Investigation of Cumulative Fatigue Damage Through Sequential Low Cycle Fatigue and High Cycle Fatigue Cycling at High Temperature for a Type 316LN Stainless Steel: Life-Prediction Techniques and Associated Mechanisms

Cumulative fatigue damage under sequential low cycle fatigue (LCF) and high cycle fatigue (HCF) cycling was investigated at 923 K (650 °C) by conducting HCF tests on specimens subjected to prior LCF cycling at various strain amplitudes. Remnant HCF lives were found to decrease drastically with increase in prior fatigue exposure as a result of strong LCF–HCF interactions. The rate of decrease in remnant lives varied as a function of the applied strain amplitude. A threshold damage in terms of prior LCF life-fraction was found, below which no significant LCF–HCF interaction takes place. Similarly, a critical damage during the LCF pre-cycling marking the highest degree of LCF–HCF interaction was identified which was found to depend on the applied strain amplitude. In view of the non-linear damage accumulation behavior, Miner’s linear damage rule proved to be highly non-conservative. Manson’s damage curve approach, suitably modified, was found to be a better alternative for predicting the remnant HCF life. The single constant (β) employed in the model, which reflects the damage accumulation of the material under two/multi-level loading conditions is derived from the regression analysis of the experimental results and validated further.