EFFECT OF FATIGUE CRACK CLOSURE ON NEAR-THRESHOLD CRACK RESISTANCE OF STRUCTURAL STEELS

Abstract— The present paper is an attempt to clarify conditions for plasticity-induced and oxide-induced crack closure as well as to evaluate the effect of crack closure on near-threshold fatigue crack behaviour.
The autocatalytic character of oxide formation at the crack tip has been elucidated in this study. An increase of plastic constraint at the crack tip is shown to intensify the fretting oxide formation process on the fracture surface and thus to cause an increase of the stress intensity factor range controlling the fatigue crack propagation rate. The proposed concept of stress state influence on crack closure allows us to explain the effect of specimen thickness on Δ K _th.     

THE EFFECT OF RESIDUAL STRESSES INDUCED BY SHOT-PEENING ON FATIGUE CRACK PROPAGATION IN TWO HIGH STRENGTH ALUMINIUM ALLOYS

Abstract— The crack initiation lives of peened specimens of aluminium alloys 7010 and 8090 are shorter than those of unpeened specimens. This is caused by the acceleration of crack initiation due to stress concentration in the rough peened surface, especially at fold-like defects. The crack growth rate in peened specimens is significantly reduced with increasing Δ K , i.e. with increasing crack length. At a crack length of approximately 0.3 mm this trend is reversed and the crack growth rate rapidly increases and attains the same level of crack growth rate as that in unpeened specimens. The point of smallest crack growth rate roughly corresponds to the point of maximum residual stress. The crack growth rate in a peened specimen has been modelled by assuming the effect of residual stress reduces to the equivalent stress ratio. The predicted results agree well with the experimental data.     

UNSTABLE FATIGUE CRACK PROPAGATION AND FATIGUE FRACTURE TOUGHNESS OF STEELS

This paper presents the results of fatigue crack growth and fatigue fracture toughness studies of a high-pressure vessel steel with particular emphasis on the influence of heat treatment, low temperatures, plastic prestraining, the stress ratio and specimen dimensions. It has been shown that steels in an embrittled state, caused primarily by thermal treatment and low-temperatures, exhibit unstable fatigue crack growth which is characterized by alternate crack jumps (cleavage zones) and zones of fatigue crack growth. The fatigue fracture toughness, which corresponds to the first crack jump, and final fracture can be appreciably lower (i.e. up to 50%) than the static fracture toughness under plane strain conditions at the corresponding temperature. An analysis has been performed of unstable and stable fatigue crack growth and a model of unstable crack propagation is proposed which accounts for the observed experimental behaviour.     

SCATTER IN SMALL CRACK PROPAGATION AND FATIGUE BEHAVIOUR IN CARBON STEELS

In order to investigate the physical basis of scatter in fatigue behaviour, rotatory bending of smooth fatigue specimens was carried out using two steels with different microstructures (ferrite/pearlite and tempered martensite). Fifteen or sixteen specimens were fatigued at each stress, and the initiation and propagation behaviour of a crack which led to the final fracture were examined for all the specimens. The emphasis was to investigate the scatter characteristics of fatigue behaviour based on the scatter of small crack propagation data. The data were analysed by assuming the Weibull distribution, and a statistical investigation of the physical basis of scatter was performed, i.e. the distributions for fatigue life, crack propagation life and growth rate of small cracks were established and the relation between the scatter in those distributions was studied.     

FATIGUE CRACK PROPAGATION BEHAVIOUR UNDER VARIABLE AMPLITUDE LOADING IN THE NEAR-THRESHOLD REGION OF A HIGH-STRENGTH LOW-ALLOY STEEL

The near-threshold behaviour of a high-strength low-alloy steel used in helicopter rotors under variable amplitude loading is investigated in ambient air and in vacuum. Strong sequence effects occur, in particular a high decrease in crack growth rates after overloads of 40% on maximum load while keeping the amplitude constant. A detailed study of the retardation phenomenon due to the overloads provides an explanation for the different behaviour observed in air and in vacuum and has laid the basis for a method of predicting crack propagation under helicopter loading spectra.     

FATIGUE CRACK INITIATION AND PROPAGATION IN A LOW-CARBON STEEL OF TWO DIFFERENT GRAIN SIZES

Rotary bending fatigue tests were carried out using both plain and notched specimens of a low-carbon steel with two different grain sizes (15 and 50 μm). The process of early crack development was observed by the replication method. The effect of grain size on crack development was studied. The main conclusions were as follows. (1) Fatigue resistance, in terms of the relative positions of the S-N curves, increases with decreasing grain size. This phenomenon is related to the number of cycles to propagate a crack to failure and the condition for the non-propagation of a fatigue crack. (2) The size of a non-propagating crack, which initiates below the fatigue limit, tends to become larger as grain size increases. (3) The difference in fatigue behaviour between small (15μm) and large (50μm) grain sized specimens is due both to a decrease in crack propagation rate and a smaller non-propagating crack limit in the finer grained material.     

MICROSTRUCTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ON FATIGUE CRACK PROPAGATION IN DUPLEX STAINLESS STEELS

Abstract— Fatigue crack initiation and propagation in duplex stainless steels are strongly affected by microstructure in both inert and aggressive environments. Fatigue crack growth rates in wrought Zeron 100 duplex stainless steel in air were found to vary with orientation depending on the frequency of crack tip retardation at ferrite/austenite grain boundaries. Fatigue crack propagation rates in 3.5% NaCl solution and high purity water are increased by hydrogen assisted transgranular cyclic cleavage of the ferrite. The corrosion fatigue results are interpreted using a model for the cyclic cleavage mechanism.     

HIGH TEMPERATURE LOW CYCLE BIAXIAL FATIGUE OF TWO STEELS

Abstract— Biaxial low cycle fatigue tests at various temperatures and strain rates were performed on 1% Cr-Mo-V steel and AISI 316 stainless steel under combined torsional and axial loads. A correlation for fatigue strength has been derived, and it is also shown that if the Gough ellipse quadrant criterion is rephrased in terms of strain amplitudes, it may be used as a safe design rule for ductile metals in both the low and high cycle fatigue regimes.     

NEAR-THRESHOLD FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH AND CRACK CLOSURE IN A NODULAR CAST IRON

Abstract— Near-threshold fatigue crack growth and crack closure were investigated in a nodular cast iron. Fracture surface roughness was promoted by spheroidal graphites. The spheroidal graphites are partially crushed to form powder which accumulates within the crack and thus enhance crack closure. The marked influence of stress ratio on near-threshold crack growth is due to graphite-induced crack closure. When the contribution of graphite-induced crack closure is excluded, the crack growth characteristics are insensitive to stress ratio, and the threshold behaviour for crack growth tends to disappear. In this case, Young's modulus becomes a controlling material parameter for the power law relationship between crack growth rate and stress intensity range.     

INFLUENCE OF RETAINED AUSTENITE ON FATIGUE CRACK PROPAGATION IN HP 9-4-20 HIGH STRENGTH ALLOY STEEL

Abstract— Industrial multi-pass TIG weldments of HP 9-4-20 high strength alloy steel have been found to contain significant volume fractions (around 10%) of retained austenite which are not readily transformed after stress relieving and subsequent refrigeration procedures. To determine whether the presence of such retained austenite in tempered martensitic structures could be detrimental to fatigue resistance in HP 9-4-20 steel, fatigue crack propagation behavior was examined over six orders of magnitude in growth rate, in commercially heat-treated material (containing less than 3% austenite) and in intercritically heat-treated and tempered material (containing approx. 14% austenite) in an environment of moist, ambient temperature air. Whereas crack propagation rates were unchanged at growth rates exceeding 10⁻⁶ mm/cycle, structures containing 14% austenite showed somewhat superior resistance to near-threshold crack propagation at growth rates less than 10 ⁻⁶ mm/cycle, the threshold for crack growth (Δ K ₀) being over 20% higher than in commercially heat-treated material. The presence of retained austenite further appeared to inhibit the occurrence of intergranular fracture at near-threshold levels. It was concluded that significant proportions of retained austenite are not detrimental to fatigue crack propagation resistance in HP 9-4-20 steel, and may indeed have some beneficial effect at very low, near-threshold growth rates by increasing resistance to environmentally-assisted cracking.     

聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯疲劳裂纹扩展的研究

研究了聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯疲劳裂纹扩展规律,实验结果表明,频率增加时,疲劳裂纹裂展速率降低,试验频率从０．１Ｈｚ和２０Ｈｚ时,疲劳裂纹的扩展与频率成幂函数关系,而在更高的频率时,裂纹尖端出现绝热升温,裂尖钝化,疲劳裂纹扩展速率明显降低,随着名义平均应力提高,由于静断机制的早出现,使稳定扩展区变短,试验环境温度的影响。可用表机玻璃的β松弛的热激活关系来描述。     

TONGUE-SHAPED CRACK EXTENSION DURING FATIGUE OF HIGH STRENGTH ALUMINIUM ALLOYS

Abstract— Fracture surfaces of both service and laboratory fatigue fractures frequently show dark tongue-shaped marks. In fatigue tests on 7075–T6 specimens such tongues were produced by high peak loads. Measurements indicated that a tongue is not formed during a single burst of crack extension but is the result of a number of successive pop-ins requiring an increasing load. Therefore tongue formation is a quasi-stable phenomenon. The tunnelling fracture in the centre of plate thickness is accompanied by unfailed ligaments at the plate surfaces which reduce the stress intensity at the crack tip. The effect of different material conditions and loading direction on tongue forming was studied. A new model was developed to describe the growth of a tongue. The model was in good agreement with the various test results. The analysis of the problem has some relevance to validity requirements for K_1c. A formula pertaining to tongues proposed by Forsyth was slightly modified and found to be approximately correct for the present results.     

EFFECT OF LOW-TEMPERATURE ON THE FATIGUE PROPERTIES OF TWO HSLA (HIGH STRENGTH LOW ALLOY) PIPELINE STEELS

Abstract In order to understand the fatigue behaviour of HSLA pipeline steels under lowtemperature Arctic environments, a study has been undertaken to evaluate the influence of low-temperature on the high cycle fatigue behaviour of two candidate steels, namely (i) Cb Mo "Acicular Ferrite" steel developed by Climax-Ipsco and (ii) high-Cb HSLA steel developed by the Molybdenum Corporation of America. Results indicate that both the steels have reasonably good fatigue properties and that their fracture morphology and fatigue-induced dislocation substructures are quite complex. Design data based on room temperature fatigue properties would be adequate for the low-temperature application of these steels.     

A CRITICAL STUDY OF THE CRACK CLOSURE EFFECT ON NEAR-THRESHOLD FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH

Abstract— Crack closure in the near-crack-tip region has been considered to be an important contribution to the development of a crack-growth threshold for macroscopic cracks. Recent analytical work, however, has suggested that closure well back of the tip may be the controlling factor. In order to check on this possibility, material has been machined away far behind the crack tip in order to eliminate long-range closure. Removal of this material did not eliminate the threshold, but did lower the threshold level by approx. 10% for tests conducted on 6.3 mm-thick X7090-T6 powder metallurgy aluminum alloy.     

CRACK FACE INTERACTIONS AND NEAR-THRESHOLD FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH

Rough fracture surfaces usually influence substantially the fatigue growth properties of materials in the regime of low growth rates. Friction, abrasion, interlocking of fracture surface asperites and fretting debris reduce the applied load amplitude to a smaller effective value at the crack tip (“sliding crack closure”, or “crack surface interaction” or “crack surface interference”). The influence of these phenomena on the fatigue crack growth properties of structural steel is discussed and compared for the two kinds of mixed mode loading employed in this work. Mixed mode loading was performed by (A): cyclic mode III + superimposed static mode I and (B): cyclic mode I + superimposed static mode III loading. Such loading cases frequently occur in rotating load-transmission devices. Several differences are typical for these two mixed-mode loading cases. A superimposed static mode I load increases the crack propagation rate under cyclic mode III loading whereas cyclic mode I fatigue crack propagation is retarded when a static mode III load is superimposed. Increase of the R -ratio (of the cyclic mode III load) leads to an insignificant increase of fracture surface interaction and subsequently to a small decrease of the crack growth rate for cyclic mode III loading, whereas higher R -values during cyclic mode I+ superimposed static mode III loading lead to a significant reduction of the crack growth rates.     

FATIGUE CRACK PROPAGATION IN A CAST MAGNESIUM ALLOY

Abstract— Fatigue crack propagation behaviour in a cast Mg-Al-Zn alloy was examined. The fatigue crack growth rate of the alloy under constant amplitude loading and the threshold resulting from a number of tests are given. Delayed retardation after the application of a single tension overload is explored in detail and described by using the model proposed by Matsuoka and Tanaka. From these observations, it may be seen that the Matsuoka model can be applied to the cast magnesium alloy as well as steels and aluminium alloys. Changes in the extent of retadation and the overload affected zone size with respect to the ratio of peak-to-baseline stress intensity factor range are discussed. Two phenomena, delayed arrest and acceleration in the later stages of retardation are reported.     

STRESS-RATIO EFFECT OF FATIGUE CRACK PROPAGATION IN A BIAXIAL STRESS FIELD

Fatigue crack propagation tests were conducted under conditions of equibiaxial, uniaxial and shear loading by using a cruciform specimen in a servo hydraulic testing machine. The effect of non-singular stress cycling on the fatigue crack propagation rate was examined based on the observation of crack opening behavior. The crack propagation rate was significantly influenced by the non-singular stress parallel to the crack when it was correlated to the stress intensity range. The crack closure behavior was greatly affected by the non-singular stress. The crack propagation rate was uniquely correlated to the effective range of the stress intensity factor except for the case of completely reversed shear loading where significant plasticity was detected. The crack opening displacement range was concluded to be a parameter controlling the crack propagation rate for all the stress conditions examined in the present experiments. Some discussion is made on the effect of material anisotropy on fatigue crack propagation in a biaxial stress field.     

SURFACE DAMAGE AND NEAR-THRESHOLD FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH IN A Ni-BASE SUPERALLOY IN VACUUM

Abstract— Fatigue crack growth rate tests have been performed on Nimonic AP1, a powder formed Ni-base superalloy, in air and vacuum at room temperature. These show that threshold values are higher, and near-threshold (faceted) crack growth rates are lower, in vacuum than in air, although at high growth rates, in the "structure-insensitive" regime, R -ratio and a dilute environment have little effect. Changing the R -ratio from 0.1 to 0.5 in vacuum does not alter near-threshold crack growth rates very much, despite more extensive secondary cracking being noticeable at R = 0.5.
In vacuum, rewelding occurs at contact points across the crack as Δ K falls. This leads to the production of extensive fracture surface damage and bulky fretting debris, and is thought to be a significant contributory factor to the observed increase in threshold values.     

SURFACE AND IN-DEPTH CRACK PROPAGATION IN HIGH TEMPERATURE LOW-CYCLE FATIGUE OF SUS 316 STAINLESS STEEL

Abstract— The low-cycle fatigue crack propagation behaviour of surface cracks in SUS316 stainless steel at 700°C, in both the surface direction and the in-depth direction, has been studied with special emphasis on the role of oxidation. The coalescence behaviour of surface cracks is essential for the process of crack propagation in high temperature low cycle fatigue, irrespective of the existence of oxidation effects. For sub-surface cracks the process of crack propagation is divided into two stages characterized by differences in fracture mode. In both stages, the in-depth crack propagation rate in air is higher than that in vacuum. This difference in crack propagation rate is the main reason for the decrease of fatigue life in air compared with that in vacuum. The crack propagation behaviour in the in-depth direction can be estimated from the conversion of the surface crack length into the subsurface depth by the use of an aspect ratio.     

CRACK GROWTH BEHAVIOUR OF FATIGUE MICROCRACKS IN LOW CARBON STEELS

The behaviour of low carbon steels has been studied, in particular the initiation and growth of the major crack which led to final fracture of smooth specimens, via surface replica and photomicrograph techniques. From this study, the fracture process and fatigue life prediction characterized by the growth of surface microcracks have been analysed by a new approach unifying the conventional approaches based on the final fracture of materials with the fracture mechanics approach. Knowledge of fracture parameters is critical for non-destructive inspection during service life and the application of fracture mechanics to life prediction and assessment.