cycling was carried out at load levels corresponding to the onset of damage in a static tensile test, in machine, cross and bias direction. Specimens in machine and cross direction did not fail up to 10⁶ cycles; specimens in bias direction had an average fatigue life N_max of 3 × 10⁵ cycles. Stiffness degradation in bias direction samples was found to be more severe than in machine or cross direction. Damage development in the samples was studied by means of X-ray photography and appears to show remarkable resemblance to the development under a static tensile test and can be qualitatively compared to the behaviour of non-stitched UD laminates. Post-fatigue tensile tests were done at various stages of the fatigue life. Small differences in damage onset strain level can be found. Failure strain of bias direction tested samples shows significant decrease upon cycling.     

Life time and cyclic slip of copper in the VHCF regime

Studies were performed on the fatigue properties of polycrystalline copper at very low cyclic stress amplitudes and very high numbers of cycles. The experiments were carried out with the time-saving ultrasonic fatigue technique. Thus, experiments up to more than 10¹⁰ cycles could be performed within reasonable testing time. Main result is that below the PSB threshold, irreversible cyclic slip along crystallographic planes still occurs, as evidenced by changes in the surface slip line pattern down to strain and stress amplitudes that are as low as approximately only half of the PSB threshold values. These values are named SB (slip band) thresholds. No fatigue limit in the conventional sense could be detected below 1 × 10¹⁰ cycles. Thus, a threshold value at 1 × 10¹⁰ cycles is defined (named fatigue life threshold in this study) which is roughly 50% higher than the PSB threshold. The question whether the SBs are actually PSBs or whether continued cycling below the PSB threshold would ultimately lead to PSB formation and finally failure after extremely long testing has to be answered in future studies.     

Lead-free electrostrictive bismuth perovskite ceramics with thermally stable field-induced strains

Electric field-induced strain (EFIS) properties of Bi_1/2(Na_0.82K_0.18)_1/2TiO₃ (BNKT) ceramics modified with Sr(K_1/4Nb_3/4)O₃ (SKN) have been investigated as functions of composition and temperature. BNKT ceramics near a phase boundary revealed the coexistence of ferroelectric rhombohedral and tetragonal phases, resulting in a typical ferroelectric butterfly-shaped bipolar S–E loop at room temperature, whose normalized strain (S_max/E_max) showed a significant temperature coefficient of 0.38 pm/V/K. However, 5 mol% SKN-modified BNKT ceramics revealed a typical electrostrictive behaviour with a thermally stable electrostrictive coefficient, Q₃₃ = 0.021 m⁴/C², which is almost comparable to that of Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃ (PMN) ceramics that have been dominantly used as Pb-based electrostrictive materials over the last decades.     

High piezoelectric response in the new coexistent phase boundary of 0.87BaTiO3–(0.13-x)BaZrO3–xCaTiO3

An investigation of the coexistent ferroelectric phase was carried out on the ternary system of 0.87BaTiO₃–(0.13-x)BaZrO₃–xCaTiO₃ [abbreviated as BT–BZ–xCT (where 0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.13)]. Temperature-, frequency-dependent dielectric data, electric field-dependent strain and polarization as a function of composition are presented in order to understand the relationships of structure-properties and find the high piezoelectric response in this system. Results showed that ceramics in the composition range of 0.00 ≤ x < 0.04 were of a rhombohedral structure and transformed into a tetragonal structure at x > 0.06. The multiphase coexistence of the rhombohedral and tetragonal phase in this system was identified at x = 0.06. A large, virtually hysteresis-free electric field induced strain of 0.23% was achieved with the composition, x = 0.06, at 40 kV/cm on the boundary between rhombohedral and tetragonal phase. This relates to an extraordinarily high and normalized piezoelectric coefficient (S_max/E_max) of 1280 pm/V, which was reached at a low electric field applied at 10 kV/mm. These results indicated that a high piezoelectric response may stem primarily from the rhombohedral-tetragonal phase boundary, due to greater lattice softening and reduced energy barriers for polarized rotation.     

Effect of stitch density on fatigue characteristics and damage mechanisms of stitched carbon/epoxy composites

The effect of stitch density (SD) on fatigue life, stiffness degradation and fatigue damage mechanisms in carbon/epoxy (T800SC/XNRH6813) stitched using Vectran thread is presented in this paper. Moderately stitched composite (SD = 0.028/mm²; ‘stitched 6 × 6’) and densely stitched composite (SD = 0.111/mm²; ‘stitched 3 × 3’) are tested and compared with composite without stitch thread (SD = 0.0; ‘unstitched’). The experiments show that the fatigue life of stitched 3 × 3 is moderately better than that of unstitched and stitched 6 × 6. Stitched 3 × 3 pattern is also able to postpone the stiffness degradation onset. The improvement of fatigue properties and postponement of stiffness degradation onset in stitched 3 × 3 is primarily due to an effective impediment of edge-delamination. Quantification of damage at various cycles and stress levels shows that stitch density primarily affects the growth rate of delamination.     

Comparison of fatigue strengths of biocompatible Ti-15Zr-4Nb-4Ta alloy and other titanium materials

The fatigue strength of an annealed Ti-15Zr-4Nb-4Ta alloy at 1 × 10⁸ cycles was approximately 730 MPa. The fatigue strength of its alloy was much improved following an ageing treatment after a solution treatment. The tension-to-tension fatigue strengths of annealed Ti-6Al-4V, V-free Ti-6Al-7Nb, Ti-6Al-2Nb-1Ta, and Ti-15Mo-5Zr-3Al alloys at 1 × 10⁸ cycles were approximately 685, 600, 700, and 350 MPa, respectively. The ratios of fatigue strength at 1 × 10⁸ cycles to ultimate tensile strength for the α- and (α + β)-type Ti materials were higher than 65%.     

Electrocaloric properties of (1 − x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–xPbTiO3 ferroelectric ceramics near room temperature

Electrocaloric effects of (1 − x)Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃–xPbTiO₃ [abbreviated as (1 − x)PMN–xPT] ferroelectric ceramics with x being, 0.08, 0.10, and 0.25, respectively, were measured near room temperature, and the origins of the electrocaloric effects of these ceramics were discussed. It was found that these ceramics possess large electrocaloric effect with ΔT being, more than 1 K under an electric field of 1.5 kV mm⁻¹ in a wide temperature range (more than 10 K) near room temperature, and this effect is due to both of the electrocaloric effect resulting from the electric field induced first-order phase transition and the linear electrocaloric effect. It is expected that these ceramics could be used for multi-stage cascade ferroelectric refrigeration near room temperature.     

Fatigue of 2024-T351 aluminium alloy at different load ratios up to 1010 cycles

Fatigue properties of 2024-T351 aluminium alloy are investigated in the high cycle fatigue (HCF) and very high cycle fatigue (VHCF) regime. Endurance tests are performed with ultrasonic equipment at 20 kHz cycling frequency at load ratios of R = −1, R = 0.1 and R = 0.5 up to 10¹⁰ cycles. Additional servo-hydraulic tests between 8 and 10 Hz at R = 0.1 show no frequency influence on fatigue lifetimes. Linear lines in double logarithmic S–N plots are used to approximate data. Slope exponents of approximation lines increase with increasing numbers of cycles for all load ratios. Failures above 5 × 10⁹ cycles (R = −1 and R = 0.1) or 10¹⁰ cycles (R = 0.5) occur, and no fatigue limit is found. Fatigue cracks leading to failures above 10⁹ cycles are initiated at the surface or slightly below at broken constituent particles or at agglomerations of fractured particles, which are probably Al₇Cu₂(Fe, Mn). Specimens stressed with more than 10¹⁰ cycles at R = −1 without failure show several cracks starting at constituent particles. Maximum crack lengths are 30 μm, which is considerably below grain size.     

Effect of strain amplitude on the low-cycle fatigue behavior of a new Fe–15Mn–10Cr–8Ni–4Si seismic damping alloy

The low-cycle fatigue (LCF) properties and post-fatigue microstructure of a Fe–15Mn–10Cr–8Ni–4Si austenitic alloy were investigated under an axial strain control mode with total strain amplitudes, Δε_t/2, ranging from 2.5 × 10⁻³ to 2 × 10⁻². The fatigue resistance of the alloy was described by Coffin–Manson’s and Basquin’s relationships, and the corresponding fatigue parameters were evaluated. In addition, the Masing behavior, which is associated with a constant deformation mode during fatigue, was revealed at the examined strain amplitudes. Microstructural observations of the fatigue fractured samples showed that the strain induced ε-martensitic transformation accompanied by a planar slip of the Shockley partial dislocations in the austenite is the main deformation mode controlling the fatigue behavior of the studied alloy at Δε_t/2 < 2 × 10⁻². However, at Δε_t/2 = 2 × 10⁻², the formation of a cell structure was found in the austenite in addition to ε-martensitic transformation. The LCF resistance of the alloy was compared with conventional Cr–Ni austenitic stainless steels, ferrous base TRIP and TWIP steels and low yield point damping steels. It was found that at the studied strain amplitudes the alloy possessed a higher LCF resistance compared to conventional Fe-base alloys and steels. Remarkably, the fatigue ductility coefficient, ε_f′, of the studied alloy is 1.3–6 times higher than that of the stainless steels because of a cyclic deformation-induced ε-martensitic transformation. The results showed that the ε-martensitic transformation that occurred in the studied alloy during LCF is the main reason for the improved LCF resistance.     

Processing and electrical properties of (1 − x)[(1 − y)(Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3)–y(Pb(Yb1/2Nb1/2)O3)]–xPbTiO3 ceramics

Ferroelectric ceramics in the vicinity of morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) with compositions represented as (1 ? x)[(1 ? y)(Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃)–y(Pb(Yb_1/2Nb_1/2)O₃)]–xPbTiO₃ were prepared by solid state reaction. The addition of PYbN to PMN–PT decreased the sintering temperature from 1200 °C (y = 0.25) to 1000 °C (y = 0.75). The PT content, where the MPB was observed, increased with the PYbN addition. A remanent polarization value of 28.5 µC/cm² and a coercive field value of 11 kV/cm were measured from 0.62[0.25PMN–0.75PYbN]–0.38PT ceramics, which were close to the ones measured from PMN–0.32PT ceramics. In addition, the Curie temperature was found to increase with PYbN additions.     

High permittivity and low dielectric loss of Na0.5Bi0.5−xLaxCu3Ti4O12 ceramics

The phase structure, microstructure and dielectric properties of Na_0.5Bi_0.5?xLa_xCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ (NBLCTO) ceramics were investigated. La³⁺ substitution had a great influence on the phase structure and dielectric properties. The results showed that the pure phase could be more easily obtained when substituting La³⁺ for Bi³⁺. Under the same processing condition (970 °C for 7.5 h) and measuring condition (10 kHz around room temperature), NBLCTO ceramics with x = 0.10 possessed the highest permittivity (1.02 × 10⁴) and lowest dielectric loss (0.022). The obtained NBLCTO ceramics with x = 0.10 also had good frequency stability and good temperature stability (?1.87% to +3.27%) from ?60 °C to 120 °C at both 1 and 10 kHz. Complex impedance results revealed that the grain resistance R_g was 7.18 Ω cm and the grain boundary resistance R_gb was 1.19 × 10⁶ Ω cm.     

The effects of fatigue and residual strain on the mechanical behavior of poly(ethylene terephthalate) unreinforced and nanocomposite fibers

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) control fibers (nominal diameter ～24 ± 3 μm) and PET fibers with embedded vapor-grown carbon nanofibers (PET-VGCNF) (nominal diameter ～25 ± 2 μm) were exposed to cyclic loading and monotonic tensile tests. The control fibers were processed through a typical melt-blending technique and the PET-VGCNF samples were processed with approximately 5 wt.% carbon nanofibers present in the sample. Under uniaxial fatigue conditions, the fibers were subjected to a maximum stress that was approximately 60% of the fracture stress of the sample at an elongation rate of 10 mm/min in uniaxial tension. The fibers were subjected to a frequency of 5 Hz. Subsequent to non-fracture fatigue conditions, the fibers were tested under uniaxial stress conditions for observation of the change in mechanical properties to assess the effects of fatigue loading. The elastic modulus, hardening modulus, fracture strength, work done, and yield strain of both PET control and PET-VGCNF samples in uniaxial tension subsequent to fatigue were shown to be dependent on the residual fatigue strains. Relative mechanical properties were used to quantify the difference in PET and PET-VGCNF samples as a function of residual strain. In most cases, the results indicated a strengthening mechanism (strain hardening effect) in the low residual strain limit for fatigued PET samples and not for fatigued PET-VGCNF samples. In comparison with the unreinforced PET sample, the PET-VGCNF fibers showed greater degradation of mechanical properties as a function of residual strain due to fatigue when cycled at 60% of the fracture stress. The effects of the fatigue process on the change in mechanical properties have been quantified and supported through existing qualitative, quantitative, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques.     

The fatigue behavior of irradiated Reactor Pressure Vessel steel

Fatigue specimens of A508-3 steel were irradiated in the swimming-pool test reactor in China Institute of Atomic Energy, the fluence was 3 × 10¹⁹ n/cm² at 300 °C, then low-cycle fatigue tests were carried out at ambient temperature, with the fatigue strain range is 0.32–1.8%. The results indicate that, irradiated A508-3 specimens exhibit cyclic softening and instability behavior during the test, and the cyclic softening rate increased with strain range increased; fatigue life decreased from 1.7 × 10⁵ to about 5 × 10², as the strain range increased from 0.32% to 1.8%, the fatigue life of A508-3 steel increased after the neutron irradiation; fatigue fracture initiated at the surface of specimen, and more individual cracks formed on the specimens of higher strain range compared with the specimens of lower strain range.     

Very high cycle fatigue properties of bainitic high carbon–chromium steel

Fatigue properties of bainitic 100Cr6 (SAE 52100, JIS SUJ2) steel are investigated in the high cycle and very high cycle fatigue (VHCF) regime. Fully reversed tension–compression fatigue tests are performed with ultrasonic fatigue testing equipment. Specimens are grinded which leads to surface compression stresses and increased surface roughness. About 1/3 of the specimens failed after crack initiation at interior Al₂O₃? or TiN-inclusions and 2/3 failed after surface crack initiation at scratches or cavities. When inclusions are considered as cracks, failures can occur at minimum stress intensity range of 2.8 MPa m^1/2, and maximum stress intensity range without failure is 3.3 MPa m^1/2. Facets are visible close to the inclusion in some specimens, and the stress intensity range at the border of the facet is approximately 4.5 MPa m^1/2. Murakami’s model can well predict the endurance limit at 10⁹ cycles for internal failures considering the area of the inclusion in the evaluation. Surface fatigue crack initiation can lead to failure above 10⁸ cycles. When scratches are considered as cracks, minimum stress intensity range of 2.5 MPa m^1/2 can propagate surface cracks to failure. Fracture mechanics approach showed several similarities to literature results of the same material tested in tempered martensite condition.     

Structure and properties of ductile CuAlMn shape memory alloy synthesized by mechanical alloying and powder metallurgy

A ductile Cu–Al–Mn–Ti–B shape memory alloy with high fatigue strength has been prepared via mechanical alloying and powder metallurgy. With increasing milling time, the size of the crystallite grains decreases. Cu diffraction pattern appeared only after milling at a speed of 300 rpm for 25 h. The single phase CuAlMnTiB solid solution powder after 35 h milling was hot-pressed and extruded to form the final alloy. The quenched alloy had a single β phase at room temperature and its yield strength, maximum strength and strain were measured to be 390 MPa, 1015 MPa and 14.4%, respectively. The aged alloy showed a martensite structure at room temperature and had a shape memory recovery of 92% after 120 cycles.     

Elevated temperature low cycle fatigue of grey cast iron used for automotive brake discs

This paper evaluates the fatigue life properties of low carbon grey cast iron (EN-GJL-250), which is widely used for automotive brake discs. Although several authors have examined mechanical and fatigue properties at room temperatures, there has been a lack of such data regarding brake discs operating temperatures. The tension, compression and low cycle fatigue properties were examined at room temperature (RT) and at brake discs’ working temperatures: 500 °C, 600 °C and 700 °C. The microstructure of the material was documented and analysed. Tensile stress–strain curves, cyclic hardening/softening curves, stress–strain hysteresis loops, and fatigue life curves were obtained for all the above-mentioned temperatures. It was concluded, that Young’s modulus is comparable with both tension and compression, but yield its strength and ultimate strength are approximately twice as great in compression than in tension. All the mechanical properties remained quite stable until 500 °C, where at 700 °C all deteriorated drastically. During fatigue testing, the samples endured at 500 °C on average at around 50% of cycles at room temperature. Similar to other materials’ properties, the cycles to failure have dropped significantly at 700 °C.     

Application feasibility of Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 ceramics fabricated from sol–gel derived powders using titanium and zirconium alkoxides

It is believed that what may be termed the ‘Nanoscaled Century’ will lead to a new industrial revolution, particularly in terms of sol–gel methods of assembly for nanostructure devices. A propyl alcohol (1-Pro) based sol–gel chemical has been developed to replace 2-methoxyethanol (MOE), 1,1,1-tris(hydroxymethyl)ethane (THOME) for the fabrication of PbZr_0.53Ti_0.47O₃ (PZT) piezoelectric ceramics. This chemical is prepared from sol–gel derived powders that are near to the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB). The pyrochlore phase was still apparent when calcining at 900 °C with a shorter calcining time, such as 30 min. However, it disappeared for longer calcining times, for example 3 h or more. From the results of the analysis, PZT ceramics calcinations at 900 °C for 4 h, and sintering at 1100 °C for 2 h could reach a pyrochlore-free crystal phase with relative density of approximately 7.9 g/cm³—close to 98% of the theoretical value. The P–E hysteresis loop, measured by the Sawyer–Tower circuit, revealed that the remanent polarization (P_r) and coercive field (E_c) were 8.54 μC/cm² and 15.6 kV/cm, respectively. The vibration modes of the PZT ceramics were between 150 and 1.5 MHz. Morevoer, under such processing conditions the PZT piezoceramics had uniform grain size distribution less than 1 μm and zero temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (TCF). In summary, the PZT ceramics derived from the sol–gel method were confirmed to possess excellent piezoelectric properties. Furthermore, the processing temperatures were scaled down by 100–200 °C, compared to conventional oxide reaction. Finally, from an energy-saving viewpoint, this experiment can potentially make a very positive contribution.