Corrosion fatigue behavior of a heat-treated carbon steel and its statistical characteristics

The investigation of fatigue damage in corrosive environments is an important problem, because such environments reduce fatigue strength far below the typical fatigue strength determined in air. In this study, rotating bending fatigue tests of plain specimens in NaCl solution were carried out using a heat-treated 0.45% carbon steel, in order to clarify the physical background of corrosion fatigue damage. The emphasis is to perform the successive observations by the plastic replica method. The results show that corrosion pits are generated at the early stages of cycling, then most of them grow with further cycling until a crack is initiated from each corrosion pit. The initiation of corrosion pits from slip bands is only observed in the case when the stress range is relatively large, in the range of stress under which slip bands are produced in air. After initiation of a crack, a crack propogates by accompanying frequent interaction and coalescence with other cracks. The growth rate of an especially small crack in NaCl solution is larger than that in air. However, the growth rate of a comparatively large crack is smaller in NaCl solution than in air. Moreover, the statistical characteristics of corrosion fatigue behavior were investigated by exhibiting the distributions of crack initiation life and crack length.     

Small fatigue crack initiation and growth behavior of high-strength low alloy steel in various environments

Fatigue tests under rotating bending and reversed torsion were carried out in air, distilled water and 3% saltwater, using smooth specimens of high-strength low alloy steel (Cr-Mo steel). The initiation and growth behavior of small fatigue cracks in each environment were evaluated based on detailed observations, and the effects of corrosive environment were also discussed. The fatigue strength decreased with increasing aggressiveness of test environment. The decreases in corrosive environment were due to earlier fatigue crack initiation. From the observed locations at which small fatigue cracks began, it was considered that the crack initiation was primarily governed by hydrogen embrittlement in distilled water and also affected by corrosive dissolution in 3% saltwater. The validity of the application of linear fracture mechanics for small fatigue cracks was established. The growth rates of small fatigue cracks were higher than for large through cracks, and not accelerated by the corrosive environment. Moreover, fatigue life in the corrosive environment was estimated by using the crack growth characteristics in air.     

The effect of pitting corrosion on fatigue life

Fatigue testing of pre‐pitted 2024‐T3 aluminium alloy specimens is performed in laboratory air at 22 °C and 40% RH to characterize the effect of pitting corrosion on fatigue life. Specimens, pre‐corroded in a 0.5 M NaCl solution from 48 to 384 h, have fatigue lives that are reduced by more than one order of magnitude after 384 h pre‐corrosion as compared to those of uncorroded specimens. The reduction in fatigue life is interpreted in terms of the influence of the time of exposure to the corrosive environment or pit size. The crack‐nucleating pit sizes, ranging from 20 to 70 μm, are determined from post‐fracture examinations by scanning electron microscopy. Fatigue lives are estimated using a fracture mechanics approach and are shown to be in good agreement with the actual data. A probabilistic analysis shows that the distribution of fatigue life is strongly correlated to the distribution in nucleating pit size.     

Corrosion fatigue life prediction of a steel shaft material in seawater

Corrosion fatigue behaviour of a medium strength structural material was studied in air and in 3.5% NaCl solution. Emphasis was placed on the study of corrosion pit formation and the development of cracks from pits. Pitting and crack propagation were quantified throughout the fatigue loading thereby allowing a model to be developed that included the stages of pitting and the pit-to-crack transition in order to predict the fatigue life. The results showed that a large number of corrosion pits with small size form at a very early stage in the fatigue lifetime. The number of pits and subsequent cracks was found to be higher at higher stress levels leading to multiple crack development and coalescence. When compared to air, fatigue life in a corrosive environment was significantly reduced at low stress levels due to pitting damage, indicating a dominant role of corrosion over that of mechanical effects. The corrosion fatigue model proposed shows good agreement with the experimental test data at lower stress levels but predicts more conservative lifetimes as the stress increases. Kitagawa–Takahashi diagram was produced for both test environments where it is indicated that the fatigue limit can be eliminated in a corrosive environment.     

Effect of pitting corrosion on fatigue crack initiation and fatigue life

Fatigue crack initiation and growth from artificial pits of different depths has been studied. To analyze the experimental results a simple three-dimensional fracture-mechanical model has been developed. The model shows very good agreement with experiments including for small cracks, in describing the initiation and growth of a fatigue crack emanating from a pit and in predicting the dependence of reduction of fatigue life on pit size. Based on experimental data an empirical relation between the depth of the corrosion pit and the fatigue life has been established. Also, a microradiographic method for pitting corrosion depth determination has been described.     

航空铝合金原位腐蚀疲劳性能及断裂机理EI北大核心CSCD

为了研究不同腐蚀条件下2024铝合金的疲劳性能,首先设计搭建原位腐蚀疲劳平台,然后分别进行无腐蚀疲劳、预腐蚀疲劳和原位腐蚀疲劳实验,分析不同腐蚀疲劳条件下2024铝合金的疲劳断裂行为,最后利用扫描电镜(SEM)表征宏、微观断口特征,探究失效机理。结果表明:相同腐蚀环境和时间下,预腐蚀和原位腐蚀疲劳寿命分别为无腐蚀疲劳寿命的92%和42%;在原位腐蚀疲劳条件下,滑移带挤入、挤出导致表面粗糙度增加,吸附较多腐蚀介质,加剧蚀坑演化,易于裂纹萌生并形成多个裂纹源。裂纹的连通形成更大尺寸的损伤,并在材料内部快速扩展。预腐蚀和原位腐蚀疲劳试件断口观察到大量脆性疲劳条带,并且原位腐蚀疲劳条带平均间距约为无腐蚀疲劳条带间距的2倍,说明原位腐蚀疲劳条件下裂纹扩展速率更快。     

核电主管道不锈钢在高温高压水环境下的疲劳裂纹萌生行为

利用腐蚀疲劳测试系统研究了高温高压水环境下两种压水堆核电站一回路主管道用不锈钢的腐蚀疲劳裂纹萌生行为。结果表明,316LN奥氏体不锈钢的裂纹主要在材料表面的驻留滑移带处萌生,少量裂纹在两簇驻留滑移带交界的亚晶界面处。含有少量铁素体的Z3CN20.09M奥氏体不锈钢的疲劳裂纹依次在试样表面的驻留滑移带处、相界处和点蚀坑处萌生,但主要是在驻留滑移带处。通过研究高温高压水环境下氧化膜的组成和腐蚀疲劳试样横截面的形貌,分析了疲劳裂纹在滑移带处萌生的机理。最后对比分析两种不锈钢裂纹萌生机制的异同,并讨论了铁素体对材料腐蚀疲劳性能的影响。     

AF1410与300M钢的腐蚀冲击疲劳行为

根据舰载飞机起落的服务条件提出了腐蚀冲击概念和试验方法，考察了两种起落架材料在盐水中的腐蚀冲击疲劳行为，包括冲击疲劳寿命，裂纹萌生与扩展速率。尽管两种材料在空气中的冲击疲劳寿命几乎相等。但300M钢在盐水中的冲击疲劳寿命下降幅度较大。在盐水介质中，氢脆加速300M钢冲击疲劳裂纹的萌生和扩展。局部塑性变形区优先腐蚀促使AF1410钢的裂纹萌生，盐水对AF1410钢的裂纹扩展速率没有影响。     

THE AIR FATIGUE AND CORROSION FATIGUE OF A 13% Cr TURBINE BLADE STEEL

Abstract— Reasons for data scatter from fatigue tests on a high strength 13% Cr steel are discussed and data is presented for corrosion fatigue of this steel in a condensing steam environment. Rotating bend tests were performed at 50 and 3 Hz and tension-tension fatigue tests at 0.016 Hz and R =0.1. Some specimens were periodically inspected to identify sites of fatigue crack initiation. The role of inclusions in initiating fatigue cracks was investigated and it was found that the population of larger inclusions in the steel matched that at fatigue crack initiation sites. Comparison of fatigue lives from polished and abraded specimens indicated that there is little point in producing highly polished surfaces for this steel to try and improve fatigue life unless the inclusion content can be reduced in size and number. Corrosion fatigue data is presented indicating the magnitude of the reduction of fatigue life caused by condensing pure steam and condensing chlorinated steam.     

Initiation and early growth mechanisms of corrosion fatigue cracks in stainless steels

The mechanism of corrosion fatigue crack initiation in stainless steels was examined in both air and chloride solutions. For a tempered martensitic, a duplex and a soft martensitic steel it is shown that the decrease of the fatigue strength from the value measured in air to that measured in corrosive environments depends primarily upon the stability of the protective film. If the passivity is stable, cracks are found to originate almost exclusively at oxide inclusions. Cracking or debonding were found to occur. For the duplex steel in the vicinity of the inclusion there were pronounced emerging persistent slip bands. They cause localized corrosion attack, thus allowing cracks to be formed more easily. If pitting is superposed, crack nucleation always occurs at the base of the pit. Pit formation and growth rate are accelerated by cyclic loading.     

CRACK NUCLEATION AND PROPAGATION IN BLADE STEEL MATERIAL

Stress corrosion cracking and corrosion fatigue of 12 Cr steel in sodium chloride solution has been investigated. Tests have been performed in air at room temperature and in aqueous solution with 22% NaCl at 80°C. The influence of corrosion pits on crack nucleation has been investigated. On fracture surfaces tested in environment (22% NaCl solution), crack initiation was observed in correspondence with corrosion pits; in this case fatigue life can be described using a fracture mechanics approach. The ΔK value for crack nucleation from a pit in rotating bending fatigue tests is very low in air (about 3 MPa√m). The results of slow strain rate tests on smooth specimens show that there is a threshold stress intensity, K_ISCC, of about 15 MPa√m and a plateau in stress corrosion crack growth rate of about 10^-5mm/s.     

Interactions of different types of localized corrosion in surgical implants

Surgical implants often show different types of localized corrosion such as corrosion fatigue cracking, pitting and crevice corrosion on the same part. Interactions of these different corrosion phenomena were investigated. This was done by cyclic loading of electropolished tensile specimens at different constant and changing potentials. Material investigated was a surgical implant steel X2CrNiMo18-15-3 which was immersed in physiological NaCl solution. Pitting and repassivation potentials were determined. Samples with and without artificial cracks as well as masked specimens were tested. Incubation period for first damage, density and size of pits by coulometric and volumetric method were determined. The fracture surfaces were then investigated by SEM. Results show that not in all cases pitting corrosion was the cause for corrosion fatigue cracking. Also pitting is favoured by crack formation. Density of pits increases by a factor of 5 without any change to pitting potential. There are primary pits formed prior to crack initiation and secondary pits formed after crack initiation. At samples without crack there is almost no difference between the optically measured value of total pit volume and the coulometrically determined value. At samples with cracks coulometric volume of pits is much larger than optical one. This proves that there is a significant amount of crevice corrosion in the crack. The corrosion current density in the crack increases by two orders of magnitude when comparing it to electropolished surface of the sample. Results of laboratory experiments are confirmed by failure of a real implant.     

SHORT FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH BEHAVIOUR OF A LOW CARBON STEEL UNDER CORROSION FATIGUE CONDITIONS

The effect of an aqueous chloride environment upon the development and growth of short fatigue cracks from smooth specimen surfaces has been studied under fully reversed torsional fatigue loading conditions. Crack initiation and growth has been monitored using a plastic replication technique enabling a full history of cracking characteristics to be recorded. Corrosion fatigue conditions were achieved by complete immersion in a 0.6 M NaCl solution, of nominal pH value 6.0, with specimens corroding at the free corrosion potential. Variations to these conditions were obtained by the addition of concentrated hydrochloric acid enabling test solution pH values to be altered, typically pH values of 3.5 and 2.0 were obtained. Further information regarding the effects of the environment on the early stages of crack development were obtained by conducting two stage alternate immersion type testing conditions. Evaluation of these effects through previously established Elastic-Plastic Fracture Mechanics models shows that the environment plays a major role during the early stages of microstructure-dominated crack growth particularly as cracks approach major barriers to propagation and at decreasing levels of applied shear stress.     

Corrosion-fatigue behaviour of 7075-T651 aluminum alloy subjected to periodic overloads

The corrosion-fatigue behaviour of 7075-T651 aluminum alloy subjected to periodic overloads was examined. This aluminum alloy is typically used in aerospace structural components such as the wing spars of aircraft. Axial fatigue specimens were subjected to a loading spectrum that consisted of a fully reversed periodic overload of near-yield magnitude followed by 200 smaller cycles at high R-ratio. The specimens were fatigue tested while they were fully immersed in an aerated and recirculated 3.5 wt% NaCl simulated seawater solution.The results for the corrosion-fatigue testing were compared to data obtained for the same overload spectrum applied in laboratory air. A damage analysis showed that the presence of the corrosive environment accelerated the damage accumulation rate to a greater extent than that observed in air, particularly at low stress ranges. This resulted in a reduction in the fatigue strength of the material when it was simultaneously subjected to overloads and a corrosive environment. It is believed that the reduced fatigue life was due primarily to corrosion pit formation and a combination of anodic dissolution at the crack tip and hydrogen embrittlement. For practical purposes, the endurance-limit of the material disappears under these conditions.     

Fatigue crack growth from stage I to stage II in a corrosive environment

How a corrosive environment such as a 3.5% NaCl aqueous solution would affect the transition of fatigue crack initiation mode from stage I (shear mode) cracking to stage II (normal mode) cracking was investigated, using notched specimens of HT80 and SNCM439 steels (corresponding to AISI 4340 steel).The experimental result that the transition of fatigue crack growth from stage I to stage II was accelerated in a hydrogen-related environment was discussed in terms of hydrogen induced dislocation multiplication near a crack tip. The microstructures immune to environmental damage were examined, using a precipitate-hardened steel.     

EIFS-based crack growth fatigue life prediction of pitting-corroded test specimens

Corrosive environment causes corrosion pits at material surface and reduces the fatigue strength significantly. Fatigue crack usually initiates at and propagates from these locations. In this paper, a general methodology for fatigue life prediction for corroded specimens is proposed. The proposed methodology combines an asymptotic stress intensity factor solution and a power law corrosion pit growth function for fatigue life prediction of corroded specimens. First, a previously developed asymptotic interpolation method is proposed to calculate the stress intensity factor (SIF) for the crack at notch roots. Next, a growing semi-circular notch is assumed to exist on the specimen’s surface under corrosive environments. The notch growth rate is different under different corrosion conditions and is assumed to be a power function. Fatigue life can be predicted using the crack growth analysis assuming a crack propagating from the notch root. Plasticity correction is included into the proposed methodology for medium-to-low cycle fatigue analysis. The proposed methodology is validated using experimental fatigue life testing data of aluminum alloys and steels. Very good agreement is observed between experimental observations and model predictions.     

Corrosion fatigue testing: the combined effect of stress and high temperature corrosion

Abstract

A corrosive environment can have a detrimental effect on the fatigue life of a material due to a change in failure mechanism. Attempts have been made to replicate this change on nickel-base superalloy CMSX-4 cast in the <001> orientation. Fatigue testing in air, of this material typically produces a fracture on an angle of approximately 55° which is consistent with the fracture having propagated on a {111} slip plane. The aim of the research was to fatigue test in a corrosive environment with the purpose of producing a crack/fracture which deviated from the typical angle and thus confirm that the corrosive environment had affected the fatigue mechanism. It was concluded that the change in mechanism to high temperature corrosion fatigue was associated with a reduced load application rate together with precorroding the test specimens to trigger the initiation of the corrosion fatigue mechanism.     

FATIGUE MICROCRACKS IN A LOW CARBON STEEL

Abstract— The behaviour of a low carbon steel has been studied, in particular the initiation, growth and coalescence of fatigue microcracks on the surfaces of smooth specimens via surface replicas and photomicrographs. From the study, quantitative information on the initiation period, growth and coalescence of cracks, statistical distributions of crack length and crack depth, density of cracks, distribution pattern and characteristics of the major crack, were obtained. Knowledge of these parameters is critical for non-destructive inspection during service life and the application of fracture mechanics to life assessment.     

FATIGUE STRENGTH AND FRACTURE MECHANISMS OF CERAMIC- SPRAYED STEEL IN AIR AND A CORROSIVE ENVIRONMENT

Abstract— In order to investigate the fatigue strength and fracture mechanism of ceramic-sprayed steel, rotary bending fatigue tests were conducted at room temperature in air and 3% NaCl solution using specimens of a medium carbon steel (S45C) with sprayed coating layers of Ni-5% A1 (under-coating) and chromia (top-coating). The results obtained are discussed based on observations of fatigue cracks and experimental data on specimens subjected to individual treatments during the ceramic spraying process. It was found that at a very early stage of fatigue life, cracks were initiated at the interface between under- and top-coating layers, and grew rapidly into the ceramic-sprayed layer. However, these cracks did not propagate continuously into the substrate, and the final failure was led by the growth of a crack newly initiated at the surface of the substrate steel. Thus, the fatigue strength of the ceramic-sprayed steel in air could be evaluated due to the property of the substrate. The corrosion fatigue strength of ceramic- sprayed steel was improved when compared to that of the substrate steel. However, the coating layer contained many pores, through which NaCl solution was supplied from the specimen surface to the substrate. Corrosion pits were formed at the interface between the under-coating and the substrate. Subsequently, cracks initiated from the pits and grew into the substrate. Tests were also conducted on specimens whose pores were closed by a shielding treatment. In this case, NaCl solution was supplied to the substrate by cracks initiated in the top-coating layer. The shielding treatment was effective at low stress levels where fatigue life was more than 10⁷ cycles, while it had little effect on improving corrosion fatigue strength at higher stress levels because of the many cracks initiated in the top-coating layer.     

特种设备用双相不锈钢抗点蚀性能研究

点蚀是不锈钢最有害的腐蚀形态之一,点蚀往往是应力腐蚀裂纹和腐蚀疲劳裂纹的起始部位。点蚀是一种腐蚀集中于表面的很小范围内,并深入到金属内部的腐蚀形态,一般形状为小孔状,其危害性比均匀腐蚀严重得多,会引起爆炸、火灾等事故。双相不锈钢兼有铁素体和奥氏体的特性,它将铁素体良好的强度、硬度和奥氏体优良的塑性和韧性结合起来,并具有优良的耐点蚀性能,无论是在力学性能上还是在耐腐蚀性上,双相不锈钢都明显优于铁素体不锈钢和奥氏体不锈钢,可以在点蚀环境中的特种设备上广泛使用。