CRACK GROWTH AND CLOSURE BEHAVIOUR OF SURFACE CRACKS UNDER AXIAL LOADING

Abstract— Crack growth and closure behaviour of surface cracks in 7075-T6 aluminium alloy are investigated under axial loading, noting the difference in fatigue growth behaviour at the maximum crack depth point and at the surface intersection point and also with through-thickness crack growth behaviour. The plane strain closure response at the point of maximum depth of a surface crack is monitored using an extensometer spanning the surface crack at the midpoint of its length. The plane stress closure at the surface intersection point is observed by multiple strain gauges placed at appropriate intervals ahead of the crack tip and continuously monitored without interrupting the fatigue test. The crack opening ratio is found to be about 10% greater at the maximum depth point than at the surface intersection point. Under axial loading, the difference in plane strain crack closure behaviour between the surface crack and the through-thickness crack is relatively small. Growth rates of surface cracks can be well described by the effective stress intensity factor range based on the closure measurements made in this study. The growth rates in terms of the effective stress intensity factor range seem to be slightly slower in surface cracks than in through-thickness cracks.     

THE GROWTH OF SMALL CORROSION FATIGUE CRACKS IN ALLOY 2024

Abstract— The corrosion fatigue crack growth characteristics of small surface and corner cracks in aluminium alloy 2024 is established. The damaging effect of salt water on the early stages of small crack growth is characterized by: (1) crack initiation at constituent particle pits, (2) intergranular microcracking for a≤100μm, and (3) transgranular small crack growth for a≥100μm. In aqueous 1% NaCl and at a constant anodic potential of −700 mV_SCE, small cracks exhibit a factor of three increase in fatigue crack growth rates compared to laboratory air. Small cracks exhibit accelerated corrosion fatigue crack growth rates at low levels of Δ K (< 1 MPa√m) below the long crack Δ K _th value. When exposed to Paris regime levels of crack tip stress intensity, small corrosion fatigue cracks exhibit growth rates similar to that observed for long cracks. Similar small and long crack growth behavior at various levels of R suggest that crack closure effects influence the corrosion fatigue crack growth rates of small cracks for a≥100 μm. Contrary to the corrosion fatigue characteristics of small cracks in high strength steels, no pronounced chemical crack length effect is observed for alloy 2024 exposed to salt water.     

A CRACK CLOSURE STUDY TO PREDICT THE THRESHOLD BEHAVIOUR OF SMALL CRACKS

Abstract— The small crack problem is addressed within the applicability of Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics as the result of crack closure phenomenon. The variation of crack closure stress intensity factory K _op as a function of crack length, a , was determined in two materials, namely a A508 steel and a 2024A1 alloy. These results were obtained on two-dimensional small cracks ( a ≫ 0.1 mm) which were machined from long fatigue cracks. These measurements of K _op in addition to data published in the literature on a nodular cast iron and a 9Cr–1Mo steel yield to a unique characteristic function: K _op/ K _o= 1 –exp(– ka ) in which k is the only parameter to characterize the small crack effect. A prediction of the threshold behaviour of small and long cracks on A508 steel is made using the results of crack closure measurements.     

AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE OPENING AND CLOSURE BEHAVIOUR OF FATIGUE SURFACE, CORNER AND THROUGH-THICKNESS CRACKS AT NOTCHES

Abstract— The opening and closure behaviour of surface, corner and through-thickness cracks in thin notched plates of FeE460 ( K _t= 2.5) and A15086 ( K _t= 3.4) was experimentally studied. The cracks were initiated and examined under uniaxial fully reversed constant amplitude and two-step loading. Crack opening load values were measured during crack growth in notch sections with a nonuniform stress distribution using small strain gauges glued to the specimen surface, very close to the crack tip. The results represent a comprehensive set of experimental data for crack opening load values in dependence on crack lengths a, c and load level including the influence of overloads and covering all types of cracks. The results indicate uniform relationships between crack opening load levels and all crack types. Crack opening and closure occur at nearly the same strain level, which depends on the applied load level. The crack opening load values measured at large notched specimens differ from those measured at similar smaller specimens because of the different local stress gradients.     

A SIMPLIFIED LABORATORY APPROACH FOR THE PREDICTION OF SHORT CRACK BEHAVIOR IN ENGINEERING STRUCTURES

Abstract— Conventionally determined fatigue threshold information (ASTM E647) can lead to non-conservative estimates of fatigue lifetimes when these data are utilized in damage tolerant design assessments. The non-conservative nature of such data can be attributed primarily to the development of excessively large amounts of crack closure at low R -ratios, particularly at near threshold stress intensity factor levels. These high closure levels attenuate the effective stress intensity condition prevailing at the crack tip and confound attempts to predict the behavior of short cracks that exhibit limited crack closure. A modified test procedure, involving constant maximum stress intensity factor ( K ^c_max) test conditions, is described which identifies fatigue crack propagation (FCP) threshold behavior in the absence of detectable amounts of crack closure. These data have been generated with conventional long crack specimens for several aluminum, iron, and nickel-based alloys and which are shown to closely simulate the FCP response of short cracks in these engineering materials. As such, the modified threshold test procedure, incorporating constant K _max loading conditions, represents a valuable tool in the prediction of the cyclic lifetime of engineering components. The stress-cyclic lifetime (S-N) curve for aluminum butt-welded beams was computed based on K ^c_max data and found to be in excellent agreement with actual test results.     

AN ASSESSMENT OF CRACK CLOSURE AND THE EXTENT OF THE SHORT CRACK REGIME IN Q1N (HY80) STEEL

Abstract— The paper addresses some aspects of the differences in fatigue crack growth rate behaviour and threshold values obtained for long through-cracks, short through-cracks and surface cracks. Attention is focused on plasticity induced closure in the wake behind the growing crack tip. For long cracks at high K _max, closure is found to depend in a linear manner on K _max, i.e. K _op, increases with the size of the monotonic plastic zone. Closure increases at low δ K and this is primarily a consequence of the load shedding procedure. If short through-cracks are prepared by machining specimens containing long cracks, a substantial part of the plastic wake is removed and this can produce marked effects on the closure contribution during subsequent growth. The length of crack "closed" in a long crack threshold test was found to be of the order of 1 mm. Cracks less than this length exhibited "short crack" behaviour: greater than this length, they behaved as "long cracks", with plastic wake effects apparently fully operative. Small surface cracks exhibit "long crack" behaviour at lengths as short as 0.2 mm and reasons for this are discussed.     

PREDICTION OF THE FATIGUE LIMIT OF CRACKED SPECIMENS BASED ON THE CYCLIC R-CURVE METHOD

Abstract— The propagation behaviour of fatigue cracks emanating from pre-cracks was numerically simulated to evaluate the development of crack closure with crack growth. The crack opening stress intensity factor at the threshold was approximated as a function of the applied stress and the amount of crack extension. Pre-cracked specimens of a medium-carbon steel with a small surface crack and a single-edge crack were fatigued to investigate experimentally the initiation and propagation of cracks from pre-cracks. Crack closure was dynamically measured by using an interferometric strain/displacement gauge. The threshold condition of crack initiation from pre-cracks was given by a constant value of the effective stress intensity range which was equal to the threshold value for long cracks. The cyclic R -curve was constructed in terms of the threshold value of the maximum stress intensity factor as a function of crack extension approximated on the basis of the experimental and numerical results. The cyclic R -curve method was used to predict the fatigue thresholds of pre-cracked specimens. The predicted values of the fatigue limits for crack initiation and fracture, and the length of non-propagating cracks agreed very well with the experimental results.     

Near-threshold fatigue propagation of physically through-thickness short and long cracks in a low alloy steel

In this paper, the near-threshold fatigue behavior of physically through-thickness short cracks and of long cracks in a low alloy steel is investigated by experiments in ambient air. Physically through-thickness short fatigue cracks are created by gradually removing the plastic wake of long cracks in compact tension specimens. The crack closure is systematically measured using the compliance variation technique with numerical data acquisition and filtering for accurate detection of the stress intensity factor (SIF) at the crack opening. Based on the experimental results, the nominal threshold SIF range is shown to be dependent on the crack length and the characteristic of the crack wake which is strongly dependent on the loading history. The effective threshold SIF range and the relation between the crack propagation rate and the effective SIF range after the crack closure correction are shown to be independent on crack length and loading history. The shielding effect of the crack closure is shown to be related to the wake length and load history. The effective threshold SIF range and the relationship between the crack growth rate and the effective SIF range appear to be unique for this material in ambient air. These properties can be considered as specific fatigue properties of the couple material/ambient air environment.     

IN SITU SEM MEASUREMENTS OF CRACK CLOSURE FOR SMALL FATIGUE CRACKS IN ALUMINIUM 2024-T351

Abstract Crack closure has been measured for a range of small, self-initiated fatigue cracks using in situ SEM loading. Cracks were grown at positive R ratios in the aluminium alloy 2024-T351 and at nominal ΔK levels that extend substantially below the corresponding long crack threshold. The crack closure stress of the small cracks decreased and the K_cl level increased with increasing crack size until the long crack value near threshold was reached. For cracks of depth larger than about one grain size, a good correlation was obtained between small and long crack growth rate data in terms of ΔK_eff     

THE SIZE OF PLASTIC ZONES AND FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH BEHAVIOUR OF THREE FORMS OF A Ti–6Al–2.5Mo–1.5Cr ALLOY

The effect of microstructure on the fatigue properties of Ti–6Al–2.5Mo–1.5Cr alloy was investigated. The experimental results for both the fatigue crack initiation and propagation behaviour, as well as the dynamic fracture toughness ( K _Id ) showed clearly that a lamellar microstructure is superior to two other structures. It was found that, as in the case of steels, the initiation and subsequent growth of cracks in the titanium specimens with a sharp notch may also occur on loading levels below the threshold values of the K factor (Δ K _th ) determined for long fatigue cracks. In addition, measurements by interferential-contrast of the plastic zone size on the surface of specimens revealed that the different rate of crack growth at identical values of Δ K in individual structural states can roughly be correlated with the size of the plastic zone. A general relationship between the fatigue crack growth rate and plastic zone size, the modulus of elasticity and the role of crack tip shielding is discussed.     

MIXED MODE SMALL CRACK GROWTH

Abstract— The fatigue crack growth behavior of small part-through cracks in 1045 steel and Inconel 718 subjected to biaxial loading has been investigated. Experiments were performed on thin-wall tubular specimens loaded in tension, torsion and combined tension torsion. Crack sizes analyzed ranged from 20 μm to 1 mm and growth rates ranged from 10^-7 to 10^-4 mm/cycle for 1045 steel and from 10^-5 to 10^-2 mm/cycle for Inconel. Nucleation and the early growth of cracks occurs on planes of maximum shear strain amplitude for both of these materials even in tensile loading. An equivalent strain based intensity factor was employed to correlate the crack growth rate under mixed mode loading conditions In loading conditions other than torsion, a transition from mode II to mode I was observed for 1045 steel. Principal strains were used to analyze mode I cracks. Cracks in Inconel 718 grow in mode II for the majority of the fatigue life. The maximum shear strain amplitude and the tensile strain normal to the maximum shear strain amplitude plane were used to calculate the strain based intensity factor for mixed mode loading.     

MODELING THE LONG-LIFE FATIGUE BEHAVIOR OF A CAST ALUMINUM ALLOY

As-cast specimens and smooth specimens of a AA 319 cast aluminum alloy containing casting porosity were fatigue tested with special attention given to the long-life region ( N 1.25 × 10⁸ cycles). Fatigue cracks were observed to initiate from the near-surface casting pores or from discontinuities resulting from the as-cast surface texture. The observed fatigue lives were strongly dependent on the size (√area) of these casting defects.
The effect of casting defects on the fatigue life was modeled assuming the fatigue life to be the sum of the crack nucleation and the crack propagation life (including both the growth of short and long cracks). The crack growth behavior of (mechanically) short cracks was considered in detail by a developed crack-closure-at-a-notch (CCN) model. The CCN model predicted the fatigue lives for both as-cast and machine-notched specimens. Extension of the CCN model to reliability-based design was attempted using the measured size distribution of the fatigue-initiating casting pores.     

Surface-crack propagation in plane-bending fatigue of smooth specimen of low-carbon steel

Long-life fatigue tests of smooth specimens of low-carbon steel were conducted under cyclic plane bending with zero mean stress. The propagation rate of small surface cracks nucleated at the corner of the specimen was measured and analysed from the viewpoints of linear and elastic-plastic fracture mechanics. The rates of crack growth both on the surface and at the depth were higher at larger amplitudes of the applied stress, when they were correlated to the stress intensity range. The J integral range evaluated from the elastic-plastic stress-strain distribution in the depth of the specimen was found to be a unique parameter controlling the growth rate of fatigue cracks both on the surface and at the depth of the specimen, and it was also found that the relation between the growth rate and the J integral for small surface cracks agreed with that for long through-thickness cracks.     

An investigation of crack closure and the propagation of semi-elliptical fatigue cracks in Q1N (HY80) pressure vessel steel

The results of an experimental investigation of the effect of crack closure on the propagation of semi-elliptical fatigue cracks are presented. Load-shedding fatigue threshold tests were carried out at stress ratios of 0.2, 0.35, 0.5 and 0.7. Crack closure was measured at the surface and depth positions using backface strain gauges, near-tip gauges, and a clip gauge. Differences between the surface and depth growth behaviour are explained by considerations of the effects of the transition from plane stress conditions at the surface to plane strain conditions at the depth. The effects of stress ratios are attributed largely to differences in the crack opening displacement, which result in asperities coming into contact to induce roughness-induced crack closure.     

THE EFFECT OF STRESS RATIO ON THE FATIGUE THRESHOLD CONDITION OF PHYSICALLY SMALL CRACKS

An approach is proposed to predict the intrinsic threshold of physically small cracks without invoking crack closure considerations. The basic assumption invoked is that a Δ K representation is valid for short cracks, hence the lower-bound threshold value, ΔK_0(s)(min) for short cracks can be numerically equated with the lower-bound threshold value of long cracks, ΔK*_{0(l)(min), s} of the same material. Several experimental observations provide a basis for this rationalization. The approach allows a quantitative prediction of stress ratio and crack length dependence of Δ K _0(S) which provides good agreement with experimental data for several low-strength steels and aluminium alloys. This alternative procedure may be found useful in design applications.     

CLOSURE BEHAVIOUR OF SURFACE CRACKS

Abstract— The fatigue crack closure response was investigated for a surface crack in BS4360 50B structural steel, subjected to (1) constant amplitude loading and (2) constant amplitude loading interrupted by a single peak overload. A variety of compliance techniques was employed to determine closure behaviour. The crack mouth gauge measured the bulk, plane strain closure load, while the near tip strain gauge indicated the surface, plane stress closure response. For constant amplitude loading it was found that the surface regions of a surface crack are closed for a greater portion of the load cycle than the maximum depth point. A single peak overload caused different closure and growth rate transients at the surface of the thumbnail crack and at the maximum depth point. For growth rates above 10^-6 mm/cycle, such behaviour agrees with the response of a through crack when subjected to constant amplitude loading, and a single peak overload.     

MECHANICALLY SHORT CRACK GROWTH FROM NOTCHES IN A MILD STEEL

Abstract— Two L-notched specimens made of mild steel (average grain size =30 μm) and having root radii of 0.1 mm and 3 mm, and also a smooth surface specimen were cyclically loaded at different stress levels at R =−1 and at R = 0. A technique based on miniature strain gauges was successfully used to monitor the depth and the opening level of mechanically short cracks of depths from 0.015 mm to 0.5 mm. Three dimensional FEM computations were made to obtain appropriate calibration curves for varying crack aspect ratios and gauge eccentricities as well as notch plastic strain distributions. The fracture of L-notched specimens having a root radius of 0.1 mm was characterized by an early and multiple crack initiation phase (defined by a crack depth of 30 μm), and the short crack growth rates showed a mechanical behaviour different from that of long cracks (large discrepancies at the same Δ K -value, crack deceleration at R =−1 even beyond the notch plastic zone). For smooth surface specimens both the initiation and the propagation of a single short crack represented important fractions of the total life; the short crack growth rates were high and continuously increasing. The notch influence was highly reduced when the stress singularity is truncated by a 3 mm radius. The cracking behaviour was, in several aspects, close to that at smooth surfaces. The evolutions of crack closure were analyzed in each condition (transient decrease and stabilized value of the closure ratio U =Δ K _eff/Δ K ) and were shown to have a strong influence on short crack growth. Most of the short crack growth rates obtained in the various geometry/loading conditions are well consolidated with LEFM long crack growth rates using the Δ K _eff parameter.     

The use of ΔK when examining microstructural effects on small fatigue crack growth

The behaviour of small fatigue cracks has been studied in the Al---Li---Cu---Mg---Zr alloy 8090. It was found that the crack inclination normal to the surface of the specimen made crack deflections and kinking in the plane of the specimen surface irrelevant to the crack driving force. The low closure levels associated with small fatigue cracks reduce the effect of microstructure on crack growth but this does not affect the ability of ΔK (stress intensity factor range) to detect microstructural influences. The use of ΔJ (J-integral range) as a correlating parameter reduced the differences between the data for long and short fatigue cracks. However, there was no evidence that ΔJ was superior at identifying microstructural effects. Similarly the effect of the higher-order terms on the value of ΔK was found to be minor. It is concluded that the use of ΔK is not likely to bias the microstructural effects and so ΔK may be used when examining microstructural effects on small fatigue crack growth.     

EFFECT OF SURFACE TEXTURE ON FATIGUE LIFE IN A SQUEEZE-CAST 6082 ALUMINIUM ALLOY

The effect of surface texture on fatigue life in a squeeze-cast Al-Mg-Si alloy has been investigated in terms of initiation and subsequent propagation of small fatigue cracks. Small cracks nucleated from defects on both as-cast and polished surfaces. However, the large (∼90μm in diameter) surface defects found on as-cast surfaces caused an approximate 20% reduction in fatigue life when compared to polished surfaces where cracks initiated from smaller (∼ 12 μm in diameter) microporosity. Integration of averaged small fatigue crack growth data enables the fatigue lives of both types of specimen to be predicted at stresses above the fatigue limit, showing that the difference in fatigue behaviour is principally due to the extra period of crack growth in the polished surfaces.     

ON THE OVERLOAD INDUCED FATIGUE CRACK PROPAGATION BEHAVIOR IN ALUMINUM AND STEEL ALLOYS

The overload induced fatigue crack propagation behavior of several aluminum and steel alloys was examined as a function of the baseline stress intensity factor range (δ K _b). In order to gain a clearer understanding of the parameters which influence the cyclic delay phenomenon, under both plane strain and plane stress conditions, tests were conducted at δ K _b values ranging from the near threshold regime to high δ K levels approaching fast fracture. Large amounts of overload induced cyclic delay (˜100,000 cycles) were observed at both high and low δ K levels (provided the plastic zone size/thickness ratio and plastic zone size/grain size ratio approached unity, respectively) with significantly less delay occurring at intermediate δ K values. All alloys examined exhibited this type of delay behavior which can be described by a "U-shaped" plot. The delay phenomenon at high δ K _b levels under plane stress conditions was attributed to increased crack closure associated with large tensile displacements in the wake of the advancing crack. At low δ K _b levels increasing cyclic delay was attributed to an increased effective overload ratio as δ K approached δ K _th.