Measurement of fatigue-induced surface plasticity

A method is presented for measuring at a surface the localized plastic strains induced by fatigue within individual grains. The technique uses mica flakes distributed on a sample surface as reference gauges, relative to which strains in the surface can accurately be determined. An application of the method to the study of fatigue induced microplasticity in an Al 2219-T851 alloy is discussed. On an unfatigued specimen, subjected to applied stresses less than the yield strength, deformation is elastic over gauge lengths comparable with the grain size. After fully-reversed cyclic loading at a peak tensile stress of 75% of the yield strength for 20×10³ cycles, the larger grains in the alloy exhibit a residual tensile strain after a tensile loading cycle. Neighbouring smaller grains are driven into elastic compression to accommodate this tensile plastic deformation. Peak localized tensile plastic strains may exceed 0.5% at the surface. This technique will be useful in evaluating models of fatigue crack initiation and surface damage accumulation.