| Abstract: | Surface small crack growth behavior of Type 304 stainless steel in low cycle fatigue under fast-fast and slow-fast cyclings was investigated at a temperature of 873 K, by means of the smooth specimens with various grain sizes. It was shown that once the small cracks had grown up to a few grains size, they predominantly propagated with strain cycling, while most of small cracks stopped propagating when they grew up to one grain size. It was also shown that the small crack growth rate significantly slowed down where the crack length was integral multiple of the grain size. Above behavior resulted from the grain boundaries temporarily impeding the small crack growth. The crack length below which the grain boundaries affected the small crack growth rate was also given as function of the relative length to the grain size. Furthermore, the small crack growth rate was compared with the macroscopic crack growth one. In fast-fast cycling, the small crack growth rate was about ten times as large as as the macroscopic crack growth one where its length was comparable to the grain size. Based on the results thus obtained, the application limit of macroscopic crack growth law to the surface small crack growth was discussed. The macroscopic crack growth law was not applicable to the small crack growth, until the crack length was about ten times average grain size in fast-fast and slow-fast cyclings. |
