Influence of carbon content and tempering temperature on fatigue threshold characteristics of a low alloy steel

This paper attempts to describe the effect of carbon content on the fatigue threshold characteristics ΔK_th in various heat treated conditions. Essentially it has been shown that a tempering treatment increased ΔK_th while increasing the carbon content of steels from 0·13% to 0·8% significantly decreased the ΔK_th value by over 100%. At intermediate fatigue crack growth rates all the data show a linear relationship with ΔK level.

In terms of yield strength σ_y, the threshold stress intensity level could be given by the expression: ΔK_th = 8·74 − 3·42 × 10⁻³(σ_y).

At near threshold fatigue crack growth levels significant amounts of isolated intergranular failure were observed in the 400°C tempered condition. In the other heat treated microstructures only a flat trans-granular ductile striated failure mode was evident. A maxima in the amount of intergranular facets occurred at ΔK values approaching 15 to 20 MPa√m. It has been shown the existence of intergranular failure resulted from environmentally induced fracture (through the diffusion of hydrogen) that occurred within the crack tip enclave.     

Some formulae for the effective stress range ratio used in crack growth of 6063-T6 aluminium alloy

The influence of stress ratio R and stress intensity range (ΔK) on fatigue crack growth experiments were determined for 6063-T6 aluminium alloy and crack growth data were analysed with different formulae for the effective stress intensity range ratio U. The data covered R values from 0 to 0·3. A good correlation was obtained from da/dN and ΔK_eff using the equation for U as a function of R.     

The influence of mean stress or R-Ratio on the fatigue crack threshold characteristics of steels—A review

The present review attempts to describe an assessment of the effects of the R-Ratio on ΔK_th values in steels and compares the predictions of the various approaches or models dealing with R-Ratio response, with experimentally determined threshold stress intensity range values. Essentially significant R-Ratio effects on ΔK_th have been observed and that the extent of such effects are highly dependent on microstructural considerations. The two classical approaches dealing with R-Ratio effects, viz., the Barsom and the Klesnil and Lukas models, can adequately describe the R-Ratio response when the data are considered in terms of microstructural characteristics. However, the other approaches of Mazumdar and Conrad and McEvily and Groeger fall short in predictive terms while the Musuva and Radon approach needs more detailed high R-Ratio ΔK_th data before it can be realistically assessed.     

Experimental observation of crack propagation in 6063-T6 al-alloy under constant amplitude loading

Crack propagation experiments were performed on 6063-T6 Al-alloy for various load ranges and stress ratios. Experimental results show that for a constant load range, the life of specimens decreased as stress ratio increased. At constant maximum load, the life of the specimen increased as the load ratio increased. The crack growth data were analysed in terms of ΔK_eff as a function of stress ratio R. The data covered R values from 0 to 0·5 and a good relationship was obtained for K_eff/K = 0·55 + 0·12 R². A crack growth rate equation was developed.     

Threshold fatigue crack extension characteristics of a low alloy steel: The influence of environment and microstructure

The present investigation is aimed at examining the influence of environment and microstructure on the fatigue crack extension behaviour of a low alloy steel. Significant environmental effects were recorded under low R-Ratio testing but not under high R-Ratio conditions, viz., the ΔK_th values recorded in salt solution were significantly larger than those for a dry air environment and a constant value of 10 MPa√m was recorded irrespective of microstructure (yield strength). Such effects were attributed to oxide induced closure effects.

Above threshold, environmental assisted cracking behaviour in the salt solutions was the result of the appearance of transgranular cleavage facets on the fatigue surfaces. The extent of this environmentally enhanced cracking was simply related to the extent of cleavage failure.     

The near-threshold high R-ratio fatigue crack growth characteristics of SA508 cl III reactor pressure vessel steel

This paper describes the effect of frequency and environment on the near-threshold fatigue crack growth behaviour of SA508 cl III reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steel. The study has shown that in the near-threshold regime microstructure and environment markedly affect fatigue crack growth behaviour. In an aqueous environment, fatigue crack growth behaviour became even more sensitive to microstructure, and the fatigue crack growth rate increased by a factor of four in the case of the 3 Hz test, while that for the 0·3 Hz test was increased by a factor of approximately sixteen. This environmental enhancement manifested itself in the form of intergranular failure. For the 0·3 Hz test the percentage intergranular failure decreased from 18% to <1% with an increase in ΔK level. The transition from microstructure-sensitive to microstructure-insensitive occurs when the cyclic plastic zone size is of the order of the prior austenite grain size.     

Crack propagation rate as a function of crack tip characteristics

The dependence of crack growth rate on various crack tip parameters was studied. Experiments were performed on thin sheets of 6063-T6 Al-alloy having a central notch, to find crack tip opening displacement, total strain range, plastic strain range, crack opening stress and crack growth rate. Crack tip opening displacement and crack opening stress were measured, using a surface measurement technique, with small crack opening displacement gauges. The theoretical predictions of crack tip opening displacement compare fairly well with the experimental values. It is found that crack propagation rate vs total strain range-plastic strain range gives a straight-line fit on a log-log graph and, for positive stress ratios, the fatigue crack growth rates are found to be independent of R.

Experimental results show that the crack opening stress is not affected by the position of the gauge when it is mounted behind and near the crack tip.

The effect of mechanical properties and loading on crack growth were also studied. The specimens were fatigue cracked to a predetermined length and some specimens were annealed and again loaded cyclically. The application of cyclic loads to annealed specimens caused significant increase in crack propagation rates in comparison with the specimens having no heat-treatment. The load-displacement record was found to stabilize in about 10 cycles; the crack then extended slowly as a fatigue crack. Crack propagation rates for different values of R for annealed and work-hardened material were plotted against a crack tip parameter, ΔK*, based on notional crack lengths. Since the results of da/dN vs ΔK* for both states of material (as-received and annealed) seem to lie on the same straight line on a log-log graph, the study provides a hope that the results for a material tested in any state (annealed or work-hardened) for positive values of R (0·0≤R≤0·3) will lie on this line, thus eliminating fatigue tests on the same material under different work-hardening conditions for different values of R. Models for da/dN have been developed using various crack tip parameters.     

A study of crack closure under constant amplitude loading for 6063-T6 Al-alloy

Crack closure experiments were performed on 6063-T6 Al-alloy, using a COD gauge for various load ranges (Δp) and stress ratios, R. On the basis of the experimental results a model for effective stress intensity range ratio U was developed. This model was found to be a function of the stress ratio, R, and was fitted to existing constant amplitude crack propagation data for 6063-T6 Al-alloy. The crack closure load stabilized after 1 mm initial crack growth.     

Thermodynamic evaluation of water splitting by a cation-excessive (Ni, Mn) ferrite

Water-splitting potential by cation-excessive (Ni, Mn) Ferrite, Ni_{0.5(1 + )}Fe_{1.99(1 + )}O₄ was evaluated using the standard Gibbs free energy change (ΔG°) for the cation-excessive ferrite formation in different O₂ partial pressures. The cation-excessive degree ranged from 0.026 to 0.16 in pO₂ values of 7.9 × 10⁻⁷ to 1.0 × 10⁻¹. From the relation between value of (Ni, Mn) ferrite and oxygen partial pressure, equilibrium constant K(th) was determined. Furthermore ΔH°s for O₂ releasing and water-splitting reactions with cation-excessive (Ni, Mn) ferrite were evaluated from the van't Hoff plot and compared with that for magnetite-wüstite system; where ΔH°s were assumed to be the same values for both (Ni, Mn) ferrite and magnetite-wüstite system: +300 kJ for O₂ releasing and −35 −63 kJ for water-splitting. ΔG°s evaluated for water-splitting with cation-excessive (Ni, Mn) ferrite and wüstite were −38 kJ and −35 kJ, respectively, at 298K. It suggests that water splitting with cation-excessive (Ni, Mn) ferrite proceed easily compared with that with wüstite. ΔS°s for water-splitting are −0.93 kJ K⁻¹ for the former and −0.83 kJ K⁻¹ for the latter. H₂ generation rates by reaction with H₂O for (Ni, Mn) ferrite were studied at temperatures of 573 K-1073 K. It reached the maximum at 1000 K while it proceeds preferentially below 830 K from thermodynamics.     

The determination of Jq, the initiation elastic-plastic toughness parameter, using pre-cracked Charpy specimens

In order to assess the structural integrity of pressure vessel steels in the nuclear and chemical industries a need has arisen to measure fracture toughness using Charpy V-notch surveillance specimens.

This paper describes a procedure for determining the initiation fracture resistance, J_q of a material using pre-cracked Charpy specimens loaded in three-point bend. The size restrictions imposed by the geometry of a Charpy specimen on the measurement of the plane strain fracture toughness, K_IC, and the elastic-plastic toughness parameter, J_IC, are discussed for typical low- and medium-strength steels.

Consideration is given to the measurement of crack growth, side-grooving and the use of exclusion lines to interpret the fracture resistance, J, versus crack growth, Δa, curves.     

Numerical simulation of tearing–fatigue interactions in 316l(N) austenitic stainless steel

The loading history of engineering components can influence the behaviour of defects in service. This paper presents, the results of a numerical study aimed at using the Gurson ductile damage model, calibrated against J R-curve data, to simulate load-history effects on ductile tearing behaviour in austenitic materials. The work has demonstrated that ductile crack growth resistance is influenced by sub-critical crack growth by an intervening mechanism such as fatigue. Fatigue crack growth under a positive R-ratio leads to increase in subsequent tearing resistance through three main mechanisms: (i) re-sharpening of the crack tip; (ii) crack extension through the fracture process zone; and (iii) cyclic loading effects on void development. The ratio of minimum to maximum stress during fatigue loading (R-ratio) has been shown to influence subsequent tearing resistance, with an R-ratio of 0.2 generally leading to a greater enhancement in tearing resistance than an R-ratio of 0.1. This behaviour is due to the influence of R-ratio on void development ahead of the fatigue crack tip. Finally, relevant experimental data compare favourably with the predicted J R-curves.     

Apparent thermal conductivity of evacuated SiO2-aerogel tiles under variation of radiative boundary conditions

The apparent thermal conductivity λ of evacuated SiO₂-aerogel tiles was measured with our small guarded hot plate vacuum system LOLA II. In order to study the influence of the boundary emissivity on λ the plates (20 × 20 cm²) were either used with their plasma-sprayed surfaces ( ≈ 0.5) or with low-emissivity aluminum ( ≈ 0.05) foils as covers. The difference in the apparent conductivity already showed at room temperature and rose to about 50% for radiative temperatures T_r = 570 K. An important consequence is that superinsulating SiO₂-aerogel systems should always be provided with low-emissivity boundaries around the aerogel. The calorimetric results for λ are compared with radiative conductivity values derived from spectral i.r. transmission measurements.     

Instrumented drop-weight test results for normalised and tempered 9Cr1Mo steel

From instrumented drop-weight tests, the nil ductility transition temperature (T_NDT), and a conservative estimate of dynamic fracture toughness (K_Id), at T_NDT for normalised and tempered 9Cr---1Mo steel, are determined to be −25°C and 70 MPa√m, respectively. The latter value agrees well with that determined from pre-cracked Charpy tests. The K_Id/σ_Yd (σ_Yd is the dynamic yield stress) ratio at T_NDT is estimated to be 0·076 √m, in agreement with previous estimates. The uncertainties in crack profile measurement and effect of microstructural variation in the heat affected zone on fracture loads are also discussed.     

The principles of the detection of flammable atmospheres by catalytic devices

Most instruments used for measuring the explosibility of fuel/air atmospheres use catalytic oxidation as a method of measurement. The detailed mechanism of this method has been examined and equation describing the output from these devices have been derived. The output V_(LEL) at the lower explosive limit of a fuel has the general form

V_(LEL)=K D₁₂ δH[LEL],

where D₁₂, ΔH, and [LEL] are respectively the diffusion coefficient, heat of oxidation, and the lower explosive limit of the fuel in air, and K is a constant. Calculations have been made which enable the responses to explosive gas/air mixtures to be predicted and correction factors to be derived for practical devices. A new method for the measurement of explosiveness is discussed based on the empirical correlation between the heat of oxidation of the fuel and its lower explosive limit.     

Charge and discharge characteristics of a commercial LiCoO2-based 18650 Li-ion battery

We studied the charge and discharge characteristics of commercial LiCoO₂-based 18650 cells by using various electrochemical methods, including discharging at constant power, ac impedance spectroscopy, and dc-voltage pulse. At 20 °C, these cells deliver 8.7–6.8 Wh of energy when discharged at a power range of 1–12 W between 2.5 and 4.2 V. Ragone plots show that the effect of discharge power on the energy is significantly increased with decreasing of the temperature. For example, energy of the cell is entirely lost when the temperature downs to −10 °C and the discharge rate still remains at 10 W. Impedance analyses indicate that the total cell resistance (R_cell) is mainly contributed by the bulk resistance (R_b, including electric contact resistance and electrolytic ionic conductivity), solid electrolyte interface resistance (R_sei), and charge-transfer resistance (R_ct). Individual contribution of these three resistances to the cell resistance is greatly varied with the temperature. Near room temperature, the R_b occupies up to half of the cell resistance, which means that the rate performance of the cell could be improved by modifying cell design such as employing electrolyte with higher ionic conductivity and enhancing electric contact of the active material particles. At low temperature, the R_ct, which is believed to reflect cell reaction kinetics, dominates the cell resistance. In addition, galvanosatic cycling tests indicate that the charge and discharge processes have nearly same kinetics. The performance discrepancy observed during charging and discharging, especially at low temperatures, can be attributed to these two factors of: (1) substantially higher R_ct at the discharged state than at the charged state; (2) asymmetric voltage limits pre-determined for the charge and discharge processes.     

A dynamic fracture-toughness-based reference temperature characterization for the weld metals of modified 9Cr–1Mo steel in two different weld positions

The ductile–brittle transition temperatures (DBTT) of modified 9Cr–1Mo steel welds from two different weld positions, namely down hand (1G) and overhead (4G), have been evaluated and compared using the ASTM E 1921-05 based reference temperature (T₀) approach, but under dynamic-loading conditions. The reference temperatures thus obtained, termed as T₀^dy to signify the dynamic condition, have been found to be higher for the 4G position than the 1G position. A scanning electron microscopic study of the fracture surfaces close to the fatigue crack front reveals that while lath boundary fracture is the dominant mechanism for brittle crack initiation in both the welds, the higher T₀^dy value is linked to the higher concentration of probable crack initiation sites in the 4G position. The experimentally obtained Weibull slope in both the welds has been found to be different (7.526 and 7.205 for the 1G and 4G positions, respectively) from the ‘fixed slope of 4’ assumption, used in ASTM E 1921-05. However, in the present instance, the ‘fixed Weibull slope of 4’ concept yields more conservative T₀^dy values compared to those obtained using the experimentally determined Weibull slope. For these welds, the RT_NDT-based ASME K_IR curve proved to be ultra-conservative compared to the realistic dynamic fracture toughness variation described by the Master Curve indexed with T₀^dy.     

Determination of the equilibrium constant and standard free energy of the over-potentially deposited hydrogen for the cathodic H2 evolution reaction at the Pt–Rh alloy electrode interface using the phase-shift method

The Langmuir adsorption isotherm of the over-potentially deposited hydrogen (OPD H) for the cathodic H₂ evolution reaction (HER) at the Pt–Rh (Pt:Rh; 80:20 wt%) alloy/0.5 MH₂SO₄ aqueous electrolyte interface has been studied using cyclic voltammetric and ac impedance techniques. The behavior of the phase shift (0°−φ90°) for the optimum intermediate frequency can be linearly related to that of the fractional surface coverage (1θ0) of the OPD H for the cathodic HER at the interface. The phase-shift profile (−φ vs. E) for the optimum intermediate frequency, i.e., the phase-shift method, can be used as a new electrochemical method to determine the Langmuir adsorption isotherm (θ vs. E) of the OPD H for the cathodic HER at the interface. At the Pt–Rh alloy electrode interface, the equilibrium constant (K) and the standard free energy (ΔG_ads) of the OPD H are 2.2×10⁻⁴ and 20.9 kJ/mol, respectively. At the steady state, the behaviors of the cyclic voltammogram and the Langmuir adsorption isotherm of the OPD H for the cathodic HER at the Pt–Rh alloy electrode interface are similar to those of the pure Pt electrode interfaces. At the steady state, the effect of Rh on the OPD H for the cathodic HER can be neglected at the Pt–Rh (Pt:Rh; 80:20 wt%) alloy/0.5 MH₂SO₄ aqueous electrolyte interface.     

High temperature rate coefficient for the reaction of O(P) with H2 obtained by the resonance absorption of O and H atoms

The reaction of O(³P) with H₂ has been studied behind reflected shock waves in the temperature range of 1713–3532K at total pressures of about 1.4–2.0 bar by Atomic Resonance Absorption Spectroscopy using mixtures of N₂O and H₂ highly diluted in Ar. The O atoms were generated by the fast thermal decomposition of N₂O and the reaction with H₂ was followed by monitoring the time dependent O and H atom concentrations in the postshock reaction zone. For the experimental conditions chosen, the measured O and H atom concentrations were primarily sensitive to the well-known N₂O dissociation and to the studied reaction and hence its rate coefficient could be deduced. The measured rate coefficient data are fitted by the least-squares method to obtain the following three parameter expression: K₄=3.72×10⁶(T/K)^2.17exp(−4080K/T)cm³ mol⁻¹8⁻, which is in excellent agreement with the recent ab initio calculations for the rate coefficient of this reaction in the overlapping temperature range. The present result is also compared to the experimental results reported by earlier investigators.     

Comparison and evaluation of creep crack growth rate and fracture time for Alloy 800 by the Q* parameter

Creep crack growth tests were carried out under several temperature and stress conditions for Fe-based superalloy Alloy 800 and the Q* parameter was applied to an evaluation of the crack growth rate at elevated temperatures for DEN and CT specimens. Creep fracture times were evaluated with the parameter derived by integrating the creep crack growth rate formula expressed in terms of the Q* parameter for DEN, CT and smooth specimens of Alloy 800 under several temperature and stress conditions. It was found that the creep crack growth rate for CT specimens is represented as the different data bands by the Q* parameter for DEN specimens. However, it can be evaluated by parallel movement along the Q* axis in the Q* parameter-da/dt diagram for Alloy 800. The parameter {T(log₁₀t_f+20)×10⁻³} derived from the Q* parameter can compare and evaluate the difference in specimen shape and loading mechanism on creep fracture time using the identical parameter for Alloy 800.