CRACK INITIATION AND PROPAGATION BEHAVIOUR OF A HEAT-TREATED CARBON STEEL IN CORROSION FATIGUE

Abstract— When estimating fatigue damage quantitatively it is important to clarify its physical basis. In this study, rotating bending fatigue tests of a heat-treated 0.45% carbon steel were carried out in 3% NaCl solution, in order to clarify the physical basis of corrosion fatigue damage from successive observations of plastic replicas. The results show that corrosion pits are generated during the early stages of cycling, then most of them grow with further cycling until a crack is initiated from each corrosion pit. The initiation of corrosion pits from slip bands is observed only in the case when the stress range is relatively large, and in the range of stress for which slip bands are produced in air. After initiation of a crack, the crack propagates by frequent interactions and coalescence with other cracks. The growth rate of an especially small crack in NaCl solution is larger than that in air. However, the growth rate of a comparatively large crack is smaller in NaCl solution than in air.